Establishes New Jersey Regulatory Modernization Commission.

A1344

ASSEMBLY, No. 1344

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman CODY D. MILLER

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblywoman MITCHELLE DRULIS

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Hutchison

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes New Jersey Regulatory Modernization
Commission.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

establishing the New Jersey Regulatory
Modernization Commission and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� This act shall be known and may be cited
as the �New Jersey Regulatory Modernization and Red Tape Reduction Act.�

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds and declares that:

���� a.���� Regulatory overreach and outdated
administrative procedures can stifle innovation, deter business growth, and
increase burdens on residents and small businesses.

���� b.��� A streamlined and modern regulatory
environment is essential to fostering economic development and public
confidence in government.

���� c.���� There is a need for a balanced and
transparent process to review, reform, and eliminate unnecessary or duplicative
regulations while maintaining public health, safety, and environmental
standards.

���� 3.��� a.� There is hereby established the New
Jersey Regulatory Modernization Commission.� For the purposes of complying with
the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey
Constitution, the commission shall be allocated in, but not of, the Department
of Labor and Workforce Development.� The commission shall consist of 11 voting
members as follows:

���� (1)� three public members appointed by the
Governor, at least one with experience in small business, one in nonprofit
operations, and one in regulatory law;

���� (2)� two public members appointed by the Senate
President;

���� (3)� two public members appointed by the Speaker
of the General Assembly;

���� (4)� the State Treasurer, or a designee;

���� (5)� the chief executive officer of the New
Jersey Economic Development Authority, or a designee;

���� (6)� the Chief Innovation Officer of the State
of New Jersey, or a designee; and

���� (7)� the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce
Development, or a designee.

����
b.
�
The
commission shall hold its initial organizational meeting as soon as
practicable, but no later than 30 days following the appointment of its
members.� At the initial organizational meeting, the members shall elect a
chairperson from among the members of the commission by a majority vote of the
members.� Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointments were made.� Each public member of the commission shall serve for a
term of four years and until the appointment and qualification of a successor;
except that two of the public members first appointed by the Governor shall
serve for an initial term of one year, one of the public members first
appointed by the Senate President shall serve for an initial term of two years,
and one of the public members first appointed by the Speaker of the General
Assembly shall serve for an initial term of three years. Members of the
commission shall be eligible for reappointment to the commission.

���� c.� Members of the commission shall serve
without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for all necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of funds
appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

���� d.� The Department of Labor and Workforce
Development shall provide such stenographic, clerical, and other administrative
support and professional staff to the commission as it requires to carry out
its work.� The commission shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and
avail itself of the services of the employees of any other State department,
office, division, or agency to accomplish its duties.

���� e.� A majority of all the authorized members of
the commission shall constitute a quorum.�
The commission shall
meet once every six months and at such other times as the chair of the
commission may determine.

���� 4.� a. The commission shall:

���� (1)� review existing administrative rules and
recommend elimination, modification, or consolidation of those deemed
unnecessary or burdensome;

���� (2)� solicit input from businesses, nonprofits,
and the public on regulatory burdens;

���� (3)� publish an annual report detailing findings
and recommendations, including the economic impact of any recommended reforms;

���� (4)� collaborate with State departments or
agencies to implement approved recommendations within existing statutory
authority; and

���� (5)� develop a digital �Red Tape Reduction
Portal� for public submission of regulatory concerns.

���� b.� The commission shall have advisory authority
only and shall not have the power to enact, repeal, or override any existing
regulation.

���� c.� Upon the issuance of a recommendation by the
commission to a State department or agency pursuant to subsection a. of this
section, the department or agency shall respond to the commission concerning
the recommendation within 90 days, indicating whether the department or agency
will adopt the recommendation and, if not adopting the recommendation,
explaining the reason for rejection.

���� d.� All commission meetings shall be subject to
the �Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act,� P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6
et seq.).

���� e.� The commission shall submit its annual
report, detailing findings and recommendations, including the economic impact
of any recommended reforms, to the Governor and to the Legislature, pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).� All reports and findings of the
commission shall be prominently posted on a publicly accessible website.

���� 5.� There is appropriated from the General Fund
to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development the sum of $250,000 to
support the administrative operations of the New Jersey Regulatory
Modernization Commission.

���� 6.� This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill, known as the �New
Jersey Regulatory Modernization and Red Tape Reduction Act,� creates
the advisory New Jersey
Regulatory Modernization Commission to assess the effect that rules and
regulations have on economic development and public confidence in government in
the State and to provide recommendations to reform or eliminate unnecessary or
duplicative regulations while maintaining public health, safety, and
environmental standards.

���� For the purposes of complying with the State
Constitution, the commission is to be allocated within the Department of Labor
and Workforce Development, and the department is responsible for providing
administrative support and professional staff to support the commission�s
work.� Under the bill, the commission will consist of 11 voting members,
including seven public members appointed by the Executive and Legislative
Branches of State government and four State cabinet members who shall serve ex
officio.�

���� The bill requires the commission to review
existing administrative rules and recommend changes or elimination of those
deemed unnecessary or burdensome and to solicit feedback from businesses,
nonprofits and the public about their regulatory challenges.� Each year, the
commission will publish, and submit to the Governor and Legislature, an annual
report detailing its findings and recommendations, including the economic
impact of any recommended reforms.� State departments and agencies are expected
to reply within 90 days responding to the commissions� recommendations and the
commission is expected to collaborate with State departments or agencies to
implement approved recommendations.� The commission is charged with developing
a digital �Red Tape Reduction Portal� for the public to submit regulatory
concerns.� All commission meetings are subject to the Open Public Meetings law
and the commission�s reports and findings must be published on a publicly
accessible website.

���� The bill appropriates $250,000 to support the
administrative operations of the commission.