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A143 • 2026

Prohibits State departments and agencies from considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstances.

Prohibits State departments and agencies from considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstances.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Fantasia, Dawn
Last action
2026-01-13
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Prohibits State departments and agencies from considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstances.

Prohibits State departments and agencies from considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstances.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits State departments and agencies from considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstances.
  • Topic: Environment and Solid Waste Fiscal note: This bill has been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-13 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee

Official Summary Text

Prohibits State departments and agencies from considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstances.
Topic:
Environment and Solid Waste
Fiscal note:
This bill has been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A143

ASSEMBLY, No. 143

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits State departments and agencies from
considering or requiring compliance by Highlands planning area municipalities
with Highlands regional master plan in certain circumstances.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning the Highlands planning area, and
supplementing P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.).

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

���� 1.��� a.� Notwithstanding the
provisions of any other law to the contrary, or any rule or regulation adopted
pursuant thereto, no State department or agency, including, but not limited to,
the Council on Affordable Housing, the Department of Community Affairs, the
Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, and
the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, may require a municipality
located in the planning area of the Highlands Region, to revise its master plan
and development regulations to conform to the goals, requirements and
provisions of the regional master plan, as a condition to any approval or
decision concerning the municipality or any person in the municipality,
including a decision to award a grant or loan, a decision concerning the amount
of a grant or loan, whether to provide aid or assistance, to grant or deny a
permit, or concerning the terms or conditions of a permit.

���� b.��� Notwithstanding the
provisions of any other law to the contrary, or any rule or regulation adopted
pursuant thereto, no State department or agency, including, but not limited to,
the Council on Affordable Housing, the Department of Community Affairs, the
Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, and
the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, may consider for any
municipality located in the planning area of the Highlands Region, the
municipality's conformance or lack of conformance with the regional master plan
as a factor in any decision to award a grant or loan, a decision concerning the
amount of a grant or loan, whether to provide aid or assistance, grant or deny
a permit, or the terms or conditions of a permit.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill would prohibit any
State department or agency from requiring that a municipality in the Highlands
Region planning area revise its master plan and development regulations to
conform to the goals, requirements and provisions of the regional master plan,
as a condition to any approval or decision concerning the municipality or any
person in the municipality, including a decision to award a grant or loan, a
decision concerning the amount of a grant or loan, whether to provide aid or
assistance, to grant or deny a permit, or concerning the terms or conditions of
a permit.� Similarly, the municipality's conformance with the regional master
plan or lack of conformance with the plan could not be considered by a State
department or agency as a factor in a decision to award a grant or loan, a
decision concerning the amount of a grant or loan, whether to provide aid or
assistance, to grant or deny a permit, or concerning the terms or conditions of
a permit.