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A1784
ASSEMBLY, No. 1784
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Stanley, Spearman, Assemblywomen Murphy,
Speight, Lopez and Park
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires induction loop listening system installation
in certain buildings open to public upon new construction or substantial
renovation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning induction loop listening system
installation and supplementing P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� In accordance with
the rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to
subsection c. of this section, the owner of an area of public assembly or
service shall maintain an induction loop listening system, and shall post
prominently-visible permanently-mounted signage to indicate to visitors that
the induction loop listening system is available.� This requirement shall apply
when, in association with a building permit application that is initially
submitted following the effective date of this section, an area of public
assembly or service is newly constructed or undergoes a substantial
renovation.� Following initial installation, an owner of an area of public
assembly or service for whom this section applies shall, on a biennial basis,
complete a self-certification form and submit the form to the applicable code
enforcing agency, attesting that the induction loop listening system continues
to be functional.�
���� b.��� In association with a
building permit application, the permit applicant may assert that installation
of an induction loop listening system would be impractical, and request that
the enforcing agency reviewing the application evaluate that assertion.� Notwithstanding
any provision of subsection a. of this section to the contrary, an owner of an
area of public assembly or service shall not be required to install an
induction loop listening system if the enforcing agency reviewing the
application determines that the installation of an induction loop listening
system would be impractical.�
���� c.���� The commissioner shall promulgate
rules and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968,
c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) in order to adjust the State Uniform Construction
Code to effectuate the purposes of this section.� The rules and regulations
shall include, but not be limited to, standards for:
���� (1)�� the installation of an
induction loop listening system;
���� (2)�� the conditions that
would render the installation of an induction loop listening system impractical
pursuant to subsection b. of this section;
���� (3)� the placement and
appearance of the required signage, using the ear-with-T logo; and
���� (4)� the frequency and
criteria of public access that shall cause a space to be designated as open to
the public in relation to the definition of an area of public assembly or
service.
���� d.��� As used in this section:
���� �Area of public assembly or
service� means a building or structure, or space within a building or
structure, that is regularly open for public gatherings, including an
auditorium, theater, meeting room, courtroom, community center, library,
pharmacy counter, information desk at a medical facility, a waiting area for a
medical office, bank teller area, car rental business, restaurant, bar, or
other food or beverage counter service location, coat check area, grocery store
check-out area, ticket payment location, or other category of space designated
by the commissioner as an area of public assembly or service.
���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Community Affairs.
���� �Induction loop listening
system� means a hardwired assistive listening system through which a loop of
wire around an area of a building produces a signal, or a hardwired countertop
version that produces a signal, received directly by hearing aids and cochlear
implants equipped with telecoil features used by persons with hearing loss.
���� �Substantial renovation� means
a construction or renovation project requiring a building permit and where the
value of the renovation to the area of public assembly or service exceeds $40,000.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment, but the Commissioner
of Community Affairs may take such anticipatory administrative action in
advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of the act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would require the
installation of induction loop listening systems in certain public spaces upon
new construction or substantial renovation.� An �induction loop listening
system� refers to a hardwired assistive listening system in which a loop of wire
around an area of a building, or hardwired countertop version, produces a signal
received directly by hearing aids and cochlear implants used by persons with
hearing loss.� Induction loop listening systems magnetically transmit sound to
hearing aids and cochlear implants that are equipped with telecoil features,
and have an effect of filtering out background noise.
���� Under the bill, induction loop
listening system installations would be required
in a newly constructed
area of public assembly or
service, unless the associated building permit application was initially
submitted on or before the effective date of the bill.
�The bill would also require
any
area of public
assembly or service
to install
induction loop listening systems
during renovations that cost $40,000 or more
.�
Additionally, the bill would require the posting of prominently-visible
permanently-mounted signage to indicate to visitors that the induction loop
listening system is available in an area of public assembly or service.� Following
initial installation, the bill would require the owner, on a biennial basis, to
complete a self-certification form, attesting that the induction loop listening
system continues to function.
���� Under
the bill,
an �area of public assembly or service
� means
a building or structure, or space within a
building or structure, that is regularly open for public gatherings, consisting
of an auditorium, theater, meeting room, courtroom, community center, library,
pharmacy counter, information desk at a medical facility, a waiting area for a
medical office, bank teller area, car rental business, restaurant, bar, or
other food or beverage counter service location, coat check area, grocery store
check-out area, ticket payment location, or other category of space designated
by the Department of Community Affairs (�DCA�) as an area of public assembly or
service.
���� Under the bill, the owner of
an area of public assembly or service would not be required to install and
maintain an induction loop listening system if a code enforcing agency
determines that the installation of the system would be impractical, following an
assertion of the impracticality of the installation by the building permit
applicant.
���� The bill directs DCA to adopt
rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of the bill, including the
establishment of standards for: (1) the installation of an induction loop
listening system; (2) the conditions that would render installation
impractical; (3) the placement and appearance of the required signage; and (4)
the frequency and criteria of public access that would cause a space to be
designated as open to the public, in relation to the definition of an area of
public assembly or service.�
���� The provisions of the bill
would be enforced as part of the "State Uniform Construction Code
Act," (�UCC�) P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).� The owner of an
area of public assembly or service who violates the provisions of the bill would
therefore be liable for any penalty imposed by an enforcing agency pursuant to
section 20 of P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-138), or any other applicable penalty
under the UCC.
���� In order to provide DCA with
time to prepare for the enforcement of the bill, the bill would take effect on the
first day of the seventh month following enactment.�