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A4126
ASSEMBLY, No. 4126
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Regulatory Improvement Commission.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing a Regulatory Improvement
Commission.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� There is established
in, but not of, the Department of State a commission to be known as the
�Regulatory Improvement Commission.� The commission shall be independent of any
supervision or control by the Department of State except as expressly authorized
under this act.
���� b.��� The commission shall
consist of nine members, of whom:
���� (1)�� five members shall be
appointed by the Governor, of whom one shall serve as chairperson;
���� (2)�� one member shall be
appointed by the President of the Senate;
���� (3)�� one member shall be
appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
���� (4)�� one member shall be
appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; and
���� (5)�� one member shall be
appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly.
���� c.���� Members of the
commission shall be appointed not later than 60 days after the effective date
of this act, P.L�� , c.�� (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and
shall hold their initial meeting as soon as practicable, but no later than 30
days following the appointment of a majority of its authorized membership.� Not
more than five members appointed to the commission may be from the same
political party.
���� d.��� The chair of the
commission shall be an individual with expertise and experience in rulemaking,
such as a past Director of the Office of Administrative Law, a past director of
a regulatory affairs office within a State department or agency, and other individuals
with similar expertise and experience in rulemaking affairs and the
administration of regulatory reviews.
���� e.���� Members appointed to
the commission shall have a significant depth of experience and
responsibilities in matters relating to government services, regulatory policy,
economics, State and federal agency management, public administration, and law.
���� f.���� Any vacancy in
membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.
���� g.��� The commission shall
meet at the call of the chairperson.� Five members of the commission shall
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.� No
action of the commission shall be taken without the affirmative vote of the
majority of all the authorized members of the commission.
���� h.��� Members of the
commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to
reimbursements for all necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
duties.
���� i.���� The commission shall
hold not less than four meetings.� Each meeting of the commission shall be open
to the public.
���� j.���� The Department of State
shall provide primary staff support to the commission.� The commission shall be
entitled to call upon any department, office, division, or agency of this State
to supply the commission with data and other information, personnel, or
assistance it deems necessary for its purposes.� Each department, office,
division, or agency of the State shall cooperate with the commission and
furnish it with such information, personnel, or assistance as may be necessary
for the commission to discharge its duties.
���� 2.��� a.� The purpose of the
Regulatory Improvement Commission shall be to evaluate State regulations and
provide recommendations for modification, consolidation, or repeal of certain
State regulations to the Governor and Legislature with the aim of reducing compliance
costs, encouraging growth and innovation, and improving competitiveness, all
while protecting public health and safety.
���� b.��� The commission shall:
���� (1)�� give priority in its
analysis of State regulations to those that impose disproportionately high
costs on small businesses, impose substantial paperwork burdens, or could be
strengthened in their effectiveness while reducing regulatory cost;
���� (2)�� solicit and review
comments from the public on State regulations from residents and businesses for
the purposes of recommending relief for those regulations that conflict with
the public interest in economic growth and innovation; and
���� (3)�� develop a set of State
regulations to modify, consolidate, or repeal to be submitted to the Governor
and Legislature.
���� 3.��� Not later than 60 days
after the date of the initial meeting of the commission, the commission shall
initiate a process to solicit and collect written recommendations from the
general public, interested parties, State departments and agencies, and other relevant
entities regarding which State regulations should be examined.
���� The commission shall ensure
that the process initiated under this section allows for recommendations to be
submitted to the commission through a website created for the commission or by
mail, the period for the submission of recommendations shall end 120 days after
the date on which the process is initiated under section 2 of this act, P.L�� ,
c.�� (pending before the Legislature as this bill). At the end of the period
for submission of recommendations under this section, all submitted
recommendations shall be published on the website of the commission.
���� 4.��� During the public
comment period described in section 3 of this act, P.L�� , c.�� (pending before
the Legislature as this bill), the commission shall conduct public outreach and
convene focus groups to better inform the members of the commission of the public�s
interest and possible contributions to the work of the commission.
���� The focus groups shall include
individuals affiliated with the Office of Administrative Law and regulatory
affairs offices within a State department or agency, and, at the discretion of
the commission, other relevant stakeholders from within or outside of the
regulatory entities such as professional, labor, community, and environmental
organizations and businesses, workers, and other affected persons or entities
as the commission deems appropriate.
���� 5.��� Not later than 45 days
after the date on which the period for the submission of recommendations ends
under section 3 of this act, P.L�� , c.�� (pending before the Legislature as
this bill), the commission shall convene to review submitted recommendations
and to identify State regulations to modify, consolidate, or eliminate.� In
examining State regulations, the commission shall determine the effectiveness
of individual State regulations by using multiple resources, including
quantitative metrics, testimony from industry experts, and research from the
staff of the commission.
���� 6.��� a.� The commission shall
prepare and submit a final report on its findings, conclusions, and
recommendations to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, no later than the 365th day following its
initial meeting for their consideration.
���� b.��� The commission shall
publish, and make available to the public, a report, which shall include, the
following:
���� (1)�� the findings and
conclusions for the improvement of State regulations examined by the
commission; and
���� (2)�� a list of the
recommendations for changes to the State regulations examined by the
commission, which may include recommendations for modifications, consolidation,
or repeal of such State regulations.
���� c.���� The report shall be
approved by not fewer than five members of the commission.� The commission
shall make the report available through the website of the commission and in
printed form.
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall expire on the 30th day after the commission
submits its final report.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes a
�Regulatory Improvement Commission� in, but not of, the Department of State.�
The commission will consist of nine members.� Five members will be appointed by
the Governor, one member will be appointed by the President of the Senate, one
member will be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, one member will
be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, and one member will be
appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly.
���� The purpose of the commission
is to evaluate State regulations and provide recommendations for modification,
consolidation, or repeal of certain State regulations to the Governor and
Legislature with the aim of reducing compliance costs, encouraging growth and
innovation, and improving competitiveness, all while protecting public health
and safety.
���� The commission will:
���� (1)�� give priority in its
analysis of State regulations to those that impose disproportionately high
costs on small businesses, impose substantial paperwork burdens, or could be
strengthened in their effectiveness while reducing regulatory cost;
���� (2)�� solicit and review
comments from the public on State regulations from residents and businesses for
the purposes of recommending relief for those regulations that conflict with
the public interest in economic growth and innovation; and
���� (3)�� develop a set of State
regulations to modify, consolidate, or repeal to be submitted to the Governor
and Legislature.
���� The commission will initiate a
process to solicit and collect written recommendations from the general public,
interested parties, State department and agencies, and other relevant entities
regarding which State regulations should be examined.� During the public
comment period, the commission will conduct public outreach and convene focus
groups to better inform the members of the commission of the public�s interest
and possible contributions to the work of the commission. The commission will
also convene to review submitted recommendations and to identify State
regulations to modify, consolidate, or eliminate in preparation to issue a
final report.
���� The bill directs the
commission to issue a final report of its findings, conclusions, and
recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature no later than the 365th day
after the commission organizes.� The commission would expire 30 days after
submitting its final report.