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A4480 AHO Statement 5/14/26
ASSEMBLY HOUSING COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY,
No. 4480
with
committee amendments
STATE
OF NEW JERSEY
DATED:
�May 14,
2026
����� The Assembly Housing Committee reports favorably and
with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4480.
�����
As
amended and reported, this bill requires owners of multistory buildings, as
that term is defined in the bill, to ensure access to and from each floor of
the multistory building for persons with a disability, including in the event
of an elevator outage through (1) restoration of elevator service within two
hours of notification of an elevator outage; or (2) alternative means of access
to and from each floor of a multistory building which may include evacuation
chairs, ramps, and motorized stairlifts.�
���� The
Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of Community Affairs
(division) is to be tasked with the enforcement of the provisions of the bill
and required to receive reports of violations of the bill, conduct inspections
of multistory buildings, conduct investigations of violations of the bill, and
impose penalties.� A property owner would not be liable for a penalty, however,
if they can demonstrate an active contract with an elevator servicer stating
that an elevator repair will be completed within two hours of report of an
elevator outage or the presence of alternative means of access to and from each
floor of the multistory building.
���� The
bill requires property owners to comply with its provisions within 18 months of
enactment, but allows a property owner experiencing financial hardship or
structural limitations to seek an extension of not more than 12 additional
months from the division.
���� The
bill requires the division establish a grant program, low-interest loan
program, or both, to assist property owners in purchasing accessibility
equipment utilizing funds made available to the division for such purpose.
���� The
bill also permits the director of the division to recommend, and the
Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt, revisions to the barrier free
subcode to ensure persons with a disability have sufficient access to each
floor of a multistory building, including in the event of an elevator outage.
���� The
bill also expressly permits municipalities to adopt ordinances consistent with
the bill�s provisions and impose additional penalties for violations of such
ordinances.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
:
����� The committee amendments:
����� 1)� specify that a property owner is not to be liable
for a penalty pursuant to the bill if the property owner can demonstrate an
active contract with an elevator servicer stating that an elevator repair will
be completed within two hours of report of an elevator outage; and
����� 2)� gives the Director of the Division of Codes and
Standards discretion to
establish
a grant program, low-interest loan program, or both to assist property owners
in purchasing accessibility equipment, rather than requiring establishment of a
grant program only.