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A4628 • 2026

Requires BPU to impose penalties during audits.

Requires BPU to impose penalties during audits.

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Sauickie, Alex
Last action
2026-03-10
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities 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.

Requires BPU to impose penalties during audits.

Requires BPU to impose penalties during audits.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires BPU to impose penalties during audits.
  • Topic: Telecommunications and Utilities 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. 2026-03-10 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee

Official Summary Text

Requires BPU to impose penalties during audits.
Topic:
Telecommunications and Utilities
Fiscal note:
This bill has been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A4628

ASSEMBLY, No. 4628

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires BPU to impose penalties during audits.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
requiring the BPU to impose penalties during audits

and amending R.S.48:2-42.

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

���� 1.� R.S.48:2-42 is amended to
read as follows:

����
a.
�Any person or
public utility that
[
shall
fail
]

fails

to comply with an order of the board, except an order to resume service which has
been discontinued, shall be subject to a penalty of
[
one hundred dollars
]

$100

for every day during which the default continues.� Any person or public utility
that
[
shall
fail
]

fails

to comply with any order of the board directing the public utility to resume
service which has been discontinued shall be subject to a penalty of
[
two hundred
and fifty dollars
]

$250
for every day during which such default continues.�
[
Such penalties
shall be recovered in an action at law in the name of the state.
]

����
b. �In addition to any
applicable penalty provided in subsection a. of this section, the Board of
Public Utilities shall assess a civil penalty of $500 for every day after a
public utility is put on notice that the public utility has failed to provide
sufficient information for the Board of Public Utilities to complete an audit
of that public utility conducted pursuant to R.S.48:2-16.4.�

����
c. �Any civil penalty imposed
pursuant to this section shall be collected by the board in a summary
proceeding before a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions
of the �Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

(cf: R.S.48:2-42)

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill provides the Board
of Public Utilities (BPU) additional means to ensure the compliance of public
utilities with the BPU�s audit procedure.� The bill requires the BPU to assess
a civil penalty of $500 for every day after a public utility is put on notice
that the public utility has failed to provide sufficient information for the BPU
to complete an audit of that public utility.� Currently, when the BPU
determines that an audit of a public utility is necessary or desirable, the BPU
may initiate an audit and request information such as accounting and personnel records
from that public utility in order to complete the audit.� The New Jersey
Division of the Rate Counsel has indicated that certain audits of public
utilities have gone uncompleted due to a lack of cooperation from the entities
being audited.� It is the sponsor�s intent to ensure that when the BPU
determines that an audit of a utility is necessary or desirable, the entity
under audit provides sufficient information to complete the audit in a timely
manner.���