Read the full stored bill text
A4769
ASSEMBLY, No. 4769
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� GREGORY E. MYHRE
District 9 (Ocean)
Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Kanitra, Assemblywoman Flynn and Assemblyman
Scharfenberger
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires certain State agencies to establish
expedited approval and permitting procedures for artificial intelligence data
centers powered by small modular nuclear reactors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning the development of artificial intelligence
data centers and supplementing P.L.2024, c.49 (C.34:1B-394 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� a.� As used in this
section:
���� �Advanced reactor� means a
nuclear reactor, including a prototype plant, as defined in 10 C.F.R. s.50.2
and 10 C.F.R. s.52.1, with significant improvements compared to reactors
operating on December 27, 2020, including improvements such as: (1) additional
inherent safety features; (2) lower waste yields; (3) improved fuel and
material performance; (4) increased tolerance to loss of fuel cooling; (5)
enhanced reliability or improved resilience; (6) increased proliferation
resistance; (7) increased thermal efficiency; (8) reduced consumption of
cooling water and other environmental impacts; (9) the ability to integrate
into electric applications and nonelectric applications; (10) modular sizes to
allow for deployment that corresponds with the demand for electricity or
process heat; and (11) operational flexibility to respond to changes in demand
for electricity or process heat and to complement integration with intermittent
renewable energy or energy storage.
���� �AI data center� means the
same as the term is defined in section 2 of P.L.2024, c.49 (C.34:1B-395).
���� �Board� means the Board of
Public Utilities.
���� �Electric public utility�
means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-51).
���� �Nuclear reactor� means an
apparatus required to be licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory
Commission that is designed or used to sustain nuclear fission in a
self-supporting chain reaction.
���� �Small modular reactor� or
�SMR� means an advanced reactor that: (1) has a rated electric generating
capacity of no less than 50 megawatts electric (MWe) and no more than 300
megawatts electric (MWe); (2) may be of modular design; (3) is capable of being
constructed and operated either alone or in combination with one or more
similar reactors if additional reactors are or became necessary at a single
site; and (4) is required to be licensed by the United States Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
���� b.� No later than 12 months
after the effective date of this section, the Board of Public Utilities, the
Department of Community Affairs, and the Department of Environmental Protection
shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations to establish
expedited approval and permitting procedures for projects to develop AI data
centers that are powered by on-site small modular reactors.� The purpose of the
rules and regulations shall be to encourage and expedite the construction of
new AI data centers that are powered by on-site small modular reactors in the
State, as well as the construction and use of small modular reactors at
existing AI data centers.
���� c.� The rules and regulations
shall include, but not be limited to, provisions to establish:
���� (1) expedited site approval
processes for use by all relevant State agencies and model expedited approval
processes for use by local governments;
���� (2) expedited Department of
Community Affairs construction plan review processes;
���� (3) expedited interconnection
provisions, for use by the board and electric public utilities; and
���� (4) expedited Department of
Environmental Protection permit processes, including, but not limited to, for
permits issued pursuant to the pursuant to "The Wetlands Act of
1970," P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the "Freshwater Wetlands
Protection Act," P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et seq.), the "Coastal
Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), the
"Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), the
"Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120
(C.13:20-1 et al.), the "Water Supply Management Act," P.L.1981,
c.262 (C.58:1A-1 et seq.), the "Water Pollution Control Act,"
P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.), the "Water Quality Planning
Act," P.L.1977, c.75 (C.58:11A-1 et seq.), and the "Flood Hazard Area
Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.).
���� 2.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would require the
Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Community Affairs, and the
Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules and regulations to
establish expedited approval and permitting procedures for projects to develop artificial
intelligence (AI) data centers that are powered by on-site small modular
reactors (SMRs).
���� The bill would stipulate that
the purpose of the rules and regulations would be to encourage and expedite the
construction of new AI data centers that are powered by on-site SMRs in the
State, as well as the construction and use of SMRs at existing AI data centers.�
The bill would require the rules and regulations to be adopted no later than 12
months after the bill�s effective date.� Finally, the bill would establish
certain minimum contents for the rules and regulations, including that they
establish provisions expedited site approval processes for use by all relevant
State agencies and model expedited approval processes for use by local
governments.