Concerns skilled and trained workforce requirements at certain high-hazard industrial facilities.

S4269

SENATE, No. 4269

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JOHN J. BURZICHELLI

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)

SYNOPSIS

���� Concerns skilled and trained workforce requirements
at certain high-hazard industrial facilities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning skilled and trained workforce requirements
at certain high-hazard industrial facilities and amending P.L.2020, c.65.

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

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2020,
c.65 (C.34:11-56.72) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that:

���� a.���� The use of unskilled
and untrained workers at chemical manufacturing and processing facilities that
generate, store, treat, handle, refine, process, and transport hazardous
materials is a risk to public health and safety, and the risk to public health
and safety is particularly high when workers are employed by outside
contractors because they generally are less familiar with the operations of the
facility and its emergency plans and the owner or operator of the facility has
less incentive to invest in their training.

���� b.��� Requiring that workers
employed by outside contractors at these facilities be paid at least at a rate
equivalent to the prevailing journeyperson wage for their occupations, or be
registered in approved apprenticeship programs, is necessary to provide an economic
incentive for employers to use only the most skilled workers to perform work
that poses a risk to public health and safety. The wage scale is also necessary
to provide an economic incentive for the workers to obtain the mandatory
advanced safety training required by section 3 of P.L.2020, c.65
(C.34:11-56.74).

���� c.���� Requiring that
apprentices be registered in approved advanced safety training is necessary to
ensure that these workers are receiving the proper training and on-the-job
supervision and that the programs are subject to proper oversight.

���� d.��� The requirement that
[
at least 60
percent of the
]

journeypersons working for a contractor be graduates of an approved
apprenticeship program is necessary to ensure that the majority of the
journeypersons will have had appropriate classroom and laboratory instruction
for their occupations.�
[
A
phase-in for this requirement will avoid disruption of the industry.
]

����
e.���� Industrial
facilities that generate, store, process, transport, or otherwise handle
hazardous chemicals, petroleum products, and other hazardous substances pose
significant risks to workers, surrounding communities, and the environment.

����
f.���� Construction,
alteration, demolition, installation, repair, and maintenance work performed by
contractors or subcontractors at covered high-hazard industrial facilities
requires workers with specialized training and experience due to the complex
systems and hazardous materials present at those facilities.

����
g.��� Workers who are not
properly trained or who are unfamiliar with the safety systems and operating
conditions of high-hazard industrial facilities increase the likelihood of
accidental releases, explosions, fires, and other catastrophic incidents.

����
h.��� Requiring contractors
performing work at covered high-hazard industrial facilities to use a skilled
and trained workforce helps ensure that facility workers have the necessary
training, experience, and knowledge to perform work safely and effectively.

����
i.���� The use of a skilled
and trained workforce reduces risks to public health and safety, protects the
environment, and promotes workforce development through registered
apprenticeship programs.

(cf: P.L.2020, c.65, s.1)

���� 2.��� Section 2 of P.L.2020,
c.65 (C.34:11-56.73) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� As used in this act:

���� "Apprenticeship
program" means a registered apprenticeship program providing to each
trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close
supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an
apprenticeable trade, registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the U.S.
Department of Labor.

���� "Approved advanced safety
training for workers at high hazard facilities" means a curriculum
approved by the State Office of Apprenticeship pursuant to section 4 of this
act.

����
"Covered high-hazard
industrial facility" means a stationary source or other industrial
facility that:

����
a.���� Generates, stores,
handles, treats, processes, refines, transports, or otherwise uses hazardous
chemicals or substances, or petroleum products; and

����
b.��� Prepares and submits
a Risk Management Plan pursuant to subsection (r) of section 112 of the federal
�Clean Air Act� (42 U.S.C. s.7412); or

����
c.���� Is subject to
federal or State process safety management standards applicable to facilities
handling highly hazardous chemicals.

����
"Covered high-hazard
industrial facility" includes, but is not limited to, petroleum
refineries, petrochemical manufacturing facilities, chemical manufacturing
facilities, hydrogen production facilities, biofuel production facilities, and
facilities engaged in carbon dioxide capture, sequestration, or enhanced oil
recovery.

���� "Labor organization"
means an organization which represents, for purposes of collective bargaining,
employees of contractors or subcontractors engaged in contracting subject to
the provisions of subsection a. of section 3 of P.L.2020, c.65 (C.34:11-56.74),
and has the present ability to refer, provide or represent a sufficient number
of qualified employees to perform the contracted work in a manner consistent
with the provisions of P.L.2020, c.65 (C.34:11-56.72 et seq.) and a plan
mutually agreed upon by the labor organization and the owner or operator.

���� "OEM" means original
equipment manufacturer and refers to organizations who manufacture or fabricate
equipment for sale directly to purchasers or other resellers.

���� "Prevailing hourly wage
rate" means the prevailing hourly wage rate set for the applicable
occupation and geographic area pursuant to the "New Jersey Prevailing Wage
Act," P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.).

���� "Registered
apprentice" means an apprentice registered in an apprenticeship program
who is performing work covered by the standards of that apprenticeship program
and receiving the supervision required by the standards of that apprenticeship
program.

���� "Skilled
journeyperson" means a worker who:

���� a.���� Has either graduated
from an apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation, or has at least
as many hours of on-the-job experience in the applicable occupation as would be
required to graduate from an apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation;
and

���� b.��� Has completed within the
prior two calendar years at least 20 hours of approved advanced safety training
for workers at high hazard facilities, including approved advanced safety
training that occurred in an approved apprenticeship program.� This requirement
shall apply only to work performed on or after January 1, 2025.

���� "Skilled and trained
workforce" means a workforce
[
that
meets all of the following criteria
]

in which
:

���� a.
[
(1) All the workers shall, as of
January 1, 2021, be paid at least 80 percent of the applicable prevailing
hourly wage rate, and shall be either registered apprentices or skilled
journeypersons;

���� (2)�� All the workers shall,
as of January 1, 2022, be paid at least 85 percent of the applicable prevailing
hourly wage rate, and shall be either registered apprentices or skilled
journeypersons;

���� (3)�� All the workers shall,
as of January 1, 2023, be paid at least 90 percent of the applicable prevailing
hourly wage rate, and shall be either registered apprentices or skilled
journeypersons; and

���� (4)��
]
� All the
workers shall
[
,
as of January 1, 2024,
]

be paid the applicable prevailing hourly wage rate
pursuant to the "New
Jersey Prevailing Wage Act" P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.)
,
and shall be either registered apprentices or skilled journeypersons.

���� b.��� All the workers have, as
of January 1, 2025, completed within the prior two calendar years at least 20
hours of approved advanced safety training for workers at high hazard
facilities.

���� c.
[
(1) As of January 1, 2021, at
least 30 percent of the skilled journeypersons shall be graduates of an
apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation.

���� (2)�� As of January 1, 2022,
at least 40 percent of the skilled journeypersons shall be graduates of an
apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation.

���� (3)�� As of January 1, 2023,
at least 50 percent of the skilled journeypersons shall be graduates of an
apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation.

���� (4)�� As of January 1, 2024,
at least 60 percent of the skilled journeypersons shall be graduates of an
apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation.

���� (5) �As of January 1, 2025,
all of the workers shall have completed within the prior two calendar years at
least 20 hours of approved advanced safety training for workers at high hazard
facilities,

���� except that the
]
�
The

requirements of
[
this
]
subsection
[
c.
]

b.
shall
not apply to the extent that the contractor requests qualified workers from a
labor organization that refers or provides qualified workers, but the
organization is unable to refer or provide sufficient qualified workers within
48 hours of the request, Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays excepted, and shall
not apply to the extent that compliance is impracticable because an emergency
requires immediate action to prevent harm to public health or safety or to the
environment, but the criteria shall again apply as soon as the emergency is
over or it becomes practicable for contractors to obtain a qualified workforce.

���� "State Office of
Apprenticeship" means the Office of Apprenticeship in the State Department
of Labor and Workforce Development.� "The State Office of
Apprenticeship" does not mean the Office of Apprenticeship in the United
States Department of Labor.

(cf: P.L.2020, c.65, s.2)

���� 3.��� Section 3 of P.L.2020,
c.65 (C.34:11-56.74) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3. a. An owner or operator of
a
[
stationary
source that is engaged in activities described in Code 324110, 325110, 325180,
or 325199 of the North American Industry Classification System, as that code
read on January 1, 2017, and has one or more covered processes for which the
owner or operator or other industrial facility that is required to prepare and
submit a Risk Management Plan
]

covered high-hazard industrial facility
shall, when contracting with
outside contractors for the performance of construction, alteration,
demolition, installation, repair, or maintenance work at the stationary source,
require that the contractors performing the work, and any subcontractors of the
contractors, use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all onsite work
which is in an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction
trades.� The requirement to use a skilled and trained workforce shall apply to
the onsite workforce of each contractor and subcontractor
performing work at
the covered high-hazard industrial facility
.

���� b.��� This section shall not
apply to:

���� (1)�� Oil and gas extraction
operations, and shall not apply to any contract awarded before January 1, 2021,
unless the contract is extended or renewed after that date, and shall not apply
to the employees of the owner or operator of the stationary source, or prevent
the owner or operator of the stationary source from using its own employees to
perform any work that has not been assigned to contractors while the employees
of the contractor are present and working;

���� (2)�� Any owner or operator,
or contractor or subcontractor of the owner or operator, who has entered into a
project labor agreement or collectively bargained maintenance agreement with
labor organizations with registered apprenticeship programs, if all contracted
work at the facility or site subject to the provisions of this section is also
subject to the provisions of the project labor agreement or collectively
bargained maintenance agreement; or

���� (3)�� Contractors or
subcontractors hired to perform OEM work for purposes of compliance with
equipment warranty requirements.

(cf: P.L.2020, c.65, s.3)

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect 180 days following the date of enactment and shall apply to contracts
entered into on or after that date.

STATEMENT

���� This bill expands the
application of skilled and trained workforce requirements at certain
high-hazard industrial facilities.

���� Under current law, an owner or
operator of a stationary source in certain high-risk chemical manufacturing and
processing industries, when contracting with outside contractors for the
performance of construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, or
maintenance work at the stationary source, must require that the contractors
and subcontractors performing the work use a skilled and trained workforce to
perform all onsite work which is in an apprenticeable occupation in the
building and construction trades.

���� The industries subject to the
law are identified by specific North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) codes.� This bill removes the NAICS code references and defines a
"covered high-hazard industrial facility" based on safety-related
criteria.

���� The bill defines a
"covered high-hazard industrial facility" as a stationary source or
other industrial facility that generates, stores, handles, treats, processes, refines,
transports or otherwise uses hazardous chemicals, hazardous substances, or
petroleum products and that is required to prepare and submit a Risk Management
Plan pursuant to the federal �Clean Air Act� or comply with federal or State
process safety management standards applicable to facilities handling highly
hazardous chemicals.

���� It is the intent of this bill
to expand the requirement for use of a skilled and trained workforce to apply
to additional industrial facilities where the use of a skilled and trained
workforce to perform contracted-out onsite work will reduce risks to public
health and safety, protect the environment, and promote workforce development
through registered apprenticeship programs.