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S4491
SENATE, No. 4491
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 22, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� NILSA I. CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Senator� JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires inspection for pest infestation prior to
certain demolitions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
requiring pest inspections prior to certain demolitions, and supplementing P.L.1975,
c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� As used in this
section:
���� �Closely-situated building�
means any building that is both located within 10 feet of the building to be
demolished and located on a different property.
���� �Demolition� means the act of
forcing down all of a building pursuant to the standards of the �State Uniform
Construction Code Act,� P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), or forcing down
part of a building when inspection and certification is required in accordance
with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to subsection c. of this section.�
���� �Infestation� means a
significant presence of pests within or on the perimeter of a building, or
both.
���� �Pest� means rat, mouse,
roach, or any other animal designated by the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection as posing a significant risk of infesting adjacent properties
following a demolition.�
���� �Severe pest presence� means
the existence of pests within or on the perimeter of a building, or both, at
levels substantial enough to place any closely-situated building at risk for
pest infestation as a result of demolition.
���� b.��� (1)� In addition to
requirements under the �State Uniform Construction Code Act,� P.L.1975, c.217
(C.52:27D-119 et seq.), P.L.1942, c.112 (C.40:48-2.3 et seq.), and any other
statutory, regulatory, or local requirements, a building shall not be demolished
without a certification by either a health officer licensed by the State
Department of Health pursuant to the �Local Health Services Act,� P.L.1975,
c.329 (C.26:3A2-1 et seq.), or a commercial pesticide applicator certified by
the Department of Environmental Protection for general and household pest
control pursuant to the �Pesticide Control Act of 1971,� P.L.1971, c.176
(C.13:1F-1 et seq.).� The certification shall indicate that the building does
not contain a severe pest presence.� Before issuing such certification, the
health officer or another local health agency employee, or pesticide
applicator, shall inspect the building for a pest presence.� If a severe pest
presence does exist, then the health officer or another local health agency
employee, or pesticide applicator, shall take the steps necessary to mitigate
the pest presence down to acceptable levels.� Certification shall not be
required prior to the demolition of a building for which no closely-situated
building exists.
���� (2)�� The inspection shall
occur no earlier than two months prior to the issuance of a construction permit
for demolition.� The certification shall be filed with the construction
official prior to the issuance of a construction permit.� Any certification
that is issued by a pesticide applicator, and not by a health officer, shall be
filed with the health officer, in addition to the construction official, no
later than five days prior to construction permit issuance.� At any time prior
to construction permit issuance, the health officer shall have authority to
disapprove of the pesticide applicator�s certification, and require a new
inspection and new pest mitigation steps to be taken prior to construction
permit issuance.
���� (3)�� The certification, and
associated inspection and extermination, shall not be required if the
construction official determines that an immediate danger is posed by the
potential collapse of a structurally unsafe building.
���� (4)�� The construction permit
applicant shall be responsible for the cost of any pest inspection,
extermination, and certification required under this section.
���� c.���� On or before the first
day of the sixth month next following enactment, the Commissioner of
Environmental Protection, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), and in consultation with the
Commissioner of Health, and the Director of the Division of Codes and Standards
in the Department of Community Affairs, shall adopt any rules and regulations
necessary for the implementation of this section, including, but not limited
to, standards for the types of animals to be designated as pests, standards for
the level of a pest presence that shall require extermination, acceptable
methods of extermination, and the types of partial building demolitions that
shall require inspection and certification.� The Commissioner of Health, and
the Director of the Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of
Community Affairs, shall also adopt any necessary rules and regulations.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately, but subsections a. and b. of section 1 shall remain
inoperative until the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires pest
inspections prior to certain building demolitions in order to prevent pest
infestations from migrating to adjacent buildings.
���� The bill requires either a
health officer or another local health agency employee, certified by the State
Department of Health, or a commercial pesticide applicator, certified by the
State Department of Environmental Protection for general and household pest
control, to inspect certain buildings for mice, rats, roaches, and other pests
before the demolition, and to issue a certification indicating that pests are
not present within or on the perimeter of the building at levels that place any
nearby building at risk for infestation.� If a severe pest presence does exist
in the building to be demolished, then the pesticide applicator or local health
agency shall be required to ensure that extermination takes place in the
building prior to issuing the certification.
���� Under the bill, no
certification shall be required prior to demolition if no other building exists
that is both located within 10 feet of the building to be demolished, and is on
a different property.
���� The inspection shall occur
within two months of the construction permit issuance for demolition, and the
certification shall be filed with the construction official before the issuance
of the permit.� Any certification that is issued by a pesticide applicator
shall be filed with the health officer, in addition to the construction
official, no later than five days before the construction permit issuance.� At
any time before construction permit issuance, the health officer may disapprove
of the pesticide applicator�s certification, and require a new inspection and
new extermination be conducted before construction permit issuance.
���� Certification shall not be
required before demolition if the construction official determines that an
immediate danger is posed by a structurally unsafe building.� The construction
permit applicant shall be responsible for the cost of any pest inspection and
extermination required by this bill.� The requirements of this bill would
become operational on the first day of the sixth month next following
enactment.