Excludes certain properties from definition of public work and payment of prevailing wage under certain conditions.

S4529

SENATE, No. 4529

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 26, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� VIN GOPAL

District 11 (Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS

���� Excludes certain properties from definition of public
work and payment of prevailing wage under certain conditions.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning prevailing wage requirements on certain
properties and amending P.L.1963, c.150.

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

���� 1.� Section 2 of P.L.1963,
c.150 (C.34:11-56.26) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� As used in this act:

���� (1) "Department"
means the Department of Labor and Workforce Development of the State of New
Jersey.

���� (2) "Locality" means
any political subdivision of the State, combination of the same or parts
thereof, or any geographical area or areas classified, designated and fixed by
the commissioner from time to time, provided that in determining the "locality,"
the commissioner shall be guided by the boundary lines of political
subdivisions or parts thereof, or by a consideration of the areas with respect
to which it has been the practice of employers of particular crafts or trades
to engage in collective bargaining with the representatives of workers in such
craft or trade.

���� (3) "Maintenance
work" means the repair of existing facilities when the size, type or
extent of such facilities is not thereby changed or increased.�
"Maintenance work" also means any work on a maintenance-related
project that exceeds the scope of work and capabilities of in-house maintenance
personnel, requires the solicitation of bids, and has an aggregate value
exceeding $50,000.

���� (4)�� "Public body"
means the State of New Jersey, any of its political subdivisions, any authority
created by the Legislature of the State of New Jersey and any instrumentality
or agency of the State of New Jersey or of any of its political subdivisions.

���� (5)�� "Public work"
means construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, custom fabrication,
duct cleaning, or repair work, or maintenance work, including painting, and
decorating, done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of the
funds of a public body, except work performed under a rehabilitation program.�
"Public work" shall also mean construction, reconstruction,
demolition, alteration, custom fabrication, duct cleaning, or repair work, done
on any property or premises, whether or not the work is paid for from public
funds, if, at the time of the entering into of the contract the property or
premises is owned by the public body or

���� (a) Not less than 55% of the
property or premises is leased by a public body, or is subject to an agreement
to be subsequently leased by the public body; and

���� (b) The portion of the
property or premises that is leased or subject to an agreement to be
subsequently leased by the public body measures more than 20,000 square feet.

����
(c) Notwithstanding the
provisions of this subsection to the contrary, public work shall not include
construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, custom fabrication,
repair work, or maintenance work undertaken on a property or premise owned by
or otherwise under the control of a public body if:

����
(i) the property or
premises is located within a distressed area;

����
(ii) at the time the work
is performed, the property or premises is under the exclusive control of any
entity which is not a public body or acting as an agent of a public body for a
temporary event, activation, or other limited-duration private use;

����
(iii) at the time the work
is performed, the property or premise is not open to the general public except
as permitted, including but not limited to circumstances in which admission is
limited by ticket, credential, or invitation; temporary fencing, barricades,
gates, or similar access-control measures are installed; or private or
contracted security personnel regulate entry;

����
(iv) the work is temporary
in nature, including work related to staging, platforms, lighting systems,
sound systems, tents, temporary structures, or similar installations used for
events or gatherings; is performed solely to support the temporary use of the
premises; and does not exceed 21 calendar days in duration, including
installation and removal; and

����
(v) the work does not
result in permanent structural improvements.

���� (6) "Commissioner"
means the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development or his duly
authorized representatives.

���� (7) "Workman" or
"worker" includes laborer, mechanic, skilled or semi-skilled, laborer
and apprentices or helpers employed by any contractor or subcontractor and
engaged in the performance of services directly upon a public work, regardless
of whether their work becomes a component part thereof, but does not include
material suppliers or their employees who do not perform services at the job
site.� For the purpose of P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.), contractors
or subcontractors engaged in custom fabrication shall not be regarded as
material suppliers.

���� (8) "Work performed under
a rehabilitation program" means work arranged by and at a State
institution primarily for teaching and upgrading the skills and employment
opportunities of the inmates of such institutions.

���� (9) "Prevailing
wage" means the wage rate paid by virtue of collective bargaining
agreements by employers employing a majority of workers of that craft or trade
subject to said collective bargaining agreements, in the locality in which the
public work is done.

���� (10) "Act" means the
provisions of P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.) and the rules and
regulations issued hereunder.

���� (11) "Prevailing wage
contract threshold amount" means:

���� (a) In the case of any public
work paid for in whole or in part out of the funds of a municipality in the
State of New Jersey or done on property or premises owned by a public body or
leased or to be leased by the municipality, the dollar amount established for
the then current calendar year by the commissioner through rules and
regulations promulgated pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), which amount shall be equal to
$9,850 on July 1, 1994 and which amount shall be adjusted on July 1 every five
calendar years thereafter in direct proportion to the rise or fall in the
average of the Consumer Price Indices for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers for the New York metropolitan and the Philadelphia metropolitan regions
as reported by the United States Department of Labor during the last full
calendar year preceding the date upon which the adjustment is made; and

���� (b) In the case of any public
work other than a public work described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, an
amount equal to $2,000.

���� (12) "Custom
fabrication" means:

���� (a) the fabrication of any of
the following: plumbing, heating, cooling, ventilation or exhaust duct systems,
mechanical insulation, or one or more signs in a project which cost a total of
more than $30,000 and are part of a project upon completion; or

���� (b) any other fabrication
which is one or more entire modules or structures pre-fabricated to
specifications for a particular project of public work with minimal
construction work remaining other than installation, regardless of whether
unforeseen construction work is required on the public work site to modify the
custom fabricated item for the purpose of installation, for use in a project of
public work or for use in a type or classification of a project of public
work.� "Custom fabrication" shall not include components or
materials, such as structural steel members or precast concrete, or smaller
prefabricated components.

����
(13) �Distressed area�
means:

����
(a)�� a municipality
designated as an Urban Enterprise Zone pursuant to P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-60
et seq.);

����
(b)�� a municipality or
census tract designated as eligible for economic development incentive programs
or redevelopment assistance by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
due to indicators of economic distress, including but not limited to elevated unemployment
rates, poverty levels, or below-average median income;

����
(c)�� a census tract
designated as a qualified opportunity zone pursuant to federal law; or

����
(d)�� any municipality,
census tract, or defined geographic area that, pursuant to rules or regulations
adopted under this act, exhibits conditions of economic distress warranting
designation as a distressed area for the purposes of this section, as
determined by the commissioner.

(cf: P.L.2023, c.133, s.1)

�

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill excludes work on
certain properties from the definition of �public work� for purposes of
prevailing wage requirements.

���� Under the bill, the definition
of �public work� does not include, reconstruction, demolition, alteration,
custom fabrication, repair work, or maintenance work undertaken on a property
or premise owned by or otherwise under the control of a public body if:

���� (1) the property or premises
is located within a distressed area, as defined in the bill;

���� (2) at the time the work is
performed, the property or premises is under the exclusive control of any
entity which is not a public body or acting as an agent of a public body for a
temporary event, activation, or other limited-duration private use;

���� (3) at the time the work is
performed, the property or premise is not open to the general public except as
permitted, including but not limited to circumstances in which admission is
limited by ticket, credential, or invitation; temporary fencing, barricades,
gates, or similar access-control measures are installed;

���� (4) the work does not exceed
21 calendar days in duration, including installation and removal; and

���� (5) the work does not result
in permanent structural improvements.

���� Under the provisions of the
bill, a �distressed area� is defined to include:

���� (1)�� a municipality
designated as an Urban Enterprise Zone;

���� (2)�� a municipality or census
tract designated as eligible for economic development incentive programs or
redevelopment assistance by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority due
to indicators of economic distress, including, but not limited to elevated unemployment
rates, poverty levels, or below-average median income;

���� (3)�� a census tract
designated as a qualified opportunity zone pursuant to federal law; or

���� (4)�� any municipality, census
tract, or defined geographic area that exhibits certain conditions of economic
distress warranting designation as a distressed area.