By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
On December 13, Assemblyman Chairman John Burzichelli gaveled to a close the last scheduled meeting of his Appropriations Committee for the current legislative session which ends next week.
No one in attendance expected to see him again in that role, since the session was about to expire and Burzichelli and district mate Senate President Steve Sweeney will not be returning to Trenton in 2022 after suffering stunning defeats in the November elections.
The state legislature, however, can be an unpredictable place, especially during lame-duck sessions. And this one underscores that point.
On Thursday (12/6), Burzichelli will rap his gavel one more time. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin has ordered the panel to meet again to take up bills that had not reached the committee in time for its last meeting or had been released but are being returned for additional changes.
Several environmental bills (below) are on the long list before the committee,
If the bills, as expected, are released, they likely will be posted for votes during the Assembly’s final session on Monday, January 10, and, following floor approval, will be forwarded to the governor for his consideration.
Among the absolute, last-gasp bills are:
S991 – Requires owner or operator of certain trains to have discharge response, cleanup, and contingency plans to transport certain hazardous materials by rail; requires DEP to request bridge inspection reports from US DOT.
S2515/A4676 – Establishes post-consumer recycled content requirements for rigid plastic containers, glass containers, paper and plastic carryout bags, and plastic trash bags; prohibits the sale of polystyrene loose fill packaging.
S3465/A4336 – Directs Department of Agriculture to pay annual premiums to enrolled dairy farmers for certain coverage under the federal Dairy Margin Coverage Program; appropriates $125, 000.
S3732/A5223 – Establishes State purchasing preference for low embodied carbon concrete, provides CBT tax credit for costs of conducting environmental product declaration analysis.
NOTICE: The public may not attend the Committee meeting in person but may view and participate in the meeting via the New Jersey Legislature home page at https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/. The Committee will take oral testimony on bills, by telephone and video, limited to three minutes. If you are interested in registering your position with the Committee, please fill out the Registration Form. For those individuals who wish to testify, please check the box “Do you wish to testify?” on the Registration Form. Instructions for testifying before the Committee will be forwarded to you after you submit your Registration Form. The form must be submitted by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
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