Bill > A579

Introduced Session

The bill would establish a State purchasing preference for pervious pavement material and provide a corporation business tax credit to taxpayers who purchase pervious paving material for a municipal, county, or State construction or improvement project within a privilege period. As used in the bill, "pervious pavement material" means an asphalt or concrete product that, when utilized, allows rainwater to penetrate the pavement and percolate into the supporting soils. The term expressly includes, but is not limited to, pervious concrete, also referred to as porous concrete or permeable concrete; pervious asphalt, also referred to as porous asphalt or permeable asphalt; and permeable interlocking pavers. "Stormwater management hierarchy" means a ranking system that evaluates and compares the ability of various pervious pavement materials to reduce stormwater runoff, filter out contaminants, and improve water quality, and which is established by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) pursuant to the bill. Specifically, the bill would require the Director of the Division of Purchase and Property and the Director of the Division of Property Management and Construction in the Department of the Treasury, and any State agency having authority to contract for the purchase of goods or services, when entering into a contract for the purchase of asphalt or concrete for any municipal, county, or State project that requires the use of asphalt or concrete, to apply a pervious pavement material discount to the price of bids for the purpose of bid assessment and selection. The pervious pavement material discount rate would be established by the State Treasurer, in consultation with the DEP, and would be applied to bid prices based on each pervious pavement material's placement on the DEP's stormwater management hierarchy. The pervious pavement material discount provided under the bill may not exceed five percent of the total bid price. For State-funded construction projects to be completed by a private contracting firm that has been contracted by the State, and for which asphalt or concrete will be procured by the contractor for the project, the contractor will be required to comply with the selection standards and rules established pursuant to the bill when subcontracting products or services from asphalt or concrete providers. The State Treasurer will be required to establish policies and procedures to assist private contracting firms in complying with the bill's requirements. In preparing the specifications for any contract for the purchase of asphalt or concrete for any municipal, county, or State construction or improvement project that requires the use of asphalt or concrete, a State entity will be required to include in the invitation to bid, where relevant, a statement providing for any response to the invitation that proposes or calls for the use of pervious pavement to receive the price discount rate established in the bill. The State purchasing preference would not apply to certain contracts as specified in the bill. No later than two years after the bill's effective date, the State Treasurer, in consultation with the DEP, will be required to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature. The report is to: (1) include a cost-benefit analysis of the pervious pavement material procurement preference established in the bill, in order to quantify the budgetary impact of the program relative to the preference's stormwater management impact; (2) indicate whether the preference should be continued, modified, or repealed; and (3) include any recommendations for legislative or regulatory action to improve the preference. The bill would also provide a tax credit against the corporation business tax to compensate a taxpayer who purchases pervious pavement material for a municipal, county, or State construction or improvement project that requires the use of asphalt or concrete. The amount of the tax credit may not exceed the lesser of: (1) the full cost incurred for utilizing pervious pavement material instead of impervious asphalt or concrete; or (2) $3,000. A taxpayer may claim the credit authorized under the bill for up to eight different construction or improvement projects during a single privilege period. This bill is necessary to incentivize the use of pervious pavement material for municipal, county, or State construction or improvement projects. Utilizing pervious pavement material for construction or improvement projects, such as parking lots, sidewalks, or roads, can result in environmental benefits, including improved stormwater management, by significantly reducing runoff and improving water quality.

Committee Categories

Robert Karabinchak (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee (on 01/11/2022)

Official Document