Bill > S2302

Introduced Session

This bill would establish the "Zero Energy Construction Act," which would, beginning on January 1, 2025, require all new residential and commercial developments to be zero energy ready and require developers to offer zero energy construction to prospective owners. Zero energy buildings consume only as much energy as can be produced onsite through renewable resources, and zero energy ready buildings are buildings capable of reaching this level of energy consumption with the addition of renewable resources. Requiring new developments to be constructed as zero energy ready will reduce both the consumption of energy that contributes to climate change as well as the long-term energy costs of home and business owners. The bill requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Public Utilities, to compile, and make available on the Internet website of the Department of Community Affairs, information for prospective owners and developers concerning the environmental benefits of, and potential energy cost savings associated with, zero energy buildings, and any applicable credits, rebates, or other incentives that may be available to the prospective owner for purchasing a zero energy building. The bill also requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Public Utilities, to adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of the bill and to revise the State Uniform Construction Code and the energy subcode accordingly. While the construction requirements of the bill would be inoperative until January 1, 2025, the bill authorizes the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Board of Public Utilities, to take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as is necessary for the implementation of the bill.

Committee Categories

Jim Beach (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 01/25/2024)

Official Document