Bill > S3710

This bill updates the landscape irrigation law by expanding enforcement capabilities and increasing penalties. The legislation modifies existing law to allow local municipal or county construction officials (referred to as "local enforcing agencies") to have the same enforcement powers previously held only by the Landscape Irrigation Contractors Examining Board. The bill increases civil administrative penalties for violations, raising the maximum fine from $2,500 to $5,000 for a first offense, $5,000 to $10,000 for a second offense, and introducing a new maximum of $15,000 for subsequent offenses. Additionally, the bill creates a new "Landscape Irrigation Penalty Enforcement Fund" where 30% of collected penalty revenues will be deposited, with the remaining 70% retained by the municipality where the violation occurred. The legislation also shifts the supervising department from the Department of Environmental Protection to the Department of Community Affairs. These changes aim to strengthen oversight and enforcement of landscape irrigation contracting regulations by providing local agencies with more robust investigative and punitive tools, while creating a dedicated funding mechanism for ongoing enforcement efforts.

Budget and Finance, Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S3710