Bill > S1741

Introduced Session

This bill would regulate smoking in both new and existing multiple dwellings. This legislation requires the Commissioner of Health to promulgate standards delineating where smoking is prohibited in multiple dwellings. The Commissioner of Community Affairs would be required to promulgate standards for the construction of new multiple dwellings to reduce the risks of second-hand smoke for nonsmokers. For new and existing multiple dwellings, this bill supplements the "New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act," P.L.2005, c.383 (C.26:3D:55 et seq.) to permit owners of multiple dwellings to prohibit smoking in individual dwelling units. If enacted, the legislation would require multiple dwelling owners to designate any units in which smoking is prohibited, and to maintain a floor plan of the smoking and nonsmoking units. That floor plan must accompany every new written lease or agreement for occupancy of a unit in a multiple dwelling. This bill also would prohibit the conduct of business in spaces in a multiple dwelling used exclusively for smoking. The bill would limit the size of all separate smoking rooms and require that the rooms have self-closing doors. The bill also requires that newly constructed multiple dwellings that permit smoking meet construction standards promulgated by the Commissioner of Community Affairs. At a minimum, these standards must include separate ventilation for smoking rooms and areas where smoking is permitted, and structural separation between interior spaces where smoking is prohibited and those where it is permitted. Separate smoking areas would also be required to maintain lower air pressure than surrounding areas to keep cigarette smoke from drifting into adjoining spaces.

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Shirley Turner (D)*,  Loretta Weinberg (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 03/07/2016)