Office of Legislative Services
State House Annex
P.O. Box 068
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Legislative Budget and Finance Office
Phone (609) 847-3105
Fax (609) 777-2442
www.njleg.state.nj.us
LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
ASSEMBLY, No. 1970
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: JULY 3, 2024
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Requires DEP, DOH, owners or operators of certain public water
systems, and owners or operators of certain buildings to take certain
actions to prevent and control cases of Legionnaires' disease.
Type of Impact: Annual State and local expenditure and revenue increases.
Agencies Affected: Department of Health, Department of Environmental Protection,
certain local government units, public institutions of higher education,
school districts.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Annual
State Expenditure Increase Indeterminate
Local Expenditure Increase Indeterminate
State Revenue Increase Indeterminate
Local Revenue Increase Indeterminate
Public Institutions of Higher Education
Expenditure Increase Indeterminate
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) determines that this bill would result in an annual
expenditure increase by the State, local government units, school districts, and public
institutions of higher education associated with their various responsibilities under the bill,
such as to implement water management programs in buildings, implement distribution system
maintenance plans and maintain disinfectant levels in public community water systems, and to
investigate cases of reported Legionnaires’ disease.
According to information from the Department of Health, annual departmental expenditures
under the bill could be approximately $6 million annually to investigate cases of Legionnaires’
disease. Depending on how certain investigative responsibilities are delegated, some of these
costs could be borne by the affected local government entity rather than the State. FE to ACS for A1970
2
With respect to buildings covered by the bill, which may be owned by the State, local
governments, school districts, or public institutions of higher education, the OLS understands
that a water management program that meets the standards required by the bill could cost in
the range of $2,000 to $10,000 or more, depending on the size and complexity of the building.
In addition, certain programs could cost several thousand dollars or more annually for water
monitoring and testing.
The State and municipalities may accrue an indeterminate amount of annual revenue from
penalties and court costs paid by building owners or operators that violate the provisions of the
bill.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Health,
owners or operators of certain public water systems, and the owners or operators of certain types
of buildings to take specified actions to help inform citizens of the State about, and prevent and
control cases of, Legionnaires’ disease.
The bill requires the owners or operators of public community water systems, which have more
than 100 service connections, and which are served fully or partially by surface water or
groundwater under the influence of surface water, and any other public water systems designated
by the Department of Environmental Protection, to maintain a certain minimum detectable
disinfectant residual of free chlorine or monochloramine. The bill would require the department
to develop a set of best management practices to aid public community water systems in complying
with the bill. The bill would also require each public community water system that is subject to
the bill's provisions to develop and implement a distribution system maintenance plan for
complying with the bill's provisions.
In the event of a disruption to a community water system (e.g. a change in water treatment
process or a change in the drinking water's source), a public community water system that is subject
to the bill's provisions would be required to provide a record of the disruption to the department
within 72 hours. Under the bill, the department would be required to establish a data management
system for the submission of records of disruption by a public community water system, and a
portal through which records of disruptions may be accessed by the public.
In addition, the bill would require the Department of Health, or a local health officer designated
by the department, to perform an epidemiological investigation for each reported diagnosis of
Legionnaires' disease in the State. The bill would require the department to develop guidelines
concerning the investigations, and would authorize the department to take certain actions during
an investigation, including requiring water testing in buildings suspected to be the source of the
Legionnaires' case. The bill would also require the department to establish a dashboard accessible
to the public and healthcare providers that provides data related to all reported cases of
Legionnaires' disease.
The bill would also require the owner or operator of certain types of buildings to implement a
water management program to minimize the growth and transmission of Legionella bacteria in the
building's water system. The owner or operator of a covered facility who fails to implement a
water management program would be subject to a civil or civil administrative penalty of not more
than $2,000 for a first violation, and not more than $5,000 for a second or subsequent violation,
except that an owner or operator would be subject to a penalty of not more than $10,000 for any
violation which causes serious injury or death to any person.
FE to ACS for A1970
3
Finally, the bill would require the Department of Health to develop a public awareness
campaign related to Legionnaires' disease, and to submit an annual report to the Governor and the
Legislature on the status of Legionnaires' disease transmission in the State and the progress of the
departments in implementing the bill's provisions.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The OLS has not received a fiscal note from the Executive for this bill. However, the
Department of Health provided informal information to the OLS that the bill would increase
departmental spending by approximately $5.8 million per year to perform investigations of
reported cases of Legionnaires' disease, including repeat visits by department employees and water
sampling and testing.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS determines that the bill would result in an annual expenditure increase by the State
and by local government units that operate public community water systems that are covered by
the bill, in order to satisfy the bill's requirement that public community water systems implement
a distribution system maintenance plan and maintain a certain level of disinfectant in their water
supply. Current Department of Environmental Protection rules require public water systems to
maintain free chlorine levels that are comparable to those required by the bill. In addition, some
public water systems may already implement maintenance plans that would satisfy the bill's
provisions. For those that do not, however, the OLS understands that such testing would cost up
to tens of thousands of dollars per system annually, depending on the size of the system. The bill
would also lead to discrete expenditure increases by certain public water systems that experience
disruptions that are likely to increase the growth of Legionella bacteria, since the bill requires such
public water systems to provide written notice to its customers about the disruption. The OLS
cannot quantify these expenditure increases because it lacks data about the number of public water
systems that would be required to expend funds to come into compliance with the bill, and how
many systems will experience disruptions that will require the dissemination of written notices.
The OLS also determines that this bill would result in an annual expenditure increase by the
State, local government units, school districts, and public institutions of higher education that own
or operate certain buildings to prepare water management programs under the bill. The OLS
cannot quantify this expenditure increase because it lacks data about how many buildings covered
by the bill are owned or operated by the State, a local government unit, a school district, or a public
institution of higher education and, of these, how many have already implemented water
management programs that would satisfy the bill's requirements. However, many large office
buildings, schools, and public institutions of higher education have cooling towers and would thus
be covered by the bill. The OLS understands that implementing a water management program that
meets the standards required by the bill could cost in the range of $2,000 to $10,000 or more,
depending on the size and complexity of the building. In addition, certain programs are required
to include periodic sampling and testing for the presence of bacteria, which could cost several
thousand dollars annually.
The bill would also result in an annual expenditure increase by the Department of Health or
local health officers, since it requires the department or the local health officer to conduct an
investigation into any reported diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease, and to perform other tasks FE to ACS for A1970
4
associated with the outbreak. The OLS notes that New Jersey experiences around 350 cases of
Legionnaires’ disease each year on the high end of the range. According to information from the
department, annual departmental expenditure increases under the bill could be about $6 million to
investigate cases of Legionnaires’ disease. Depending on how the investigative responsibilities
are delegated, some of these costs could be borne by the affected local government entity rather
than the State. The bill also would result in one-time expenditure increases by the Department of
Environmental Protection and the Department of Health, in order to accomplish the administrative
tasks required by the bill, including establishing notice requirements for public water systems, and
adopting rules and regulations to implement the bill. In addition, the Department of Health will
face costs in the administration of the public awareness campaign and consumer education
program campaign required pursuant to this bill. However, the OLS is unable to determine a
precise cost estimate since the cost of public awareness campaigns and education programs can
vary widely depending on many factors, including the types of media or educational material used.
Finally, the OLS notes that the State may accrue annual revenue from penalties paid by public
community water systems and building owners or operators that violate the provisions of the bill.
Section: Environment, Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resources
Analyst: Anna Heckler
Assistant Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).