ASSEMBLY BUDGET COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 4623
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JUNE 26, 2024
The Assembly Budget Committee reports favorably and with
committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 4623.
As amended, this bill proposes to amend provisions of P.L.2021,
c.182 (C.52:27D-437.16 et al.) to clarify the laws requiring inspections
of certain residential rental properties for lead-based paint hazards.
Additionally, the bill repeals a section of the "Hotel and Multiple
Dwelling Law" (HMDL), P.L.2007, c.251, s.1 (C.55:13A-12.2), which
requires the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to inspect
single-family and two-family rental dwellings for lead-based paint
hazards.
Under current law, if a municipality maintains a permanent local
construction code enforcement agency, the local agency is required to
inspect certain residential rental dwellings for lead-based paint hazards
and, if a municipality does not maintain a permanent local agency, the
municipality is required to hire a lead evaluation contractor to conduct
inspections. This bill provides municipalities that maintain a local
code enforcement agency the option of either conducting inspections
in-house or hiring a certified lead evaluation contractor to perform the
inspections. The bill would also allow any municipality to satisfy the
lead-based paint inspection requirements through entry into a shared
service agreement with another local unit.
Current law exempts units within a multiple dwelling that have
been registered with DCA for at least 10 years and which have no
outstanding lead violations from the most recent HMDL cyclical
inspection. This bill provides an exemption from lead-based paint
inspection requirements for dwelling units in multiple-family buildings
that have been registered as such with DCA for 10 or more years and
have no outstanding lead-based paint violations from the two most
recent HMDL cyclical inspections.
Under current law, a “lead-safe certification” provided to a
property owner by a lead evaluation contractor or a permanent local
construction code enforcement agency is valid for two years. This bill
extends the validity of a lead-safe certification to three years so the
certification period will run together with lead inspection timeframes.
Under current law, if an inspection identifies a lead-based paint
hazard within a dwelling unit, the inspector is required to notify DCA, 2
and DCA is required to review those findings for the purpose of
determining whether the lead-based paint hazard warrants the removal
and relocation of residents and provision of assistance. Current law
does not specify or establish a funding mechanism for DCA to provide
this relocation assistance. Therefore, the bill amends current law to
only require a municipality to deliver to DCA a list identifying each
dwelling unit inspected, and each dwelling unit determined to contain
a lead-based paint hazard. Additionally, the bill requires DCA to
submit an annual report to the Legislature indicating the number of
inspected dwelling units identified to have lead-based paint hazards
within each county.
Current law also specifies child blood-lead levels which trigger
certain lead paint inspection modalities. This bill provides the
Department of Health with the power to adopt other blood-lead level
standards, and empowers DCA to identify other data appropriate for
distinguishing whether an inspection must include a dust-wipe
sampling or may be accomplished through a visual inspection.
The bill also provides that a dwelling owner or landlord, who
directly hires a DCA-certified lead evaluation contractor to provide
lead paint inspection services within a municipality in which less than
three percent of children tested, six years of age or younger, have a
blood lead reference value greater than or equal to five ug/dL, or any
other blood lead level adopted by the Department of Health, then the
owner or landlord may elect to have the lead evaluation contractor
inspect for lead-based paint hazards through dust wipe sampling
instead of visual assessment.
Current law requires DCA to establish an educational program on
lead-based paint hazard control and mitigation. One component of this
program is establishment of a lead-based paint hazard seminar,
designed specifically for rental property owners, but available to
tenants, property owners, and other interested parties. This bill
specifies that DCA is to create an electronic version of the lead-based
paint educational program which is not to exceed three hours in length
and make the program available on the Internet. Additionally, the bill
would require DCA to: adopt rules for the dissemination of
information about the bill’s requirements to prospective owners of pre-
1978 dwellings during the real estate transaction, settlement, or
closing; provide updated educational materials regarding changes to
the lead-based paint hazard laws or regulations; and solicit requests to
enter into funded partnerships to provide information and counseling
to tenants and affected parties on their rights and responsibilities
regarding lead-based paint hazards and lead poisoning.
Finally, the bill would repeal a provision of current law that
provides for lead-based paint inspections by DCA as part of the five-
year cyclical inspection process under the HMDL. The bill also
removes a related provision that currently requires property owners to 3
provide evidence of a valid lead-safe certification at the time of the
cyclical HMDL inspection.
The bill would take effect immediately upon adoption, however,
the bill provisions which authorize a municipal governing body to
provide lead-based paint inspection services by contract or shared
service agreement would apply retroactively to authorize an agreement
entered into on or after July 22, 2022.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amendments to this bill propose:
limiting the circumstances under which a lead-based paint hazard
inspection will extend to common areas of a building to buildings
consisting of two or three dwelling units;
to clarify that there is no lead-based paint hazard inspection
required for a dwelling unit located within a multiple-family building,
which building has been registered with DCA as a multiple family
building for at least 10 years, and has no outstanding lead-based paint
violations from the two most recent HMDL cyclical inspections;
that if a dwelling owner or landlord directly hires a DCA-certified
lead evaluation contractor to provide lead paint inspection services
within a municipality in which less than three percent of children
tested, six years of age or younger, have a blood lead reference value
greater than or equal to five ug/dL, or any other blood lead level
adopted by the Department of Health, then the owner or landlord may
elect to have the lead evaluation contractor inspect for lead-based paint
hazards through dust wipe sampling instead of visual assessment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill
would result in increased administrative costs to the Department of
Community Affairs associated with preparing a report for the
Legislature indicating the number of inspected dwelling units
identified to have lead-based paint hazards and promulgating certain
rules and regulations. Additionally, the department may also
experience a reduction in costs to the extent that it currently provides
relocation assistance to tenants affected by lead hazards, as the bill
removes a requirement for department to review certain findings in
accordance with a provision of the Lead Hazard Control Assistance
Act.
The bill is also expected to result in a State revenue decrease due
to the removal of a provision that allows the department to charge a
fee for participation in its educational program concerning lead-based
paint hazards.
The bill may also result in cost impacts to municipalities to the
extent that municipalities elect to enter into a contract to provide for
the inspection of rental units for lead-based paint hazards and due to
the requirement that common areas in certain residential rental 4
buildings are inspected. However, the bill reduces the types of rental
dwelling units required to receive a lead-based paint inspection, which
may result in a reduction in costs. Additionally, to the extent that
owners of dwelling units elect to have lead-based paint inspections
performed through dust wipe sampling in lieu of a visual inspection,
municipalities could experience cost impacts.
The OLS also notes that the bill extends the deadline for certain
rental units to be inspected for lead-based paint hazards from July
2024 to July 2025, which would defer some costs expected to be
incurred by municipalities in calendar year 2024 to calendar year
2025.