ASSEMBLY PUBLIC SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 3894
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: NOVEMBER 14, 2024
The Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 3894.
As amended, this bill provides that smoke-sensitive alarm devices are to meet requirements established by the Commissioner of Community Affairs and eliminates the requirement for portable fire extinguishers in certain structures. The bill also provides that, if those structures contain a secondary power source, then they are required to have a label installed within 18 inches of the main electrical panel and electrical meter warning of the dangers associated with secondary power sources.
Under the bill, as a condition of licensure of fire inspectors and fire officials, a person is to:
· submit an application to the Division of Fire Safety with the required fee;
· successfully complete an educational program adopted by the Division of Fire Safety’s Office of Training, Certification, and Licensing;
· meet prerequisite criteria established by regulation; and
· pass the State written and practical exams.
The bill provides that licensed fire inspectors and fire officials are to conduct fire inspections authorized by the "Uniform Fire Safety Act" and established by regulation in non-life-hazard and life-hazard use groups. Fire inspector and fire official certifications approved by the Office of Training and Certification prior to the effective date of the bill are to be considered equivalent to licenses established pursuant to law.
The bill also provides that existing licensed multiple dwelling inspectors and officials enforcing the fire code in non-life hazard use dwellings are to be allowed two years from the bill’s effective date to obtain a fire inspector license to be able to continue enforcing the fire code.
Under the bill, if an owner or operator has been given notice to abate a violation of the "Uniform Fire Safety Act," any continuing liability for unabated violations of record and unpaid fees or penalties following a change of ownership or tenancy are to be determined in accordance with the provisions of the bill. A new owner who purchases a property without having obtained a certificate stating that there are no unabated violations of record and no unpaid fees or penalties is to be deemed to have notice of all existing violations of record and is to be liable for the payment of all unpaid fees or penalties. The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is to issue requests for payment of unpaid fees or penalties within five years of the purchase date.
Except as provided in the bill, a new operator taking control of an existing tenant business is to assume liability for the payment of all existing unpaid fees and penalties assessed for that business. The DCA is to issue requests for payment of unpaid fees or penalties within a period of five years from the date of the change in operator; provided, however, a new operator who was a principal in, or agent of, the business previously occupying the property or who is related to a principal in, or agent of, that business by blood, adoption, or marriage is to assume existing liability for the payment of all unpaid fees and penalties indefinitely. A new operator who occupies all or part of the property with a business not previously situated on the property is not to assume liability for the payment of unpaid fees and penalties.
The bill provides that notice of rules, decisions, and orders concerning the "Uniform Fire Safety Act" are to be served to owners, operators, or other persons by certain methods enumerated in the bill, including electronic methods provided a delivery receipt is obtained.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
· Require that certain structures that contain a secondary power source have a label installed within 18 inches of the main electrical panel and electrical meter warning of the dangers associated with secondary power sources;
· Provide that a change of ownership of a structure which requires rehabilitation such that a new certificate of occupancy is required is exempted from the bill’s provisions provided, however, that the structure is not occupied until the appropriate certificate is obtained pursuant to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act." In cases including a sheriff’s sale, foreclosure, forfeiture, or purchase from an agency of the federal government where the structure purchased requires rehabilitation such that a new certificate of occupancy is required, and where a certificate evidencing compliance with the requirements of P.L.1991, c.92 (C.52:27D-198.1 et seq.) is not obtained, it is the responsibility of the purchaser to obtain the necessary certificates prior to occupancy;
· Add a representative of a sheet metal workers local union of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers to the "Fire Protection Equipment Advisory Committee" in the Division of Fire Safety;
· Provide that existing licensed multiple dwelling inspectors and officials enforcing the fire code in non-life hazard use dwellings have up to two years from the bill’s effective date to obtain a fire inspector license to be able to continue enforcing the fire code; and
· Change the bill’s title to reflect an additional law that is being amended by the bill and make other technical changes.