SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1029

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 13, 2025

      The Senate Environment and Energy Committee reports favorably a Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1029.

      This bill, to be known as the "Invasive Species Management Act," would prohibit the sale, distribution, import, export, and propagation of certain invasive plant species.  The bill would also establish the New Jersey Invasive Species Council in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which would advise the DEP on invasive species management.

      The bill would prohibit the propagation and importation of certain invasive plant species, as listed in subsection a. of section 4 of the bill, beginning on the first day of the 13th month after the bill's enactment.  The bill would then prohibit the sale, distribution, and export of the prohibited invasive plant species beginning on the first day of the 49th month after the bill's enactment.  The bill would establish a process by which persons could apply for a conditional use waiver, which would allow them, for example, to sell a particular prohibited invasive plant species under certain specified conditions.  The bill would also establish certain exceptions for cultivars of the invasive species, which are known to be sterile or otherwise non-invasive.  The exceptions are listed in subsection e. of section 4 of the bill.

      The bill would establish the New Jersey Invasive Species Council (council) as a 19-member council in the DEP.  The council would consist of six officers of the State and 13 members of the public appointed by the Governor.  The duties of the council would include providing recommendations to the DEP Commissioner regarding additional species that should be classified as invasive and whether the species should be placed on the list of prohibited invasive species.  The council would also be charged with providing more general advice to the State regarding invasive species and the implementation of the bill's provisions.

      No later than 12 months after the bill's enactment, the bill would require the DEP, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, to adopt rules and regulations to implement the bill.  These regulations would include a list of prohibited invasive species, including any additions to the species listed in the bill made upon the recommendation of the council.  The bill would also require the DEP to update the list every three years.

      The bill would provide that its provisions supersede any contradictory municipal, county, or regional ordinances.  The bill would authorize the Department of Agriculture and the DEP to enforce the bill.  The Department of Agriculture would be authorized to enforce violations made by persons engaged in an activity regulated by the Department of Agriculture under Title 4 of the Revised States, e.g. commercial plant sales, and the DEP would be authorized to enforce all other violations.  The bill would establish civil administrative penalties of between $1,000 and $2,000 and civil penalties of up to $2,000 per day of a violation.  Finally, the bill would require the Department of Agriculture to adopt rules and regulations to implement the bill's provisions and would authorize the DEP and the Department of Agriculture to charge certain fees to cover its administrative costs in implementing the bill.