LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
SENATE, No. 2433
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
DATED: DECEMBER 16, 2024
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Requires paint producers to implement or participate in paint stewardship program. |
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Type of Impact: |
Increased annual State revenues and expenditures. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Environmental Protection. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Fiscal Impact |
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Annual State Expenditure Increase |
Indeterminate |
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Annual State Revenue Increase |
Indeterminate |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the bill would result in an indeterminate annual State expenditure increase, since it requires the Department of Environmental Protection to review all architectural paint stewardship plans and amendment submissions. At a minimum, a new full-time staff member may be required to perform these functions at total annual compensation, including fringe benefits, in the range of $131,000 to $164,000, plus additional costs for equipment and technology.
· The OLS also finds there would be an annual State revenue increase roughly equal to the expenditure described above, as the department is required to charge and collect an annual fee from architectural paint producers to cover its administrative costs. The department may also collect an indeterminate amount of annual penalty revenue from any producer, distributor, or retailer violating the bill’s provisions.
BILL DESCRIPTION
The bill requires each architectural paint producer, or an organization representing multiple paint producers, to submit a paint stewardship plan to the Department of Environmental Protection for review as part of a Statewide architectural paint stewardship program. This plan would outline ways in which the paint manufacturer or representative organization would assume responsibility for transporting, reusing, recycling, or otherwise disposing of unused paint collected from consumers. A plan is to minimize the involvement of, and eliminate costs to, the public sector.
The department would be required to approve or disapprove of each proposed stewardship plan. The bill also requires paint producers to notify the department if there are any changes to the location or number of collection sites, the identity of the processors that manage the post-consumer architectural paint, or the transporters of the post-consumer architectural paint collected under the paint stewardship program. The bill establishes a paint stewardship assessment to fund the program. This assessment would be applied to the sale price of architectural paint and is not to exceed the costs of implementing and sustaining the stewardship plan and the architectural paint stewardship program. The department would also be required to review annual reports from each paint producer or representative organization on the status of its paint stewardship program.
The bill directs the department to charge and collect an annual administrative fee from each paint producer or representative organization that submits a stewardship plan and specifies that the fee is not to exceed the department’s costs in administering the provisions of the bill.
The bill prohibits a producer, distributor, or retailer of architectural paint from selling architectural paint, or offering it for sale, in the State unless the producer of the paint, or a representative organization of which the producer is a member, is engaged in the implementation of, or has fully implemented, a paint stewardship plan or revised plan approved by the department. The bill provides that any producer, distributor, or retailer who fails to comply with the bill’s sales prohibition is subject to a written warning for a first offense and a penalty of $500 for each subsequent offense. The bill authorizes the department to institute a civil action for injunctive relief to prevent a continuing violation of any sales prohibition. However, in order to allow time for the submission, approval, or modification of the plans required by the bill, the sales prohibition and penalty provision do not take effect until the first day of the 18th month following enactment of the bill.
The bill also provides that when the department determines that any producer, distributor, or retailer is in violation of the bill’s provisions, it may assess a civil administrative penalty of not more than $500 for each violation, not to exceed a maximum penalty of $10,000 during a calendar year. Each day of violation would constitute a distinct violation. The bill also provides that the department may post on its website a list of producers, distributors, and retailers that are in violation of this act.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that the bill will likely result in an indeterminate increase in annual State expenditures and revenue. The OLS notes that the majority of the costs of transporting and disposing of paint in conformance with each producer’s stewardship plan would be passed on to consumers in the form of a surcharge included in the price of each unit of paint sold.
Similar legislation in Missouri requires paint manufacturers to establish a paint recycling program and prohibits the sale of their paint in the absence of a recycling program. A fiscal note on the bill anticipated that one full-time equivalent employee would be required with total compensation costs, including salary, fringe benefits, and equipment, at about $102,000. A similar amount of revenue from an administrative fee was expected to be collected to offset the costs of the program. In Wisconsin, a fiscal estimate for similar legislation anticipated increased annual costs to the state of $58,000 as a result of hiring one additional employee at half-time hours. The employee was to be funded from fees paid by paint manufacturers.
In New Jersey, the majority of the bill’s increase in State expenses will likely result from the Department of Environmental Protection’s review of paint stewardship programs. The bill requires the department to receive paint stewardship plans from producers, review the plans within 90 days of filing, approve or disapprove the plans, review amendments to the plans, post information about the plans on its website, and review annual reports submitted by paint producers on the status of their stewardship plans. The bill provides a general framework for items that are required to be included in each plan; however, the amount of labor that will be required to review the plans depends partly on the details decided upon by the department. The bill also allows paint producers to collaborate on stewardship plans, so it is unclear how many different plans the department will be required to review. However, it is likely that the department will need a dedicated staff member with expertise in product stewardship and recycling to evaluate the plans submitted under the bill. At a minimum, a new full-time staff member may be required to perform these functions at total annual compensation, including fringe benefits, in the range of $131,000 to $164,000, plus additional costs for equipment and technology.
The OLS also finds there would be a State revenue increase roughly equal to the expenditure described above, as the department is required to charge and collect an annual administrative fee from architectural paint producers to cover its costs of administering the bill’s provisions.
The bill permits the department to assess civil administrative penalties of $500 (not to exceed $10,000 in a calendar year) for violations of the bill’s provisions, which would contribute to State revenue increases.
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Section: |
Environment, Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources |
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Analyst: |
Anna Heckler Assistant Research Analyst |
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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.).