ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4275

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 9, 2026

      The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4275.

      As reported, this bill establishes an online Statewide tracking system for certain permits, licenses, certifications, and form applications.

      Under the bill, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) has one calendar year to establish an online Statewide tracking system for certain permits, licenses, certifications, and form applications issued by each principal department in the Executive branch of State government, as well as any agencies, commissions, boards, bureaus, and offices under their purview.  The OIT is responsible for creating the network necessary to maintain the system and providing computer software, hardware, and security.

      At a minimum, the Statewide application tracking system must have the ability to assign a unique application number to each permit, license, certification, or form application submitted and entered into the system; interactivity among the appropriate principal departments, including immediate electronic access to records in the system to receive or transmit files in the system and to print or review files in the system; and the ability to permit an appropriate entity to enter information relating to the status of a permit, license, certification, or form application on an expedited basis and to permit the OIT to provide technical support.

      Additionally, the bill provides a list of information that is required to be collected and displayed in the system for each application, such as the application number, the department, the received date, the status, and the estimated date of completion. 

      Under the bill, the head of each principal department in the State Executive branch will be responsible for assessing which permits, licenses, certifications, or form applications are to be included in the Statewide application tracking system, including any issued by agencies, commissions, boards, bureaus, and offices under their purview. 

      At a minimum, when making the determination, the head of each principal department must consider the number of each type of permit, license, certification, or form application requested in a calendar year; the average duration of the approval process for each type of permit, license, certification, or form application; and the ease or difficulty of approving a request for each type of permit, license, certification, or form application.

      The bill states that all principal departments, and any agency, commission, board, bureau, or office under the purview of such department, must cooperate fully with the OIT and the Chief Technology Officer.