ASSEMBLY, No. 4631

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

     Prohibits BPU from hiring certain third-party consultants; requires certain third-party consultants of BPU to disclose list of certain clients.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

An Act concerning certain consultants of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

     1.    a.  As used in this section: 

     “Board” means the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, or any successor agency.

     “Public utility” means the same as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13.

     “Public utility holding company” means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).

     “Third-party consultant” means an individual or private entity contracted by the board to prepare a report on behalf of the board.

     b.    The board shall not hire a third-party consultant who has worked for, or contracted with, a public utility or public utility holding company within 365 days of the date on which the board approved the contract.

     c.     A third-party consultant shall disclose a list of public utilities with which the third-party consultant has contracted within the prior three years.  The list shall be published on the Internet website of each public utility included on the list in a time, manner, and format to be determined by the board.

     d.    The board shall adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

     2.    This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

     This bill prohibits the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (board) from hiring certain third-party consultants and requires certain third-party consultants to disclose a list of certain clients.

     Specifically, under the bill, the board is prohibited from hiring a third-party consultant who has worked for a public utility or a public utility holding company within 365 days from when the board approved the contract.  In addition, the bill requires a third-party consultant to disclose a list of public utilities with which the third-party consultant has contracted within the prior three years.  The list is to be published on the Internet website of each public utility included on the list in a time, manner, and format to be determined by the board.

     The board often hires third-party consultants to provide data to inform the board’s decision-making, which decisions directly impact public utility customers in the State.  It is the sponsor’s belief that prohibiting third-party consultants with potential ties to public utilities from working with the board within a certain period of time will help ensure that the board receives fair, unbiased reports from its consultants.

     Under the bill, “third party consultant” is defined as an individual or private entity contracted by the board to prepare a report on behalf of the board.