Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee Statement to Senate, No. 3802

Summary

The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee of the State of New Jersey, in a statement dated January 5, 2026, reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3802 (2R). The bill would require plastic construction materials used by a State-funded construction project to contain at least 10 percent postconsumer recycled content if purchased within two years of the effective date, and at least 15 percent thereafter. It applies to materials that contain greater than 50 percent plastic, calculated by cost. Exemptions apply if the recycled content would increase project cost by 20 percent, if materials are not available within 60 days of the start of construction, or if the architect or engineer of record certifies structural integrity issues.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURE
COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[Second Reprint]

SENATE, No.
3802

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY
5, 2026

The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and
Agriculture Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate
Bill No. 3802 (2R).

As amended, this bill would require that any plastic
construction materials used by a State-funded construction project carried out
by the State, a county, a municipality, or a public utility contain at least 10
percent postconsumer recycled content if purchased within two years of the
bill's effective date, and at least 15 percent for plastic construction
materials purchased thereafter.

The bill would apply to construction materials that
contain greater than 50 percent plastic, calculated by cost. The bill defines
"construction material" as an article, material, or supply that is
brought to the site of a construction project for incorporation into the
building or work, which meets applicable standards related to performance and
is of a satisfactory quality.

The bill would provide exemptions to the bill's
postconsumer recycled content requirements if: (1) the use of plastic
construction material that contains the necessary recycled content would
increase the overall cost of the State-funded project by 20 percent, (2)
construction materials, other than plastic materials that meet the postconsumer
recycled content in the bill’s provisions, do not exist for the intended
application, are not available in sufficient quantities, or are not available
within 60 days of the start of the construction of the State-funded
construction project; or (3) the licensed architect or engineer of record has
certified in writing that the use of construction materials that meet the
bill’s provisions would cause structural integrity issues and that the
structurally integrity issues cannot be reasonably mitigated without the use of
construction materials that do not meet the bill’s provisions.

As amended and reported by the committee, Senate Bill
No. 3802 (2R) is identical to Assembly Bill No. 5394, which was also amended
and reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :

The committee amended the bill to:

(1) provide an exemption from the bill’s provisions when
the use of plastic construction materials with the requisite amounts of
postconsumer recycled content would cause structural integrity issues in the
construction project; and

(2) provide that if a State-funded construction
project cannot procure materials that meet the requirements of the bill within
60 days of the start of construction, the construction project would be exempt
from the recycled content requirements in order to prevent significant delays.

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