The latest version of the New Jersey C-PACE bill (S1953) was approved on June 15 by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.

The bill now goes to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on June 17, where it is expected to be approved with no further changes, and then submitted to both houses of the Legislature on Monday, June 21, or soon thereafter. If approved, it would then go to the Governor’s desk for signature, which is expected given that the Governor’s Office has been involved every step of the way for the last several months.

This is a huge win, after more than ten years of efforts to amend the existing law. Once signed into law, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) will draft rules and guidelines for standardizing documentation and procedures throughout the state. This will allow municipalities to establish local programs, and projects to proceed, likely in early 2022.

We want to thank NJPIRG and Environment New Jersey for orchestrating support for the bill through a letter sent to the Governor’s Office and signed by many organizations, prior to the final language (which we have not yet seen) being issued.