New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari wants to nix a sweeping environmental regulation that seeks to have new construction in coastal areas be built higher to account for climate change — which puts him at odds with New Jersey’s former Democratic governor and aligns him with Republicans around the state.
In former Gov. Phil Murphy’s final day in office, the Department of Environmental Protection finalized the wide-ranging climate change rule. But now, Scutari (D) wants to exercise a rarely used legislative power that allows lawmakers to scrap regulations they don’t agree with.
Under the state Constitution, the Legislature is able to effectively repeal a regulation it determines is not in keeping with the intention of lawmakers. Scutari last week filed a resolution, NJ SCR106 (26R), that seeks to do that for the so-called Resilient Environments and Landscapes Rule.
That puts Scutari in alliance with Republicans and the business lobby, which has claimed the new rules would raise costs for developers along the Jersey Shore. In a statement to POLITICO, Scutari claimed his position was aligned with Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D), who says she wants to make the state more affordable.
