The New Jersey Legislature has pushed off a vote on a far-reaching bill forcing fossil fuel companies to pay $50 billion for climate change adaptation projects, a blow to environmental groups and their Democratic allies in the Legislature.
The bill — officially titled the “Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act,” but previously and more commonly known as the Climate Superfund Act — was originally slated to come up in the state Senate on Tuesday but was pulled from consideration. It was never posted on the Assembly bill list at all; legislators are set to head out for the summer at the end of Tuesday’s sessions, unlikely to return until September.
While the bill has a huge number of Democratic co-sponsors — 62 in total, including 43 members of the 80-member Assembly — it has taken flak from both industry groups and some labor unions, softening the bill’s support from the more moderate Democrats it needs to pass.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo, a powerful Democrat who chairs the Budget and Appropriations Committee, warned that the bill in its current form may be too vulnerable to lawsuits that would drive up state legal costs.
