New Jersey Administrative Code
Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE
Section - Executive Order No. 63 (2019)
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
Governor Philip D. Murphy
Executive Order No. 63 (2019)
An Order Establishing New Regulatory Principles to Foster Economic Growth and Government Efficiency and Rescinding and Replacing Governor Christie's Executive Orders No. 1 (2010) and No. 2 (2010)
Issued: April 2, 2019.
Effective: June 1, 2019.
WHEREAS, regulatory oversight serves the critically important purpose of protecting and promoting the environment, health, safety, and welfare of New Jersey, its resources, its people, its businesses, and its economy; and
WHEREAS, through administrative rulemaking, agency oversight, and regulatory enforcement, State departments, agencies, and other entities can and should contribute to the overall high quality of life in the State; and
WHEREAS, well-framed regulations can fulfill statutory goals and mandates and carry out the government's ongoing mission of promoting the health, safety, and welfare of New Jersey, the protection of our land, air, and water, and the prosperity of our economy; and
WHEREAS, ill-considered or ineffective regulation can deter progress, unduly burden businesses, hamper innovation and economic growth, and lead to stagnation, inefficiency, and inequity, while an informed and progressive approach to regulatory affairs can help avoid these shortcomings; and
WHEREAS, as a general matter, an agency should not propose or adopt a regulation without first making a reasoned determination that its benefits justify its costs, with the recognition that some benefits and costs are difficult to quantify; and
WHEREAS, regulations should foster and support innovation in New Jersey's economy, not hinder it, and so should be written in user-friendly language as often as practicable; and
WHEREAS, it is incumbent upon State government to focus on developing innovative, job-creating strategies that attract new businesses to New Jersey while retaining and growing businesses presently located within the State; and
WHEREAS, attracting and strengthening businesses may be advanced in part through regulatory measures conceived and designed to promote such goals; and
WHEREAS, if New Jersey is to remain a leader in environmental protection, including by taking up the mantle relinquished by the federal government when necessary, agencies enacting rules must at times exceed federal standards, because federal standards act as national minimums, which may not be suitable for a state that is the most densely populated in the nation and has a long industrial past; and
WHEREAS, low-income communities are often subjected to further disadvantages by the lack of attention towards "Environmental Justice," which includes, at a minimum, ensuring that residents of all communities receive fair and equitable treatment in decision-making that affects their environment, communities, homes, and health, and incorporating such considerations into the regulatory process; and
WHEREAS, building an innovation-based economy will result in shifts among types of jobs, and so regulations should be conceived and designed with an eye toward supporting fair wages, maximizing training opportunities, and facilitating the ability of New Jersey residents to pursue career paths that lead directly from school to work with additional opportunities as further experience and knowledge is gained; and
WHEREAS, open government, meaning a government that consults with residents, affected individuals and entities, and community organizations that represent and espouse a broad range of expertise and [page=522] perspectives, is better able to craft policies and support regulations that foster the goals of predictability, clarity, and a high quality of life for the State's residents; and
WHEREAS, even as our administration promotes policy approaches that inform the development and broaden the impact of regulatory actions, we should also strive to identify ways to maximize regulatory efficiency by simplifying and streamlining the public's ease of access to the machinery of government and to enhance the ability of regulated communities to communicate and interact with the regulatory agencies that oversee their actions, professions, occupations, and endeavors; and
WHEREAS, the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-4(a) and N.J.S.A. 52:14B-22, already requires a lengthy list of impact statements, among them socio-economic, regulatory flexibility, jobs impact, and, since 1995, a comparison with federal standards to "determine whether these federal standards sufficiently protect the health, safety and welfare of New Jersey citizens"; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 1 (2010) froze and suspended all pending regulations for a period of ninety (90) days; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 2 (2010) created the perception that going beyond federal standards is undesirable through its directive that agencies "shall . . . not exceed the requirements of federal law" unless required by state statute or where necessary to achieve a state-specific public policy goal; and
WHEREAS, the multiple provisions in Executive Order No. 2 (2010) presumptively setting federal standards as a maximum are not appropriate given New Jersey's longstanding authority and responsibility to protect the environment, health, safety, and welfare of its residents and communities, and are especially inappropriate at a time in which states are banding together to protect against the loss of federal regulatory protections crucial to the wellbeing of their residents;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT that:
1. Executive Orders No. 1 (2010) and No. 2 (2010) are hereby rescinded.
2. Consistent with applicable law, State entities shall strive to pursue the creation of a regulatory environment designed to support innovation, remove bottlenecks, and streamline interaction with the government, while supporting strong environmental, health, safety, and labor standards, by focusing on the following overarching, common sense goals:
3. To carry out the goals set forth in Section 2, State entities should adhere to the following principles before issuing a rule proposal, to the extent permitted by law and to the extent applicable and practicable:
4. To carry out the goals set forth in Section 2, State entities should also adhere to the following principles, to the extent permitted by law and to the extent applicable and practicable:
5. To carry out the goals set forth in Section 2, State entities should consider how best to foster innovation in the economy and to minimize regulatory burdens, which may include but is not limited to:
6. When possible and appropriate, State entities should provide education about the rules and means of compliance, and should establish channels to enable members of the affected and regulated communitie to make compliance inquiries without increasing their exposure to enforcement. A State entity's respons to regulatory noncompliance should be proportional to the circumstances.
7. To the extent permitted by law and to the extent practicable and beneficial, State entities should work together to eliminate conflicting [page=523] rules and coordinate efforts into a unified response, which could include agreeing on one State entity to serve as lead agency so that regulated entities and applicants can receive timely, consistent, and informed answers to inquiries.
8. The director, administrator, or other head of each State entity shall be accountable for implementing this Executive Order to the extent applicable and practicable within that State entity.
9. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to confer any legal rights upon entities whose activities are regulated by State entities, nothing shall be construed to create a private right of action on behalf of any such regulated entities, and nothing shall be used as a basis for legal challenges to rules, approvals, permits, licenses or other actions or inaction by a State entity. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to supersede any federal, state, or local law.
10. For purposes of this Order, "State entity" shall mean any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State government and any agency, authority, board, bureau, commission, division, institution, office, or other instrumentality within or created by any such department, and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency over which the Governor exercises executive authority, as determined by the Attorney General.
11. This Order shall take effect on June 1, 2019.