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A 5517

Relates to creating the proprietary college tuition reimbursement account

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Alicia Hyndman

Directs BPU, with DEP and NJEDA, to study the feasibility of advanced reactors in New Jersey and publish findings with recommendations for a state pilot within 18 months.

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Bill Summary · A 5517

Summary — A5517 (As amended, 1R / 2R)

Status: Passed Assembly (79-1-0); referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee (10/20/2025). Introduced: 3/24/2025. Primary sponsor: Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman. Companion: S4689.

Purpose

Directs the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), to study the feasibility of developing advanced nuclear reactors (originally framed as small modular reactors, SMRs) across the State and to recommend whether and how to design a State pilot program.

Key provisions

  • Requires BPU, in consultation with DEP and NJEDA, to produce a written report to the Governor and Legislature within 18 months of the bill’s effective date.
  • Study topics the BPU must address:
    • Identify suitable deployment locations (including former industrial sites and retired fossil fuel plants).
    • Consult the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on permitting and regulatory requirements.
    • Examine economic viability and potential cost-saving mechanisms (federal programs, private investment, State funding).
    • Assess safety and environmental impacts, including compliance with laws/regulators, emergency preparedness and response, biohazard/waste management, cyber security, and water usage.
    • Evaluate integration of advanced reactors with existing energy infrastructure and associated cost-recovery mechanisms for upgrades or non‑wire alternatives.
    • Conduct a minimum of three public stakeholder sessions to gather public and stakeholder input on perception, environmental concerns, and value.
    • Publish findings on the BPU website and provide recommendations on the feasibility, need for, and design of a State program/pilot.

Procedural & timeline aspects

  • Report due within 18 months after the act takes effect.
  • The bill originally included a $5 million General Fund appropriation to BPU to conduct the study; committee amendments removed that appropriation and made technical changes. The bill authorizes BPU to seek federal/state grants and private funding.
  • Fiscal impact: Office of Legislative Services estimates an indeterminate State expenditure increase for FY2026–FY2027 for BPU to carry out the study and stakeholder sessions, but anticipates costs may be absorbed within existing resources.

Who is affected / potential impacts

  • Directly: BPU (lead), DEP, NJEDA, NRC (consulted).
  • Indirectly: utilities, power plant owners/operators, potential reactor developers, local governments, environmental and community stakeholders, and ratepayers (if cost‑recovery mechanisms for infrastructure upgrades are later proposed).
  • Effect: The bill authorizes only a feasibility study and recommendations; it does not authorize construction or licensing of reactors. The report could inform future policy decisions on advanced nuclear deployment in New Jersey.

Notable amendments

  • Shifted language from specifically “small modular reactors (SMRs)” to broader “advanced reactors.”
  • Added cybersecurity and legal/regulatory compliance as study considerations.
  • Changed requirement from “public hearings” to “public stakeholder sessions.”
  • Removed the $5 million appropriation present in the originally introduced version.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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