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Bill

A 4409

Requires State agencies to periodically review administrative rules and regulations to ensure continued efficacy.

2026-2027 Regular Session Introduced by Dawn Fantasia and 1 co-sponsor

Mandates seven-year expiration for rules, with mandatory reviews to ensure benefits outweigh costs and allows readoption or replacement with updated impact analyses.

Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee
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Bill Summary · A 4409

Summary of Bill A 4409 (Session 222) — New Jersey

Objective and intent

  • Establish a mandatory, periodic review process for all administrative rules and regulations that expire seven years after adoption.
  • Extend requirements for pre-adoption analyses, ensuring proposed rules undergo comprehensive impact assessments similar to the reviews required for existing rules.

Key provisions and changes

  • Expiration and review of existing rules

    • Every rule adopted on or after the effective date of the bill’s precursor statute (P.L.2001, c.5) would expire seven years after its effective date, unless an earlier expiration date is set.
    • Before an expiring rule is readopted, agencies must conduct a mandatory review to determine:
    • Whether the rule’s benefits still outweigh its costs and burdens.
    • Whether the rule remains effective, outdated, or should be replaced by an alternative.
    • Agencies must report the findings of the review to the Governor and Legislature and publish notice of the review findings and availability in the New Jersey Register.

  • Readoption options (for expiring rules)

    • If readoption is without changes or with only technical changes, agencies may extend the rule for seven years by filing a public notice with the Office of Administrative Law at least 30 days before expiration.
    • Technical changes are limited to editorial corrections (spelling, grammar, punctuation, codification, contact information, cross-references).
    • If readoption involves substantive changes, agencies may extend the rule for seven years by proposing and adopting the readoption prior to expiration; filing a notice of proposed readoption with substantive changes extends the rule’s expiration by 180 days if filed before expiration.

  • Governor’s authority to extend or restore

    • The Governor may, upon agency head request, continue an expiring rule for a specified period.
    • The Governor may restore an expired rule as of its expiration date to facilitate readoption under subsection c.

  • Scope caveats

    • The act does not apply to rules repealing other rules or rules required by federal law or that would violate other laws.

  • Pre-adoption requirements (amended section 4)

    • Before adopting, amending, or repealing a rule, agencies must:
    • Provide at least 30 days’ notice with a description of the action and public participation details, including publication in the New Jersey Register and broad publicity.
    • Prepare and publish a summary of the proposed rule, its purpose, legal authority, and a detailed impact analysis (including regulatory flexibility, jobs impact, housing, smart growth, and racial/ethnic community impacts where applicable).
    • Allow reasonable opportunity for public comment, with extension if public interest warrants.
    • Conduct public hearings on request or with sufficient public interest, and announce standards for hearings and extensions.
    • Produce a disclosure-ready regulatory impact analysis, and report findings to the Governor and Legislature.

Who is affected

  • State agencies that issue or regulate administrative rules.
  • Public and stakeholders who participate in rulemaking (businesses, nonprofits, individuals, and affected industries) through notices, public comments, hearings, and impact analyses.
  • The Governor and the Legislature, which receive agency review findings.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Effective date: immediate.
  • Mandatory seven-year expiration cycle for rules, with readoption pathways and potential extensions.
  • Required public reporting to the Governor, Legislature, and New Jersey Register for both existing rule reviews and proposed rule readoptions.
  • Enhanced pre-adoption analysis requirements, mirroring post-adoption impact analyses.

Sponsors

  • Co-sponsors: Dawn Fantasia, Jay Webber

This bill aims to ensure ongoing evaluation of regulatory burden and effectiveness, promoting timely updates or repeals of rules that no longer meet public policy goals.

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

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