Signed by Governor Phil Murphy

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that establishes the Garden State Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy or C-PACE.

Highlights:

• Alleges C-PACE financing will enable New Jersey municipalities to contribute toward their goals of community sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, and will provide a valuable service to the citizens of their communities (Sec. 1.f).

• Classifies “C-PACE” as commercial property assessed clean energy (Sec. 2.e).

• Requires a local C-PACE program, the municipality, or the county to prepare and submit to the Governor, the authority, and the Legislature, a report that reviews and assesses the implementation of the local C-PACE program. The report shall evaluate its local C-PACE program, including a review of foreclosure rates and any other factors the authority deems appropriate (Sec. 3.b-2).

• Authorizes the authority to enter into a memorandum of agreement with one or more State government agencies or instrumentalities whereby any of the powers the authority may exercise or responsibilities it must fulfill may be exercised or fulfilled, as the case may be, by such agency or instrumentality, and any fund that may be used for administrative expenses by the authority may be used by such agency or instrumentality in exercising such powers or fulfilling such responsibilities (Sec. 4.c).

• Prohibits the Garden State C-PACE program from being operational and available for the participation of capital providers, municipalities, and property owners until the authority has taken all of the actions required by this law (Sec. 5-2).

• Requires the authority to develop, in consultation with the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, program guidelines governing the terms and conditions under which financing may be made available under the Garden State C-PACE program. Any amendments to the Garden State C-PACE program guidelines will require the approval of the authority’s board of directors (Sec. 5.c).

• Authorizes a county to create a local C-PACE program through the adoption of a local C-PACE program ordinance if the county has obtained approval of the ordinance from the authority (Sec. 6.b).

• Specifies if the property owner is delinquent on a C-PACE assessment as well as delinquent on taxes, charges, or other assessments, any payment shall be applied towards any and all such other delinquencies before being applied to any delinquent C-PACE assessment (Sec. 7.g).

• Authorizes the authority to undertake to serve as an intermediary in the remittance of C-PACE assessments to capital providers if requested by the participating municipality. The fee will reflect the reasonable and actual costs of the review or fulfillment of any obligations that the authority will undertake (Sec. 8.c).

• Prohibits a public entity, including the State of New Jersey or any political subdivision, from issuing bonds to finance any C-PACE program, except to the extent the authority may issue bonds (Sec. 9.e).

• Prohibits the Director of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs from accepting, and a municipality will not submit, an application to undertake the financing of the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements by property owners as a local improvement after the date the Economic Development Authority has published on its Internet website all the items (Sec. 10.b).

Full Bill Text