ASSEMBLY AGRICULTURE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2048

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 7, 1996

      The Assembly Agriculture and Waste Management Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 2048.

      Assembly Bill No. 2048 would reduce the annual public utility assessment for solid waste collectors. Under the provisions of the "Solid Waste Collection Regulatory Reform Act," P.L.1991, c.381 (C.48:13A-7.1 et seq.), traditional and transitional public utility regulation of solid waste collectors ended on April 14, 1996. Thus, the Department of Environmental Protection, which assumed regulatory authority and jurisdiction over the public utility aspects of solid waste collection and solid waste disposal from the Board of Public Utilities following the adoption of Reorganization Plan No. 002-1991, effective on August 19, 1991, and Reorganization Plan No. 001-1994, effective on July 4, 1994, no longer sets rates for persons engaging in the solid waste collection business. Notwithstanding this reduced regulatory responsibility over solid waste collection public utilities, the Department still collects from solid waste collectors an annual assessment of the same percentage of gross operating revenue as that collected from fully regulated solid waste disposal public utilities.

      To reflect the reduced responsibilities of the Department as the result of the deregulation of solid waste collectors on April 14, 1996, this bill would revise existing law to reduce the annual assessment collected from solid waste collectors from 1/4 to 1/16 of 1% of gross operating revenue derived from its intrastate operation during the preceding calendar year.

      The bill would also revise the relevant provisions of current law to accord statutory recognition to the aforementioned reorganization plans with respect to public utility assessments still under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities.