A 2401 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes measures to improve safety of scrap metal businesses.*

This bill requires all scrap metal businesses in New Jersey to implement specific safety measures. Businesses must conduct quarterly record audits to ensure prohibited items aren't present and take fire safety steps, including hiring trained fire suppression personnel and installing remotely operable fire suppression systems. The fire system requirement has a 5-year phase-in period, with full compliance due within 60 months of enactment. The law directly affects all scrap metal businesses operating in the state, focusing on preventing fires and ensuring proper recordkeeping.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Jun 2026

General Assembly Passage

Jun 2026

Senate Passage

Jun 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Jul 8, 2026

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What changed between versions

Assembly Committee Substitute → Reprint Of Substitute · 7 edits

MODERATE

The Senate amended Assembly Bill 2401 on May 28, 2026, making several substantive changes to fire safety requirements for scrap metal businesses. The most significant changes include narrowing who must install heat detection equipment (now only properties over one acre or those with grinding/shredding equipment), shifting enforcement from county to local agencies, reducing the number of entities required to certify fire suppression systems, and swapping the compliance deadlines for different stockpile sizes.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed for heat detection equipment (now limited to larger properties or those with specific machinery) but enforcement authority was shifted downward from county to local level, and the compliance timeline structure was reorganized so that larger stockpiles get more time rather than less.

SCOPE

Heat detection equipment requirement in section 1(a) now only applies to properties exceeding one acre in area or properties where a scrap grinder, crusher, hammer mill, or shredder is operated. Previously it applied to all scrap metal businesses.

REQUIREMENT

Section 2 now requires that the fire suppression system be designed by a fire protection engineer, adding a professional design requirement not present in the prior version.

ENFORCEMENT

Annual certification of fire suppression systems (section 2(c)) is now done by the local enforcing agency only, rather than by a fire safety engineer, NFPA, and the Division of Fire Safety within the Department of Community Affairs. The standard was also reworded from 'NFPA and State regulatory' to 'State regulatory fire prevention and National Fire Protection Association standards.'

Section 3 shifts the reviewing body from the county enforcing agency to the local enforcing agency, and changes the action from 'review and approve' to 'review and confirm,' reducing the formality of the process.

TIMELINE

The compliance deadline for businesses with over 200 tons in a single stockpile was shortened from 48 months to 24 months after enactment.

The compliance deadline for businesses with over 500 tons in a single stockpile was extended from 24 months to 48 months after enactment. The two deadlines were effectively swapped.

DEFINITION

Section 1(b) changed the coordination partner for fire safety plans from 'the local fire department official' to 'a fire official or fire marshal,' broadening who can serve in that role.

Introduced → Assembly Committee Substitute · 11 edits

MAJOR

The Assembly Committee Substitute significantly restructures the scrap metal safety bill by shifting its legal basis from the scrap metal licensing statute to the Uniform Fire Safety Act, removing the quarterly record audit and fire-trained staffing requirements, and replacing them with more specific fire prevention measures including heat detection equipment, a written fire safety plan coordinated with local fire officials, a 55-foot pile height limit, and tiered fire suppression system requirements based on stockpile size. The effective date is pushed from 6 months to 12 months after enactment, and compliance deadlines for fire suppression systems are now differentiated by stockpile tonnage (24 months for over 500 tons, 48 months for over 200 tons).

SCOPE

The bill's legal basis changed from supplementing the scrap metal business licensing law (P.L.2009, c.8) to supplementing the Uniform Fire Safety Act (P.L.1983, c.383), reframing it as a fire safety measure rather than a scrap metal regulation.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for each scrap metal business to conduct a quarterly audit of records and ensure prohibited items are not on the premises was entirely removed.

The requirement to employ or contract with individuals trained in fire suppression was removed.

Businesses must now install and maintain heat detection equipment capable of detecting incipient fires or potential hot spots.

Businesses must develop a written fire safety plan in coordination with the local fire department official or fire marshal, which must be publicly available upon request.

Businesses must make records available to any fire code official investigating the business as a result of a fire.

A new 55-foot maximum pile height limit was added for combustible material, noncombustible material, or a combination of each.

A new tiered system requires businesses with over 200 tons of unprepared metal in a single stockpile for any 24-hour period to install a remotely operated fire suppression system including overhead water towers with articulating heads, monitored heat detection around stockpiles of at least 500 tons, and annual certification by a fire safety engineer, NFPA, and the Division of Fire Safety.

ENFORCEMENT

A new section requires the county enforcing agency to review and approve in writing that a business meets the act's requirements, with approval displayed conspicuously in the office or on the business website.

TECHNICAL

Rulemaking authority was assigned to the Commissioner of Community Affairs under the Administrative Procedure Act.

TIMELINE

The effective date changed from the first day of the 6th month after enactment to the first day of the 12th month. The fire suppression installation deadline changed from a flat 60 months to tiered deadlines: 24 months for stockpiles over 500 tons and 48 months for stockpiles over 200 tons.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (59-20-0)

lower

Jun 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by the Senate (27-12)

upper

Jun 4, 2026

Committee

Recommitted to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

upper

May 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Amendment (Voice) (Ruiz)

upper

May 4, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee

upper

Mar 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by the Assembly (55-17-0)

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Committee

Recommitted to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Regulated Professions Committee

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors