"Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act"; imposes cost recovery payments on certain fossil fuel companies for funds needed for climate change adaptation; establishes program in DEP to collect and oversee distribution of funds.**

The bill was renamed from 'Climate Superfund Act' to 'Polluters Pay to Make New Jersey More Affordable Act,' shifting the framing from damages compensation to funding adaptation projects.

A new independent body, the 'New Jersey Climate Adaptation, Resiliency, and Affordability Trust,' was established with 9 members (4 ex officio agency heads plus 5 public appointees), powers to issue bonds and borrow money, an executive director, and authority to oversee fund distribution across multiple state departments.

The definition of 'fossil fuel business' was narrowed from entities engaged in extraction OR refining of petroleum products to only extraction. Refiners are no longer covered as responsible parties, and the related adjustment provision for double-counting refined crude oil was removed.

The exclusion for entities not required to pay New Jersey sales tax was replaced with a constitutional nexus standard: entities that 'lack sufficient connection with the State to satisfy the nexus requirements of the United States Constitution' are excluded.

A fixed total assessment of $50 billion is now explicitly stated (previously the amount would be determined by a State Treasurer's damages assessment). The covered period is fixed at January 1, 1995 through December 31, 2024 rather than running until the act takes effect.

Payment terms changed from 9 annual installments (first payment 20%, then 10% each year) to 20 annual installments (5% per year), significantly extending the repayment period. CPI adjustment of installments changed from discretionary ('may adjust') to mandatory ('shall adjust').

A new 'labor harmony agreement' requirement was added, under which grant recipients must agree to refrain from picketing or work stoppages and employers must maintain neutrality on union representation, in exchange for access to program funds.

A new anti-assignment provision prohibits responsible parties from assigning their cost recovery obligation to non-responsible parties or claiming reimbursement from them.

'Covered greenhouse gas emissions' was changed from being based on the 'use of fossil fuels extracted or refined by an entity' to being based on 'total amount of fossil fuels extracted by that entity,' and now explicitly includes worldwide extraction, not just in-state. A new definition of 'carbon dioxide equivalent' using a 20-year time frame was added.

New definitions were added for 'hazard mitigation plan,' 'public entity,' 'trust,' and 'labor harmony agreement.' The 'climate change adaptation project' definition was expanded to include outdoor tree planting, distributed renewables and energy storage, workforce development programs, food insecurity response, and mental health care.

The reconsideration period for challenging a cost recovery demand was extended from 15 days to 60 days (domestic) or 90 days (international), with a more detailed multi-round process allowing updated demands and new responsible parties to be added iteratively.

The assessment deadline was shortened from two years (for the State Treasurer) to six months (for the DEP Commissioner), and the assessment now focuses on emissions attribution rather than a broad damages calculation.

A transparency requirement was added requiring the department to publish a plain-language summary of its methodology, emissions factors, and data sources before issuing final cost recovery demands.