A 804 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires BPU to report societal benefits charge revenues and expenditures to Governor and Legislature.*

This bill requires New Jersey's Governor to include a detailed annual report in the budget message about revenues and spending from the "societal benefits charge" on utility bills. The report must show, for each of the past five fiscal years and the current year, how much was collected from electricity and gas customers, and how those funds were spent - specifically for energy efficiency programs, low-income energy assistance, plug-in electric vehicle incentives, and other approved initiatives. It also mandates itemized breakdowns of funds allocated by each utility company. The goal is to increase transparency about how this charge, embedded in customer bills, finances state energy and assistance programs.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

General Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action May 18, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Reprint · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was substantially reworked by the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee. Instead of requiring the societal benefits charge report to be embedded in the Governor's annual budget message, the amended version requires the BPU itself to submit semi-annual reports (January and October) directly to the Governor and Legislature. The reporting focus also shifted from what utilities retain to what they actually expend on programs outside the main categories.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from amending the Governor's budget message requirements (Title 52) to establishing a direct BPU reporting obligation under public utilities law (Title 48). The frequency increased from annual to semi-annual, and the responsible party changed from the Governor's office to the BPU.

SCOPE

The reporting mechanism changed from a once-yearly report included in the Governor's annual budget message to semi-annual reports (January and October) submitted by the BPU directly to the Governor and Legislature.

DEFINITION

The bill title changed from 'regarding the contents of the Governor's annual budget message' to 'concerning societal benefits charge revenues and expenditures,' and the statutory supplement shifted from Title 52 (Governor's office) to Title 48 (public utilities).

REQUIREMENT

Section 1(a)(5) was rewritten: instead of reporting the total amount of revenues retained by each utility from each component of the societal benefits charge, it now requires an itemized statement of amounts expended by each electric and gas public utility for any program or purpose not covered by paragraphs (2) through (4).

Section 1(b), which required the BPU to assist and advise the Governor in preparing the report, was deleted entirely since the BPU now handles its own reporting.

TECHNICAL

'Universal Services Fund' was corrected to 'Universal Service Fund,' and a specific section number (section 13) was added to the citation of P.L.2007, c.340 for precision.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 18, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee

upper

May 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by the Assembly (77-0-0)

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee

lower

2 primary · 5 co-sponsors