Millburn and Livingston have passed resolutions backing a state bill that would charge fossil fuel companies $2.5 billion a year for climate projects.
Both the Millburn Township Committee and the Livingston Township Council approved resolutions supporting the Polluters Pay to Make NJ Affordable Act (S2338/A3735), Patch reported Monday, Oct. 12. The Essex County Commissioner Board and the towns of Montclair, Maplewood and South Orange have also passed resolutions in favor of the bill.
For Millburn and Livingston residents, the bill's revenue would fund flood protection, stormwater and sewage upgrades, electrical grid improvements and health care tied to climate change. At least 51% would go to communities the state classifies as overburdened by pollution and poverty. Supporters say the measure would shift costs that residents already bear through rising property taxes, utility bills and insurance premiums onto the corporations responsible for the pollution.
The legislation would target up to 82 fossil fuel companies responsible for more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 1995 and 2024. None are headquartered in New Jersey. Revenue is estimated at $50 billion over 20 years.
"This summer has been one of the deadliest in our state's history," Matt Smith, New Jersey state director of Food and Water Watch, said at an early October protest in Montclair. Smith cited state Department of Health estimates that 29 people died and more than 1,200 were treated in emergency departments because of extreme heat during the summer of 2026. More than 125 water rescues were reported statewide during flash floods, he said.
The bill cleared four legislative committees, including the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on June 29, according to NJBiz. It was pulled from the June 30 voting session and never reached a floor vote before Gov. Mikie Sherrill and lawmakers finalized the state budget. Advocates are pushing for a floor vote this fall.
Business groups oppose the measure. The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) has warned of what it called "dire" impacts on affordability, jobs and the state's business climate. NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor called the proposal "one of the most anti-business bills in state history" in an op-ed for the USA Today/Gannett NJ Network.
State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon argued at a legislative hearing that the bill would impose a $2.5 billion yearly increase in energy costs on New Jersey residents. An analysis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform estimated the bill's added energy costs at nearly $14,000 per household over 20 years.
A nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services fiscal estimate from June 23 concluded the state's potential revenue under the bill is indeterminate. The estimate cited uncertainty over how much companies would be assessed, whether the law would survive legal challenges and when payments could be collected.
A similar law in New York, the Climate Change Superfund Act, has been blocked by two federal district courts that found it preempted by the federal Clean Air Act, according to the law firm Underberg & Kessler. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Oct. 5 in a related case that could shape the legal landscape for state-level climate liability laws.
Several Essex County lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors. Prior to the Montclair protest, state Sens. Britnee Timberlake and John McKeon, Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill and Jersey City Mayor James Solomon attended a forum at First Congregational Church in support of the bill.
No floor vote date has been scheduled.
