ASSEMBLY, No STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 209th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MARCH 16, 2000

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1 ASSEMBLY, No. STATE OF NEW JERSEY 0th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MARCH, 000 Sponsored by: Assemblyman JOHN V. KELLY District (Bergen, Essex and Passaic) Assemblyman JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI District (Middlesex) Co-Sponsored by: Assemblymen Zecker, Caraballo, Assemblywoman Pou, Assemblymen Doria, Biondi, Sires and Holzapfel SYNOPSIS Requires installation of sprinklers in all dormitories; creates loan program in NJHMFA; appropriates $0 million. CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT As introduced. (Sponsorship Updated As Of: /0/000)

2 A KELLY, WISNIEWSKI AN ACT concerning installation of fire suppression systems in student dormitories and supplementing P.L., c. (C. :D- et seq.) and chapter K of Title of the Revised Statutes. BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:. a. All buildings used as dormitories or similar accommodations to house students at a secondary school, military school, boarding school, or similar occupancy, or at an institution of higher education, shall be equipped throughout with an automatic fire suppression system installed in accordance with the State Uniform Construction Code. b. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the requirements of this section shall extend to any building used for such purposes, regardless of the date of the initial construction of the building, except as otherwise provided in section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill).. Within days of the effective date of P.L., c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill), each entity responsible for a building subject to the requirements of section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) shall file with the Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of Community Affairs a plan for compliance with the requirements of that section, including a projection of costs and a timetable for completion of the installation of any fire suppression systems required under that section. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the commissioner may order the withholding of loans otherwise available pursuant to P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) or may assess penalties for failure to comply with this section or the provisions of any other section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill).. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to implement sections, and of P.L., c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill). Such rules may include exemption from the requirements of section of P.L., c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill) for any types of buildings or portions of buildings the commissioner may determine that such a level of protection based on the fire hazard risk is not warranted.. The Department of Community Affairs shall be permitted to charge against the Dormitories Fire Safety Assistance Fund established pursuant to section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) the reasonable costs incurred in the

3 A KELLY, WISNIEWSKI administration of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), including costs of inspections by the department which are not reimbursed through the charging of fees.. a. There is created the Dormitories Fire Safety Assistance Fund in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, for the purposes of establishing a loan program which shall be available to any entity having responsibility for a building or buildings which are subject to the requirements of section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), to assist such an entity in compliance with the requirements of that section. There shall be paid into this fund: () the funds appropriated pursuant to section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill); () moneys appropriated by the Legislature; () moneys deposited into the fund as repayment of principal and interest on outstanding loans made from the fund, except as provided under subsection c. of this section; and () any return on investment on moneys deposited in the fund. The agency may invest monies in the fund not immediately needed for the purposes of making loans, in accordance with agency regulations on investments. b. The agency shall establish a program to provide the loans authorized pursuant to this subsection. Individual loan amounts shall be limited to no more than the projected costs as stated to and required to be filed with the Director of the Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of Community Affairs pursuant to section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), and loan amounts shall be disbursed in accordance with the need as documented in the projection. If insufficient funds are available to fully fund each request, the agency may limit the amounts loaned on a basis which shall provide the maximum amount of funding to the greatest number of buildings. The loans may be made under this section until the last day of the 0th month next following the effective date of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill). The loans issued pursuant to this subsection shall bear interest of not more than: () zero percent per year for loans made to entities for the purposes of installing fire suppression systems in State-owned buildings; or () two percent per year for loans made to entities for the purposes of installing fire suppression systems in any other buildings. The terms of a loan shall be for a period of not more than years. Any loan issued pursuant to this subsection shall be secured. Principal and interest of any loan made pursuant to this subsection shall be repayable in equal monthly installments. The costs of the agency to service and administer the loan program may be added to the loan balance, amortized and included in the amount of the required

4 A KELLY, WISNIEWSKI repayment. c. Any repayments of loans made pursuant to this section shall be redeposited into the fund for the purposes of making loans until the last day of the 0th month next following the effective date of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), at which time any repayments received by the agency shall be forwarded to the State Treasurer, as well as any remaining balance in the fund, which shall be considered lapsed at that time. d. The agency shall promulgate the rules necessary to effectuate this section in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L., c. (C. :B- et seq.).. There is appropriated $0,000,000 from the payments made by the tobacco manufacturers pursuant to the settlement agreement entered into by the tobacco manufacturers and the State on November, that resolved the State's pending claim against the tobacco industry to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency for deposit in the Dormitories Fire Safety Assistance Fund established pursuant to section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) and for the purposes of that act. If the State Treasurer deems it necessary, he may advance from the General Fund those monies appropriated by this section to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency for deposit in the Dormitories Fire Safety Assistance Fund established pursuant to section of P.L., c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill). Those monies advanced pursuant to this section shall be reimbursed from the payments made by the tobacco manufacturers pursuant to the settlement agreement entered into by the tobacco manufacturers and the State on November, that resolved the State's pending claim against the tobacco industry.. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section of this act shall be effective on the first day of the st month after enactment. STATEMENT This bill is in response to the recent tragic fire in a dormitory at Seton Hall University in which several students perished. Fire suppression systems have proven to be very effective safeguards against loss of life and damage to property as a result of fire. This bill would require the installation of fire suppression systems (sprinklers) in dormitories housing students at a secondary school, military school, boarding school, or similar occupancy, or an institution of higher education, in accordance with the "Uniform Fire

5 A KELLY, WISNIEWSKI 0 0 Safety Act," P.L., c. (C.:D- et seq.) within a five year period. The bill also establishes a low interest loan program in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), for the purpose of providing financial assistance to the entities which will be required to install the sprinklers. The bill creates the Dormitories Fire Safety Assistance Fund in the New Jersey Housing Mortgage and Finance Agency (HMFA) for the purposes of establishing a loan program which will be available to any entity having responsibility for a building or buildings which are subject to the requirements of the bill. Loans may be made under the bill with up to a -year repayment period, at interest rates of zero percent for loans in connection with State-owned buildings, and two percent for all other loans. The bill requires each entity responsible for installing sprinklers to file with the Division of Codes and Standards in the Department of Community Affairs, within days of the effective date of the bill, a plan for compliance with the bill, including a projection of costs and a timetable for completion of the installation of any fire suppression systems required. Loan proceeds will be distributed on the basis on the plans submitted to the department. The bill appropriates $0 million, from the payments made by the tobacco manufacturers pursuant to the settlement agreement entered into by the tobacco manufacturers and the State on November, that resolved the State's pending claim against the tobacco industry, to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency for deposit in the Dormitories Fire Safety Assistance Fund established under the bill. Smoking has been indicated as a major source of initiating fires, and may have contributed to or have been the source of the tragic dormitory fire at Seton Hall University. Therefore, it is appropriate that the tobacco settlement funds be utilized to safeguard the public from fires which may have been caused by tobacco use.