In the wake of a federal judge striking down New York’s Climate Superfund Act earlier this week, another powerful labor representative has come out against the similar Climate Superfund Act bill in New Jersey that has been strongly opposed by NJBIA and the state’s business community.
Mark Longo, director of the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative (ELEC), which is affiliated with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, wrote in a New Jersey Globe op-ed on Friday that the Legislature should see the court decision as a “blaring alarm” that “would waste taxpayers’ dollars in drawn out legal battles and ultimately drive-up costs for everyday New Jerseyans if the law were to survive in court.”
“Understanding that the legislation includes a fatal flaw already determined by a federal court, New Jersey lawmakers should be asking themselves, why would New Jersey be any different?” Longo wrote.
“As the bill’s proponents proudly declare, it will go after “any major fossil fuel entity that operates in New Jersey.” The state might as well put up a huge billboard that says, “Closed for Business: If you follow the laws we’ll still sue.”
“This will have a dire effect on New Jersey’s economy that will be felt by everyone as all businesses, not just fossil fuel companies, reconsider doing business here. Businesses that create jobs, pay taxes, and contribute to the state through innovation and construction will bring those benefits elsewhere,” Longo wrote.
Longo’s op-ed follows a recent op-ed published by the business news site BINJE, where New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council President William Mullen, whose groups represents 150,000 New Jersey construction workers warned that the proposed Climate Superfund Act would ultimately increase costs for employers, contractors, consumers and taxpayers.
On Monday, a federal judge dealt a serious legal blow to New York’s Climate Superfund Law, stating it operates in an area where federal law has governed consistently and for more than 100 years, adding later that “it is precisely because the Climate Act operates within an area of law ‘in which the federal interest is so dominant’ that it cannot be enforced.”
New York and Vermont both enacted climate superfund laws in 2024, but were quickly sued over their policies. New York’s Climate Superfund law seeks to retroactively penalize fossil fuel companies $75 billion.
In New Jersey, business groups led by NJBIA have labeled New Jersey’s attempt at a Climate Superfund Act, which seeks to retroactively penalize fossil fuel companies $50 billion for legally providing an essential product, as one of the most anti-business bills in state history, one that would lead to higher energy prices for consumers during an affordability crisis and threaten energy jobs.
“The fact is that we still rely on fossil fuels,” Longo wrote. “They heat our homes, run our cars, and are cost drivers in virtually every industry.
“The costs (of a Climate Superfund law) may initially be assessed to a select group of companies, but history tells us those costs are likely to be passed on to consumers and small businesses across the state making New Jersey more expensive to live and do business in.”
To read Longo’s full op-ed, click here.
