In a recent op-ed published by the business news site BINJE, the council representing 150,000 New Jersey construction workers warned that the proposed Climate Superfund Act would ultimately increase costs for employers, contractors, consumers and taxpayers.
New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council President William Mullen wrote that the legislation’s proposed $50 billion fund, financed by retroactive penalties on large energy producers, would lead to higher energy, freight, manufacturing and construction costs.
If enacted, the law would also make New Jersey less competitive for industrial investments by adding legal and regulatory uncertainty, potentially threatening union construction and maintenance jobs, apprenticeship opportunities and workforce-training programs, he said.
“The Legislature should not advance A-3735 without an independent economic impact analysis, a comprehensive workforce assessment, a fiscal review, and a thorough evaluation of the legal risks,” Mullin wrote in the BINJE op-ed published Monday.
“Policymakers should know how the proposal would affect energy prices, public infrastructure costs, industrial investment and union employment before creating a $50 billion retroactive liability program,” Mullen wrote.
Industrial facilities, manufacturing operations, utilities, refineries, logistics centers and energy projects support thousands of union construction and maintenance jobs, Mullen noted.
“When investment leaves New Jersey, we do not simply lose a single project. We lose apprenticeship opportunities, workforce training, career pathways, and family-sustaining jobs,” Mullen wrote. “We also lose the long-term economic activity and tax revenue those projects generate for local communities and the state.”
If the Legislature enacts the Climate Superfund Act in its current form when it returns from its summer recess, it will create serious legal and fiscal questions, he said.
“Similar laws enacted in New York and Vermont have faced significant litigation involving federal preemption, interstate commerce, extraterritorial regulation and constitutional claims,” Mullen said. “New Jersey should carefully evaluate those risks before relying on revenues that could be delayed for years by litigation.”
In 2024, New York enacted a Climate Superfund Act that would assess large energy manufacturers $75 billion, but that law has not gone into effect amid ongoing legal challenges.
During a July 31 hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Chief Judge Brenda Sannes repeatedly questioned whether the New York law conflicts with federal authority and a binding 2021 Second Circuit decision that rejected New York City’s attempt to hold five major energy producers liable for global climate change. Sannes’ written decision in the case challenging the New York State Climate Superfund law is still pending.
“New Jersey can address climate resilience without undermining economic growth, energy reliability and good union jobs,” Mullen wrote. “The Building Trades stand ready to work with the Governor and Legislature on responsible policies that protect our communities while strengthening the state’s economy.”
To read Mullen’s entire op-ed in BINJE, go here.
To read NJBIA Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor’s recent op-ed on the Climate Superfund Act, which was published last week in the USA TODAY/Gannett NJ network newspapers, go here.
