A 4952

ASSEMBLY, No. 4952
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� VINCENT M. "VINNIE" KEARNEY
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes registration requirement for mold
inspection and remediation contractors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act concerning mold inspection, abatement, and
remediation, and amending and supplementing P.L.2004, c.16.�
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.2004,
c.16 (C.56:8-137) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.��� As used in P.L.2004,
c.16 (C.56:8-136 et seq.):
���� "Board" means the
New Jersey State Board of Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractors.
���� "Contractor" means
an individual providing home improvement or home elevation services, or both
types of services, for a corporation, partnership, association, sole
proprietorship, and any other form of business organization or entity that enters
into contracts for home improvement, home elevation, or both types of services.
���� "Contractor
business" means a business that is a corporation, partnership,
association, sole proprietorship or any other form of business organization or
entity that provides home improvement, home elevation, or both types of
services with at least one employee who is a licensed contractor, as defined
pursuant to this section.� An individual who provides services included in the
definition of "home improvement" and who earns a maximum of $1,500
per contract and $25,000 on an annual basis for those services shall be
required to maintain registration and comply with registration requirements
pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2004, c.16 (C.56:8-138), but shall not be required
to have at least one employee who is a licensed contractor.
���� "Director" means the
Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and
Public Safety.
���� "Division" means the
Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
���� "Home elevation"
means any home improvement that involves raising an entire residential
structure to a higher level above the ground.
���� "Home elevation
contractor" means a contractor who engages in the practice of home
elevation and is authorized to perform home improvement services.
���� "Home improvement"
means the remodeling, altering, renovating, repairing, restoring, modernizing,
moving, demolishing, or otherwise improving or modifying of the whole or any
part of any residential property.� Home improvement shall also include
insulation, installation, and the conversion of existing commercial structures
into residential property.� Home improvement shall not include the construction
of a new residential property.
���� "Home improvement
contract" means a written agreement, or oral agreement if the cost of
services is expected to be $500 or less, for the performance of a home
improvement between a home improvement or home elevation contractor business
and an owner, tenant or lessee, of a residential property, and includes all
agreements under which the contractor is to perform labor or render services
for home improvements or for home elevations, or furnish materials in
connection therewith.
���� "Limited specialty
services license" means a license issued by the board that authorizes an
individual only to perform services in a specialty of home improvement the
scope of which shall be determined by the board.
���� "Limited specialty
services licensee" means an individual licensed by the board to provide
limited specialty home improvement services.
���� "Mold" means any
form of multicellular fungi that lives on plant or animal matter and in indoor
environments.� Types of mold include, but are not limited to, Cladosporium,
Penicillium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Trichoderma, Memnoniella, Mucor,
and Stachybotrys chartarum, often found in water-damaged building materials.
���� "Mold inspection"
means the inspection and evaluation of the interior of a building for the
presence of mold.
���� "Mold inspection and
remediation contractor" means any person engaged in the business of mold
inspection or mold remediation or abatement work.
���� "Mold remediation or
abatement work" means any work performed on a building to clean, remove,
or contain mold hazards, including demolition, removal, painting, repair, and
prevention of water intrusion and leaks.�������
���� "Principal home
improvement contractor" or "principal home elevation contractor"
means a licensed home improvement or home elevation contractor who oversees the
performance of services for contracts (1) valued at a minimum of $120,000 and
(2) that require the submittal of plans with more than one subcode.� A
principal home improvement or principal home elevation contractor may also
provide services as a home improvement contractor or home elevation contractor
if a contract is valued at less than $120,000 or does not require submittal of
plans with more than one subcode.
���� "Residential
property" means any single or multi-unit structure used in whole or in
part as a place of residence, and all structures appurtenant thereto, and any
portion of the lot or site on which the structure is situated which is devoted
to the residential use of the structure.
(cf: P.L.2023, c.237, s.26)
���� 2.��� (New section)��� a.�� In
addition to complying with any other requirements of the "Contractors'
Business Registration Act," P.L.2004, c.16 (C.56:8-136 et seq.), no person
shall perform, or engage, or attempt to engage in the business of mold
inspection or mold remediation or abatement work unless registered with the
Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs as a mold inspection and
remediation contractor.
���� b.��� Any person who performs
mold inspection or mold remediation or abatement work shall annually register
with the director.� Application for registration shall be on a form provided by
the director and shall be accompanied by a reasonable fee, set by the director
in an amount sufficient to defray the division's expenses incurred in
administering and enforcing this section.
���� c.���� Every person required
to register pursuant to this section shall file an amended registration within
20 days after any change in the information required to be included thereon.�
No fee shall be required for the filing of an amendment.
���� d.��� A registered mold
inspection and remediation contractor who is not otherwise required to obtain
commercial general liability insurance pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2004, c.16
(C.56:8-142) shall secure, maintain, and file with the director proof of a
certificate of commercial general liability insurance in a minimum amount of
$500,000 per occurrence.� A registered mold inspection and remediation
contractor whose commercial general liability insurance policy is cancelled or
nonrenewed shall submit to the director a copy of the certificate of commercial
general liability insurance for a new or replacement policy which meets the
requirements of this subsection before the former policy is no longer
effective.
���� e.���� A registered mold
inspection and remediation contractor is prohibited from performing a mold
inspection and any mold remediation or abatement work at the same premises.
���� f.���� (1)���� A mold
inspection and remediation contractor who performs a mold inspection and mold
remediation or abatement work at the same premises shall be liable for a civil
penalty of up to $5,000 for the first offense and for any subsequent offense a
revocation of registration.
���� (2)�� A mold inspection and
remediation contractor who violates any other provisions of this section shall
be liable for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for the first offense and up to
$10,000 for any subsequent offense.
���� (3)�� In addition to any other
civil or criminal penalty that may apply, any person who makes a false
statement in connection with the process for registration as a mold inspection
and remediation contractor pursuant to this section or in regard to any statement
required to be made pursuant to subsection d. of this section shall be liable
for a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 or more than $25,000.
���� (4)�� In addition to any other
action that may be authorized by law, the director may suspend or revoke the
mold inspection and remediation contractor registration of any person who
violates any provision of this section.
���� (5)�� The civil penalties may
be imposed by the director and shall be collected in a summary proceeding in
accordance with the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999,
c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
���� 3.��� (New section)��� The
Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs shall adopt rules and regulations
pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.        )(pending before the
Legislature as this bill) with regard to registration of mold inspection and
remediation contractors, and may establish fees for this purpose.�
Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the Division of Consumer
Affairs may adopt immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law
rules and regulations for this purpose, which shall be effective for a period
not to exceed 270 days following the date of enactment of this act, and may
thereafter be amended, adopted, or readopted, by the division in accordance
with the requirements of the "Administrative Procedure Act."
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect on the 60th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would prohibit any
person from performing mold inspection or mold remediation or abatement work
unless the person is registered with the Director of the Division of Consumer
Affairs.� A registration would be required to be submitted annually, and any
mold inspection and remediation contractor not otherwise required to obtain
commercial general liability insurance as a registered contractor pursuant to
section 7 of P.L.2004, c.16 (C.56:8-142) would be required to maintain
commercial general liability insurance.
���� The bill would also prohibit a
mold inspection and remediation contractor from performing a mold inspection
and mold remediation or abatement work at the same premises.� A registered mold
inspection and remediation contractor who performs mold inspection and mold
remediation or abatement work at the same premises would be subject to a civil
penalty of up to $5,000 for the first offense and a revocation of registration
for any subsequent offense.� In addition, the bill would impose a civil penalty
of up to 5,000 for a first offense and up to $10,000 for any subsequent offense
for any violation of the provisions of the bill.� Any person who makes a false
statement in connection with the registration process or the liability
insurance requirements in the bill would be liable for a civil penalty of not
less than $10,000 or more than $25,000.