Bill Text: NJ S2498 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Mandates motor fuel dealer maintain and use generator during power outage.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-01-28 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S2498 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S2498-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Mandates motor fuel dealer maintain and use generator during power outage.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning retail motor fuel dealers and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. For the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Alternative power generation device" means a device capable of providing electrical power for the primary purpose of dispensing motor fuel, payment acceptance equipment, pump shutoff switches, and other safety equipment.
"Declared state of emergency" means any state of emergency within this State declared by the Governor or by the President of the United States.
"Disaster" means any natural, technological, or civil emergency that causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to result in a declared state of emergency.
"Motor fuel" means any combustible liquid or gaseous substance used, or suitable, for the generation of power to propel motor vehicles.
"Power outage" means a failure in the supply of electricity causing a temporary cessation in the supply of power.
"Retail dealer" means a person that engages in the business of selling or dispensing motor fuel to consumers within this State.
"State Office of Emergency Management" means the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
2. a. Every retail dealer in this State shall be equipped with and maintain in a safe and proper working condition an alternative power generation device as defined in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. Within 24 hours of a declared state of emergency in which a retail dealer has suffered a power outage, a retail dealer shall begin using an alternative power generation device as defined in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) to resume the selling or dispensing of motor fuel.
3. During regular inspections of a retail dealer, the State Superintendent of Weights and Measures or any State, county, or municipal weights and measures officer shall, in consultation with the State Office of Emergency Management, ensure that the retail dealer is equipped with and maintaining in a safe and proper working condition, an alternative power generation device as required pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. A retail dealer that fails to comply with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be liable for a penalty of not more than $1,000 for a first offense and not more than $2,500 for each subsequent offense to be collected by the State Superintendent of Weights and Measures in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.); provided however, that a retail dealer shall not be in violation of subsection b. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) if the failure to use an alternative power generation device during a declared state of emergency is due to physical damage to the retail dealer's facilities or the alternative power generation device sustained during a disaster or during the declared state of emergency.
5. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management, may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
6. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fifth month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires retail gasoline stations in the State of New Jersey to be equipped with and maintain alternative power generation devices that are capable of supplying backup power in the event of a declared state of emergency in which the station has lost electrical power. Under the provisions of the bill, each station must maintain an alternative power generation device capable of operating all fuel dispensing pumps, payment acceptance equipment, pump shutoff switches, and safety devices. Within 24 hours of a declared state of emergency in which a station has suffered a power outage, a retail dealer must begin using an alternative power generation device to dispense motor fuel.
Stations that sustain physical damage during an emergency are exempt from the bill's requirements. The bill outlines a series of penalties for retail dealers that fail to provide alternative power generation devices during the course of an outage.
