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NPGA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
by Eric DeGesero, EDGE Consulting
NJ Mid-Term Legislative Election 2023 – Propane “On the Ballot”
All 40 seats in the New Jersey Senate and 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly are on the ballot on November 7, 2023. In many ways, propane is on the ballot, too.
Governor Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan states, “The building sector should be decarbonized and largely electrified by 2050 with an early focus on…the conversion of…propane-fueled buildings.”
While that’s what Governor Murphy wants, he has yet to receive authority from the Legislature to enact such a policy. Legislation that offers incentives for building electrification has not yet passed the Legislature. However, in July the Board of Public Utilities ordered that utilities begin “incentivizing” the decarbonization of buildings through electrification. How can this be?
Because Governor Murphy decreed it.
The Legislature passed a bill incentivizing electric vehicles. When the public didn’t purchase as many as Governor Murphy wanted, he mandated the sale of EVs. With buildings, he didn’t even bother with the Legislature being involved at all. To Governor Murphy, an incentive is nothing more than a mandate-in-waiting. Click here for an op-ed on the issue.
The New Jersey Propane Gas Association is participating along with the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey (heating oil dealers) and the New Jersey Stated Association of Pipe Trades (union plumbers/pipefitters) in a public relations campaign highlighting the Governor’s unilateral ban of gas heat, gas cars, and gas stoves, and urging the Legislature to get engaged. The PR campaign is already having an impact. An ad is running in targeted legislative districts and directs the reader here where they can send a letter to their legislators.
With a little over five weeks until the election, gas stoves and EVs are at the center of the issue mix along with parental rights, abortion, and whales. NJPGA and others are requesting the Legislature address the Governor’s electrification mandates in the lame-duck legislative session, which runs from November 20, 2023 to January 9, 2024. The vehicle will likely be Senate Bill 2671 (Gopal/Schepisi) and Assembly Bill 3935 (Moriarty).
Currently, the Democrats control the Senate 25-15 and the General Assembly 46-34. Conventional wisdom is that the Democrats will retain control of both chambers, but their margins will be reduced. Below is an overview of a handful of the 40 districts where party control could change. This is the first election in legislative districts drawn after the 2023 census.
District Three (Gloucester/Camden/Salem): Incumbent Senator Ed Durr (R) shocked the world when he defeated then-Senate President Steve Sweeney in 2021. He is running for re-election against former Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D), who also lost in 2021. Incumbent Assemblywoman Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R) and Hopewell Twp Committeeman Tom Tedesco (R) are running against Democrats Heather Simmons, a Gloucester County Commissioner, and Dave Bailey, a not-for-profit executive. Incumbent Assemblywoman Beth Sawyer (R) challenged Durr for the Senate seat and was defeated in the primary. Legislative redistricting made the district slightly more Republican.
District Four (Gloucester/Camden/Atlantic): Incumbent Senator Fred Madden (D) is retiring. Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D) is running for the Senate against Chris DelBorello (R). DelBorello is a former Washington Twp. Councilman, whose brother is currently on the council. Moriarty is the former Mayor of Washington Twp. and sponsor of Assembly Bill 3935. Incumbent Assemblywoman Gabriella Mosquera (D) is retiring. The Democrats have fielded Monroe Twp Board of Education member Cody Miller and Gloucester Twp. Committeeman Dan Hutchison. They will face Republicans Matt Walker a former Buena Councilman and member of the politically powerful Operating Engineers Local 825 union and Amanda Esposito, a Pitman school teacher. The district became decidedly more Republican after redistricting.
District 11 (Monmouth): Possibly the most watched race in the state is the Senate race in District 11. Incumbent Senator Vin Gopal (D) is running against Republican newcomer Steve Dnistrian, a retired business executive. In 2021 Gopal won re-election by 2,500 votes as Governor Murphy lost the district by roughly the same margin, as did the then-incumbent Democratic Assemblymembers. Gopal occupies the very unique position of being a pro-business progressive. He killed a Democratic proposal to tax shore rentals and opposes offshore wind subsidies. He is also the sponsor of Senate Bill 2671 and will introduce legislation to kill the EV mandate. Incumbent Republican Assemblywomen Marilyn Pierno and Kim Eulner will face Democrats Ocean Twp. Committeewoman Dr. Margret Donolon and Luanne Peterpaul, an attorney who is a former prosecutor and was the municipal judge in Long Branch and Asbury Park. The district was made slightly more Democratic in redistricting.
District 16 (Mercer/Middlesex/Hunterdon/Somerset): The Senate race in 2023 features a rematch of the 2021 election when then-Assemblyman Andrew Zicker (D) defeated former Congressman Mike Pappas (R). Incumbent Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D) is running with Mitchelle Drulis, an aide to former Congressman Tom Malinowski. They will face Clinton Twp. Councilman Ross Traphagen and CPA Grace Zhang. The district was made more Republican in redistricting, but Democrats start with a big base of support in South Brunswick and Princeton.
District 30 (Monmouth/Ocean): This is a solidly Republican district. However, in late August one of the Democratic Assembly candidates dropped out and was replaced by Rabbi Avi Schnall, a leader in the large and growing Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood and Howell. Schanll is the only Democrat with any chance of winning, albeit a good chance. The incumbent Republican Assemblymen are Sean Kean and Ned Thomson. The district is overwhelmingly Republican.
District 38 (Bergen): Incumbent Senator Joe Lagana (D) is being challenged by school bus company owner Micheline Attieh. Incumbent Assemblymembers Lisa Swain (D) and Chris Tully (D) will face Republicans Barry Wilkes, owner of popular local delis, and Gail Horton. The district was made slightly more Democratic in redistricting.
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