Advocates and Lawmakers Rally at Statehouse to Make Polluters Pay as Budget Season Begins

Empower NJ coalition pushes for passage of the Polluters Pay Act, legislation that would fund $2.5 billion in annual infrastructure improvements

Video of today’s rally is available on YouTube or to download here (credit Food & Water Watch)

TRENTON — With lawmakers starting to craft the next state budget and the Trump administration continuing to cut federal disaster and infrastructure funding, environmental advocates in the Empower NJ coalition gathered at the State House Annex on Monday for a rally and lobby day demanding passage of the Polluters Pay to Make NJ More Affordable Act (S2338/A3735).

The bill would require the world's largest fossil fuel companies to pay for the climate damages that New Jersey residents and taxpayers are currently covering in full, generating $2.5 billion per year for critical infrastructure and resilience projects statewide.

Several bill sponsors participated in the rally, calling on legislative leaders to pass the bill before the state budget is finalized.

“Enacting my Polluters Pay to Make NJ More Affordable Act before finalizing the state budget would show we’re serious about delivering on affordability. This is one of the largest available revenue options to reduce costs on taxpayers and ratepayers despite Big Oil’s protests to the contrary. Passing the bill this spring means getting funding flowing faster to protect communities and provide real relief to millions of New Jersey consumers, individuals and businesses alike,” said prime Senate Sponsor John McKeon (D-Essex).

"Right now, New Jersey families are covering the full cost of the climate crisis through higher property taxes, rising insurance premiums, and utility bills that keep going up. That's more than $11,000 per person statewide. Not one dollar of that comes from the corporations responsible.  We pay for every storm, every flood, every washed-out road — and they don't. The Polluters Pay Act will make NJ more affordable by requiring the corporate polluters that caused the damage to pay their fair share. The $50 billion in revenue raised would benefit every family in the state and every one of New Jersey's 1.1 million small businesses," said prime Assembly Sponsor Alixon Collazos-Gill (D-Essex).

"Climate change induced extreme weather has come at an extreme cost: too many lives lost, hundreds of billions of dollars in property damage, and so much more in Plainfield, in Piscataway and across New Jersey. Polluters that have profited from this chaos must bear the costs, but they're crying wolf. It's past time they paid their fair share, and the Polluters Pay to Make NJ More Affordable Act does just that. It helps us build back stronger, reduce the risk of future damage, and provides real relief to taxpayers, ratepayers and consumers. We can't pass it fast enough!" said Senate co-prime sponsor and Environment Committee Chair Bob Smith (D-Middlesex). 

"For too long, New Jersey families have been paying the price for the climate crisis that climate polluters have spent decades fueling and denying while raking in record profits,” said co-prime sponsor Senator Mukherji (D-Hudson). “Just like New Jersey’s Spill Act forced polluters to clean up toxic messes, it’s time for Big Oil and Gas to pay for the billions in damage they’ve knowingly caused — to our communities, our coastlines, and our health — so that local taxpayers and utility ratepayers are not left holding the bag for disasters engineered by corporate greed. Through this bill, our communities will be able to secure desperately needed financing for climate change adaptation projects, such as rebuilding after floods, transit improvements, energy efficient retrofits, and infrastructure upgrades that will lower utility bills.”

“As our communities continue to bear the brunt of the negative effects of climate change I look forward to working with my colleagues in the legislature to pass The Polluters Pay for a More Affordable New Jersey Act so that polluters can finally begin sharing the ever rising cost of keeping our communities safe and healthy,” said Assembly co-sponsor Sterley Stanley (D-Middlesex).

“This legislation is about making sure New Jersey has the resources to strengthen infrastructure, prepare for severe weather, and support communities facing increasing climate impacts,” said new co-prime sponsor Asw. Linda Carter (D-Union).

“We must do a better job preparing for extreme weather and the growing impacts of climate change. In communities like Jersey City, Bayonne, and Kearny, billions of dollars are needed for critical resiliency and adaptation projects, including flood protection, elevated transportation routes, and wetland mitigation. This legislation moves us in the right direction by ensuring that the largest polluters help cover the cost instead of shifting the burden onto taxpayers. My constituents deserve relief, and this bill helps make sure that Big Oil companies; not working families; pay their fair share,” said Assemblyman Jerry Walker, a new co-sponsor of the legislation (D-Hudson).

“New Jersey families are paying the price for decades of corporate pollution, while the oil and gas companies responsible are making record profits,” said Matt Smith, New Jersey State Director at Food & Water Watch. “The Polluters Pay Act is about fairness and accountability. As they negotiate next year's budget, Governor Sherrill and legislative leaders have a simple choice: make polluters pay, or make the rest of us keep footing the bill.”

“It is fundamentally unfair for New Jersey taxpayers and ratepayers to bear all the costs of increased flooding, extreme heat, and severe storms. The world’s largest fossil fuel extraction companies should pay their fair share first — before asking families and businesses to absorb service reductions, project and infrastructure delays, or higher taxes and utility rates. That’s why the legislature needs to pass Polluters Pay now,” said Jesse Burns, League Of Women Voters of New Jersey Executive Director.

“As kids we are told, you make a mess, you clean it up. The same goes for the fossil fuel industry,” said Amy Goldsmith, New Jersey State Director at Clean Water Action. “New Jersey ranks as one of the top three states in the nation most impacted by climate change. Big Oil and Gas knew what they were doing and did it anyway. It is time for them to pay their fair share.”

“New Jersey families are already getting squeezed by property tax increases, rising health care costs and insurance premiums and a big driver of these cost increases is the climate crisis,” said Ben Dziobek, executive director of Climate Revolution Action Network. “This bill will bring real and urgent relief by requiring the world's most profitable corporate polluters to pay for the damages caused by their pollution, and invest those funds into urgently needed infrastructure projects and public programs that protect our health, safety and economy.”

“New Jersey championed the creation of the Superfund program to clean up our toxic sites more than 40 years ago. It’s time that we have a Superfund program for our climate disasters,

especially for our most vulnerable communities. We are not going to see more federal funding

to mitigate climate impacts. New Jersey has to hold the largest polluters accountable to protect our communities from extreme weather events. In this year of record breaking flooding, extreme heat and more intense thunderstorms, and amidst an escalating affordability crisis made worse by climate damages, the time is now for the Legislature to pass this bill before the budget is finalized,” said Doug O’Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey

The bill is currently sponsored by 43 Assembly members and 19 Senators.