New Jersey A 491: Creates the crime of victimization of a senior citizen or a person with a disability.

Bill Text

A491 

ASSEMBLY, No. 491 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ

District 33 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires certain residential buildings to have fire 
barriers in common attic areas.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative 
Counsel.

�� 

An Act concerning residential fire safety and 
supplementing P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) and P.L.1967, c.76 
(C.55:13A-1 et seq.).

���� Be It 
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of 
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� For a qualified 
residential building, the code shall require, and an application for a 
construction permit shall not be declared complete without providing, that 
there be fire barriers with a fire-resistance rating of at least three hours 
installed in any common area loft, attic, or cockloft over and above the 
separations between adjoining dwelling units.

���� b.��� On or before the first 
day of the sixth month next following the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� 
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of 
Community Affairs shall promulgate rules and regulations, pursuant to its 
rule-making authority under the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this section, and shall 
revise the code accordingly.

���� c.���� As used in this 
section:

���� �Dwelling unit� means the same 
as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-3).

���� �Fire barrier� means a 
fire-resistance rated wall assembly of materials designed to restrict the 
spread of fire in which continuity is maintained, and which extends to or 
through the roof.

���� �Qualified residential 
building� means any building or structure of three or more stories with two or 
more dwelling units.

���� 2.��� a.� Within 180 days of 
the adoption of rules and regulations pursuant to subsection c. of this section, 
a qualified residential building shall have fire barriers with a 
fire-resistance rating of at least three hours installed in any common area 
loft, attic, or cockloft over and above the separations between adjoining 
dwelling units.

���� b.��� A qualified residential 
building that does not meet the definition of �multiple dwelling,� as that term 
is defined in section 3 of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-3), shall be subject to 
inspections pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-13) for the 
limited purpose of ensuring compliance with subsection a. of this section.

���� c.���� On or before the first 
day of the sixth month next following the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� 
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of 
Community Affairs shall promulgate rules and regulations, pursuant to its 
rule-making authority under the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this section.

���� d.��� As used in this section:

���� �Fire barrier� means a 
fire-resistance rated wall assembly of materials designed to restrict the 
spread of fire in which continuity is maintained, and which extends to or 
through the roof.

���� �Qualified residential 
building� means any building or structure of three or more stories with two or 
more dwelling units.

���� 3.��� This act shall take 
effect immediately and section 1 of this act shall apply to a new qualified 
residential building for which an application for a construction permit is not 
yet declared complete on or before the adoption of rules and regulations and 
code revisions pursuant to that section.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would require all 
qualified residential buildings to have fire barriers in common attic areas over 
and above the separations between adjoining dwelling units.� Open, unprotected 
common attic areas present a way for fires to quickly spread throughout a 
building, creating enormous risks to the safety of residents and firefighters.� 
This bill would require that three-hour rated fire barriers be installed in 
these common attic areas to slow the spread of fires, which would provide more 
time for residents to safely evacuate and limit the scope of any fires that 
firefighters have to combat, while also limiting property damage.

���� The bill defines a �qualified 
residential building� as any building or structure of three or more stories 
with two or more dwelling units.

���� The bill requires the 
Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt common attic area fire barrier 
regulations, on or before the first day of the sixth month next following the 
bill�s effective date, for both new construction and existing buildings that 
would require a retrofit.� For early stage new construction, an application for 
a construction permit could not be declared complete without providing for fire 
barriers if the application is not yet declared compl