New Jersey S 1174: Allows certain restaurants to advertise that patrons may consume alcohol purchased off the restaurant premises; allows restaurants to charge corkage or service fee.

Bill Text

S1174 

SENATE, No. 1174 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

Senator NILSA I. CRUZ-PEREZ

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits electric and gas public utilities from 
collecting payment from residential budget billing plan customers whose service 
was interrupted as a result of major emergency event.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

�� 

An Act 
concerning certain customer billing practices of electric and gas public 
utilities and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� As used in P.L.��� , c.��� 
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

���� �Board� means the Board of 
Public Utilities or any successor agency.

���� �Budget billing plan� means a 
public utility service payment plan that allows a customer to pay a 
predetermined monthly rate for a set time period, based on the customer's 
average usage.

���� �Customer� means a residential 
customer receiving service from a public utility and participating in a budget 
billing plan offered by the public utility, as provided by any board rule, 
regulation, or order.

���� �Major emergency event� means a 
natural or humanly caused occurrence arising from conditions beyond the control 
of the public utility, including but not limited to, a thunderstorm, earthquake, 
tornado, hurricane, flood, heat wave, snowstorm, or ice storm, which results 
in:

���� a.���� a sustained service 
interruption to at least five percent of the customers within an operating area or at least five percent of the utility�s 
customers within a 
municipality or county located in an operating area; or

���� b.��� the declaration of a 
state of emergency or disaster by the State or by the federal government.

���� �Operating area� means a 
defined geographical service territory where a public utility distributes 
electricity or natural gas, or both, to end users as approved by the board.

���� "Public utility" 
means a public utility as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13, that transmits 
and distributes electricity or natural gas, or both, to end users within this 
State.

���� �Service interruption� means 
the cessation of electric or natural gas service by one or more customers of a 
public utility.

���� 2.��� Notwithstanding the 
provisions of any other law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, the 
board shall prohibit a public utility from charging a customer for service by 
that public utility during any time the customer incurred a service interruption 
due to the customer having sustained damage to the customer�s residence from 
the effects of a major emergency event and until such time as service is 
restored; provided, however, that the board may allow a public utility to 
collect payment from a customer after the billing due date, pursuant to law, if 
the customer owes the public utility any charge for service rendered prior to 
the date of a major emergency event.

���� 3.��� This act shall take 
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill directs the Board of 
Public Utilities (BPU) to prohibit any electric or gas public utility (utility) 
from charging a residential customer (customer) for electric or gas utility 
service who participates in a budget billing plan offered by the utility, as 
provided by any BPU rule or regulation, if the customer incurred a service 
interruption due to the customer having sustained damage to the customer�s 
residence from the effects of a �major emergency event,� as that term is 
defined in the bill, until such time service is restored.� This prohibition 
does not extend to any utility collecting from a customer, pursuant to law, 
payment for utility service rendered prior to the date of the major emergency 
event.