Legislation

LICEB Transfer Reaches Governor’s Desk

Yesterday, the New Jersey General Assembly unanimously approved legislation transferring the Licensed Irrigation Contractors Examiners Board—the regulators that make and enforce the rules that govern our profession—from the Department of Environmental Protection to the Department of Community Affairs. This development comes shortly after the Senate’s unanimous approval late last month, meaning that the measure is now on the Governor’s desk; a signature away from enactment.

If approved, our licensure board will be housed in the same Department that promulgates and enforces the Universal Construction Code, and oversees the municipal code inspectors we work with every day.
IANJ has supported this effort for years because it will: 

• Put the Licensed Irrigation Examiners Board in direct and constant contact with the municipal code inspectors charged with approving our work;
  
• Further the bond between our profession and the codes that govern the products we install and maintain; and
  
• Streamline the enforcement of irrigation laws and regulations, including the requirement that our products be installed and maintained by licensed contractors.
  

Progress like this doesn’t happen on its own, and IANJ thanks the many volunteers who have worked to gain the support of the Assembly and Senate, regulators in the DEP and DCA, representatives of the LICEB, and decision-makers in the Governor’s Office since we first embraced this reform at our 2012 annual meeting.

We’d also like to thank the founders, volunteers, and supporters of IPAC, the Irrigation Industry’s Political Action Committee who work every day to ensure that you are well represented in Trenton and beyond.
Our job is not over; the Governor still has to sign the bill. When and if that happens, our next task will be working to ensure that the transfer happens smoothly and that the Department of Community Affairs is ready and able to take on the fly-by-night, unlicensed contractors who put our industry and customers at risk.

Thank you all again for your membership and support, and congratulations! 

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