New Jersey Senators Urge Passage Of “Polluters Pay Act” Ahead Of Budget Vote

By Lucy Harper  (NJ State House News Service) 

TRENTON, NJ. – A trio of senators urged lawmakers Wednesday to bring the “Polluters Pay Act” to floor votes this week, to ensure fossil fuel companies pay for the impacts of climate change.

“Let’s get this done,” Sen. Patrick Diegnan Jr., a Democrat from South Plainfield, told reporters. “I think everybody, when they understand the circumstances, when they understand why it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna get done.”

The proposal, S2338 which has passed Senate and Assembly committees this month, would establish a $50 billion fund for climate damage. 

Sen. Andrew Zwicker, a Democrat from South Brunswick, emphasized the significance of the bill, saying “It has been known that the fossil fuel companies have been lying to the American people for decades.”

Zwicker said the bill is long overdue, and that for decades “fossil fuel companies knew of the harmful impact of burning fossil fuel.” 

“They lied to us, they lied to New Jersey, they lied to our country and to the world,” Zwicker said. “This bill is holding them accountable for that lying.”

With 44 of 80 cosponsors in the Assembly and 19 Senate sponsors, as of Wednesday afternoon the legislation had not been scheduled for floor votes, though activists remain hopeful. 

Sen. Linda Greenstein, a Democrat from Plainsboro, said, “As we work to finalize the budget, polluters causing the damage should be the ones to pay for it.”

“Now is time to make the polluters pay, … now is the time to get this done once and for all,” Zwicker concluded. “It’s common sense.”