ASSEMBLY, No. 4769
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GREGORY E. MYHRE
District 9 (Ocean)
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Kanitra and Assemblywoman Flynn
SYNOPSIS
Requires certain State agencies to establish expedited approval and permitting procedures for artificial intelligence data centers powered by small modular nuclear reactors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the development of artificial intelligence data centers and supplementing P.L.2024, c.49 (C.34:1B-394 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Advanced reactor" means a nuclear reactor, including a prototype plant, as defined in 10 C.F.R. s.50.2 and 10 C.F.R. s.52.1, with significant improvements compared to reactors operating on December 27, 2020, including improvements such as: (1) additional inherent safety features; (2) lower waste yields; (3) improved fuel and material performance; (4) increased tolerance to loss of fuel cooling; (5) enhanced reliability or improved resilience; (6) increased proliferation resistance; (7) increased thermal efficiency; (8) reduced consumption of cooling water and other environmental impacts; (9) the ability to integrate into electric applications and nonelectric applications; (10) modular sizes to allow for deployment that corresponds with the demand for electricity or process heat; and (11) operational flexibility to respond to changes in demand for electricity or process heat and to complement integration with intermittent renewable energy or energy storage.
"AI data center" means the same as the term is defined in section 2 of P.L.2024, c.49 (C.34:1B-395).
"Board" means the Board of Public Utilities.
"Electric public utility" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
"Nuclear reactor" means an apparatus required to be licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission that is designed or used to sustain nuclear fission in a self-supporting chain reaction.
"Small modular reactor" or "SMR" means an advanced reactor that: (1) has a rated electric generating capacity of no less than 50 megawatts electric (MWe) and no more than 300 megawatts electric (MWe); (2) may be of modular design; (3) is capable of being constructed and operated either alone or in combination with one or more similar reactors if additional reactors are or became necessary at a single site; and (4) is required to be licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
b. No later than 12 months after the effective date of this section, the Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Community Affairs, and the Department of Environmental Protection shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations to establish expedited approval and permitting procedures for projects to develop AI data centers that are powered by on-site small modular reactors. The purpose of the rules and regulations shall be to encourage and expedite the construction of new AI data centers that are powered by on-site small modular reactors in the State, as well as the construction and use of small modular reactors at existing AI data centers.
c. The rules and regulations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions to establish:
(1) expedited site approval processes for use by all relevant State agencies and model expedited approval processes for use by local governments;
(2) expedited Department of Community Affairs construction plan review processes;
(3) expedited interconnection provisions, for use by the board and electric public utilities; and
(4) expedited Department of Environmental Protection permit processes, including, but not limited to, for permits issued pursuant to the pursuant to "The Wetlands Act of 1970," P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act," P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et seq.), the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), the "Water Supply Management Act," P.L.1981, c.262 (C.58:1A-1 et seq.), the "Water Pollution Control Act," P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.), the "Water Quality Planning Act," P.L.1977, c.75 (C.58:11A-1 et seq.), and the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Board of Public Utilities, the Department of Community Affairs, and the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules and regulations to establish expedited approval and permitting procedures for projects to develop artificial intelligence (AI) data centers that are powered by on-site small modular reactors (SMRs).
The bill would stipulate that the purpose of the rules and regulations would be to encourage and expedite the construction of new AI data centers that are powered by on-site SMRs in the State, as well as the construction and use of SMRs at existing AI data centers. The bill would require the rules and regulations to be adopted no later than 12 months after the bill's effective date. Finally, the bill would establish certain minimum contents for the rules and regulations, including that they establish provisions expedited site approval processes for use by all relevant State agencies and model expedited approval processes for use by local governments.