For more than 50 years, New Jersey has been a national leader in the adoption and enforcement of environmental protection statutes including measures to address air and water quality, hazardous waste, and areas of critical environmental concern. While some minor gaps in the environmental statutory array remain to be filled, over the past few years the focus of legislative attention has clearly shifted to clean energy, climate change, and sustainability issues. These efforts have been spearheaded for more than nearly four decades by the chairman of the Senate's Environmental and Energy Committee, Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex).

The following reviews Smith's top 10 priorities for the remainder of the 2024-2025 legislative session, only three of which can be classified as environmental measures. Based on experience, it is likely that the proposals will receive serious attention and several of them will become law before the end of the session.