On January 20, Governor Sherrill was sworn in as New Jersey’s 57th Governor. In her inauguration speech, she declared a state of emergency on utility costs and, in turn, signed two Executive Orders on the topic. Later in the day in Trenton, she signed four additional Executive Orders.   

Each executive order is summarized below. 

Executive Order No. 1  
This Executive Order uses the State’s authority to offset upcoming rate increases from the regional grid operator PJM.  The Executive Order will: 

• Require Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to provide for Residential Universal Bill Credits to offset increases, due to take effect in 2026, in the cost of electricity supply relying on the same or similar sources of funding addressed in BPU’s August 13,2025order, 
• Empowers the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to pause or modify utility actions that could further increase bills.  
• Requires BPU, within180 days, to complete and issue a study regarding modernization of the traditional electric distribution utility business model.BPU will be required to hold at least one public stakeholder session during the development of the study.

Executive Order No. 2  
This Executive Order declares a State of Emergency under the Disaster Control Act and creates and expands multiple, expedited State programs to develop massive amounts of new power generation in New Jersey It also tackles permitting challenges and drive-up costs.  The Executive Order will address the state-level and interconnection delays at the utility level that hold up projects 

• Require BPU toaccelerates thedevelopment of distributed and utility scale solarelectrity
• programs to add thousands of megawatts of new solar and battery storage generation.
• Directs state agencies to identify permit reforms to more rapidly deploy new energy projects.
• Requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to take certain measures to modernize the natural gas-fired power plants already operating in New Jersey and better enable those plants to generate more electricity more efficiently, with less carbon output, and at their maximum capacity.
• Directs BPU to take action on artificial intelligence “ghost loads” by requiring electric utilities to report on energy requests from data centers. 
• Establishes a Nuclear Power Task Force to position theState to lead on building new nuclear power generation. 

 Executive Order No. 3  
This Executive Order establishes the ethical standards to be followed by public employees and officers serving in the Sherrill administration. The Executive Order will continue the: 

•  personal financial disclosurestatementrequirements for designated public employees and officers. 
• provision for the establishment of a blind trust for certain public employees and officers. 
• disclosure of a public employee or officer's interests in closely held corporations or other business entities. 
•  Code of Conduct applicable to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.  

Executive Order No. 4  
This Executive Order establishes the Office of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) within the Office of the Governor, a position designed to drive efficiency, transparency, and accountability across State government. The order outlines key roles and responsibilities of the COO, as well as the structure of the Office and how State agencies will interact with the Office of the COO.  The Executive Order will: 

• Establishes the roles and responsibilities of the COO, includingto serveas the Governor's principal advisor on strategic initiatives, operational performance, and organizational effectiveness , and to leadthe Governor’s efforts to improve customer service and streamline permitting and regulatory processes across agencies. 
• Establishes the overall structure of the Office of the COO, including an Office of Strategic Initiatives & Economic Opportunity to support the implementation of the Governor’s strategic priorities and an Operational Performance Office to improve processes and effectiveness across government. 
• Establishes other roles within the Office of the COO focused oncabinet affairs, constituent relations, administration, and the Governor’s office operations.
• Requires State agencies to designate liaisons to coordinate with the Office of the COO. 

Executive Order No. 5  
This Executive Order takes action to reduce permitting delays and costs, boost accountability in the permitting and regulatory process, and expand transparency into how taxpayer dollars are spent.  The Executive Order will:  

• Establish a Cross-Agency Permitting Team within the Office of the Chief Operating Officer to streamline and expedite the State permitting processes to reduce project delays and costs and to improve customer service, transparency, and accountability for permit applicants.
• Requires State agencies, within90 days, to catalog all the types of permits they issue and submit this information to the Cross-Agency Permitting Team. 
• Directs the Cross-Agency Permitting Team to develop apermittingdashboard that displays the status and progress ofState permit applications for projects in New Jersey and permitting process timeframes (shot clocks) that reduce permitting review and approval delays.
• Establishes a Regulatory Simplification Team, within the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, to reform State regulatory structures and processes to reduce project delays and costs.
• Creates the New Jersey Report Card, an interactive public-facing online portal that provides information onState-funded programs and what they are delivering for residents, and includes an interactive budget analysis tool. 

Please note that part of the Cross-Agency Permitting Team mandate is to “work with local governments to integrate and streamline local permitting processes and state permitting processes where possible”.  In addition, the Permit Catalog requires a detailed description of all stages of the approval process, including “any involvement of other federal, state, or local government entities in the approval process.”  

Executive Order No. 6  
This Executive Order takes action to protect kids online and improve children’s mental health. It creates a new office within the Department of Health to coordinate whole-of-government efforts to keep kids safe online and directs all State agencies with jurisdiction over issues pertaining to children and their interaction with technology platforms to prioritize children’s mental health outcomes.  The Executive Order will: 

• Orders relevant agencies to prioritize children’s mental health outcomes and conduct ongoing stakeholder engagement with kids, parents, educators, and mental health professionals to inform their efforts.
• Requires agencies to review their existing policies and regulatory frameworks to identify opportunities to promote healthy internet and social media use. 
• Tasks the COOwithcoordinating with agencies on this matter. 
• Establishes the Office of Youth Online Mental Health Safety and Awareness in the Department of Health to coordinate with State agencies and generate policy proposals to improve children’s safety.  

Contact: Erin Knoedler, Legislative Analyst, eknoedler@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x116.