The Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee heard testimony from dozens of people over four hours but took no vote on the bill.
"I don't want to just railroad this through," said Assemblyman Jerry Green (D, Union), the committee chairman.
Green drew applause when he said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver "has put me on notice that she doesn't care how long it takes to get it right."
Still, Green was adamant that the council "is dead." He described the bill as 90 percent done.
A key reason the Christie administration wants the bill approved by the end of the month is that it would also abolish a 2.5 percent fee on nonresidential development, which is currently under a moratorium but is set to take effect in July.
The bill would end the current system of state-imposed affordable-housing quotas for towns in favor of an approach in which 10 percent of all new residential development is set aside for low- and moderate-income people.
It would also void previous, unmet housing obligations and no longer tie housing requirements to job creation.
"The governor's goals are very simple: end [the council] and the madness of the arbitrary quota system that paid dividends to lawyers and planners, cost towns thousands of dollars, and stymied sensible growth," Grifa said.
But critics say the way in which the bill would determine whether towns are in compliance with affordable-housing obligations means those that are already diverse would be asked to do more than some wealthier suburbs, while also making it easier for developers to pave over rural areas.
And some fear the proposal would make it too easy for developers to get out of the 10 percent set-asides.
