Officials are pushing a bill aimed at reducing flooding across New Jersey after a summer marked by several intense storms and widespread flooding,

Local officials are renewing calls for passage of the "Make Polluters Pay" act. The proposal would require certain major greenhouse gas emitters to contribute to a state fund dedicated to climate resilience and infrastructure improvements.

Residents in Jersey City said flooding has become a persistent problem, with streets in some neighborhoods inundated after both major storms and routine rainfall.

"It could be 20 minutes of rain, and you don't want to go. You don't want to drive out here," said Jersey City resident Zachary Lecky.

Assemblywoman Katie Brennan has emerged as one of the bill's most vocal supporters. She argues that increasingly frequent downpours are straining infrastructure that was not built to handle the volume of rain New Jersey is experiencing.

"It's not just Superstorm Sandy. It's not just Hurricane Ida," Brennan said. "It's all of these kind of seemingly random Tuesday or expecting rain tonight that scare you...because of the volume of the rain that we're seeing."

The legislation would impose what supporters describe as a "fair share" payment on corporations deemed to be major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. Revenue collected under the proposal would be deposited into a climate adaptation and resiliency fund.

According to supporters, the money could be used for projects such as sewer and drainage upgrades, flood mitigation efforts and urban tree planting.

"It would pay for the exact things that we're all suffering from right now," Brennan said. "When you hear about the flash floods that people get caught in and are super deadly, or you see a place like Jersey City and the infrastructure has just not kept up at all."

Residents told News 12 the upgrades are badly needed.

"It's crazy, especially downtown," Lecky said. "Especially going down Montgomery [Street]. It's ridiculous."

Other residents pointed to safety concerns.

"There's always accidents," said Sarah Hernandez. "The police cars and the ambulance trying to transport the other parties, trying to get across because it's just really bad with the floods."

Brennan said the proposal has the potential to generate up to $2.5 billion annually, with as much as $50 billion collected over time for climate resilience and infrastructure projects.

"We're going to pay for it one way or the other," she said. "It shouldn't be us. It should be the polluters."