SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT, WAGERING, TOURISM & HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4370

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 16, 2019

      The Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4370.

      This bill would increase the membership of the board of trustees of the Washington Association of New Jersey (WANJ) from its current limit of 12 members to 18 members. The bill also increases the minimum number of members on the board of trustees from nine members to 12 members.

      The WANJ, one of the oldest historic preservation organizations in the United States, was founded to acquire and preserve George Washington’s military headquarters at the Jacob Ford Mansion in Morristown, NJ. Chartered by the NJ Legislature in 1874, the WANJ is the not-for-profit advisory and fundraising body for the Morristown National Historical Park. The Morristown National Historical Park is the United States’ first national historical park and includes historical sites such as the Jacob Ford Mansion, Fort Nonsense, the NJ Brigade and Cross Estate Gardens, and the Jockey Hollow Encampment. The WANJ partners with the National Park Service to be co-stewards of these historical sites.

      Assembly Bill No. 4370 is identical to Senate Bill No. 2919 of 2018-2019.