Sponsored by:
Senator PAUL A. SARLO
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator STEPHEN M. SWEENEY
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Oroho
SYNOPSIS
Revises requirements for grant recipients of Transportation Trust Fund Authority local aid program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning transportation projects funded through the local aid program, amending P.L.1995, c.108, and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 9 of P.L.1995, c.108 (C.27:1B-25.1) is amended to read as follows:
9. Aid to counties and municipalities administered by the department may, at the discretion of the commissioner, be disbursed to any individual county or municipality on a grant basis or on a cost reimbursement basis. Distribution of the portion of the grant provided initially to a county or municipality may be contingent on its performance in spending prior grants. Failure to award construction or other approved contracts for 100 percent of a county's allotment within three years of notification by the department of that year's allotment , or failure to award construction or other approved contracts for any percentage of a county's allotment within one year of notification by the department of that year's allotment, shall result in the allotment being immediately rescinded or the funds returned to the department, as applicable, or in the event such funds are not immediately returned, deducted by the department from future allocations of aid to such county. Any such funds may be reallocated by the commissioner on a grant basis or a cost reimbursement basis to such other counties or municipalities as the commissioner shall so determine. Failure to award construction or other approved contracts for 100 percent of a municipality's allotment within two years of notification by the department of that year's allotment, or failure to award construction or other approved contracts for any percentage of a municipality’s allotment within one year of notification by the department of that year's allotment, shall result in that year's allocation being immediately rescinded. Any such funds may be reallocated by the commissioner on a grant basis or a cost reimbursement basis to such other counties or municipalities as the commissioner shall determine.
(cf: P.L.2012, c.13, s.10)
2. (New section) a. All appropriations or authorizations made by the Legislature and allocated by the commissioner, under the local aid program, pursuant to section 25 of P.L1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-25), shall include the following limitations on grant recipients:
(1) local government entity grant recipients shall be prohibited from using local aid program funds to support the work of any local government entity’s employees on any projects funded, in whole or in part, out of funds from the local aid program;
(2) the construction contracts for all projects funded, in whole or in part, out of funds from the local aid program shall be made and awarded in accordance with the "Local Public Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.);
(3) for all projects funded, in whole or in part, out of funds from the local aid program, each bidder on a construction contract shall be prequalified by the New Jersey Department of Transportation; and,
(4) a grant recipient under the local aid program shall be permitted to expend up to 10 percent of its aid allotment in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018 for design purposes, and up to five percent of its aid allotment in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019 and every fiscal year thereafter for such purposes.
3. This act shall take effect immediately
STATEMENT
This bill revises requirements imposed upon the use of grant funds received by counties and municipalities through the transportation local aid program. These revisions include:
(1) requiring counties and municipalities to begin expending aid allotments within one year from the time they are provided notice of their award amount;
(2) prohibiting a local government entity from using local aid program funds to support the work of a local government entity’s employees from being on local aid projects funded from local aid funds;
(3) requiring local aid projects to be bid in accordance with local public contracts law;
(4) requiring all bidders on local aid program funded contracts to be prequalified by the New Jersey Department of Transportation; and,
(5) permitting local aid program grant recipients to use 10 percent of their awards on design costs in fiscal year 2019, and five percent of their awards on design costs in fiscal years 2020 and beyond.