Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOT to consult Department of Agriculture and County Agriculture Development Boards when developing transportation capital project list.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the inclusion of agricultural concerns in the annual transportation capital project list and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Transportation shall annually consult, in a manner to be determined by the Commissioner of Transportation, with the Department of Agriculture and County Agriculture Development Boards, established pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-14) concerning the transportation infrastructure needs of the State’s agricultural community when developing the Annual Transportation Capital Program, required pursuant to section 22 of P.L1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-22).
b. The Department of Transportation shall develop a methodology to account for the identified transportation infrastructure needs of the agricultural community and incorporate those needs into the Department of Transportation’s infrastructure management systems that are used to evaluate transportation infrastructure needs, when identifying potential transportation infrastructure projects for inclusion in the Annual Transportation Capital Program.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to consult with the Department of Agriculture (DOA) and County Agriculture Development Boards (county boards) when developing the Annual Transportation Capital Program. The bill requires the DOT to develop a methodology to account for the transportation infrastructure needs identified by the DOA and county boards, and to incorporate those needs into DOT management systems, the analytic tools used to evaluate the condition of transportation infrastructure, when identifying infrastructure projects for inclusion in the Annual Transportation Capital Program.
The State has made significant investments into farmland preservation efforts. Additional investments must be made into the transportation infrastructure surrounding such farmland to preserve the productivity and viability of New Jersey farms. Investments in transportation infrastructure that benefits agriculture will help maintain farming as a viable industry in the State and provide net benefits to the economy as a whole.