SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY, No. 28

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: APRIL 17, 1997

 

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 28 of 1997.

      Assembly Bill No. 28 appropriates $5,856,000 from the "Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 1992," P.L.1992, c.88, for loans to local government units, and private lake associations or similar organizations or owners of private dams (as co-applicants with local government units), for the dam restoration projects set forth in the bill. Specifically, the bill appropriates $5,046,081 for six projects listed in subsection a. of section 1 of the bill; $292,800 for administrative costs; and $517,119 for a contingency project category. If any funds remain unexpended from the six projects listed in subsection a. of section 1 of the bill, these unexpended funds are to be added to the contingency category and used for the eight additional projects listed in subsection b. of section 1 of the bill; the approved loan amounts for these eight additional projects total $3.6 million.

      The 1992 bond act authorized $15 million for low-interest loans of not more than 2 percent to local government units, private lake associations and owners of private dams for dam restoration and inland waters projects. P.L.1995, c.297 appropriated $500,000 for one project. P.L.1977, c.16 appropriated $8.644 million for eight projects. Thus, if this bill is enacted, the funds made available by the 1992 bond act for loans for dam repairs will be exhausted for the near future. Loan repayments will make additional appropriations possible in the future.

      The 1992 bond act also authorized $5 million for the repair of State-owned high-hazard dams; these funds were appropriated by P.L.1993, c.273 for nine named projects and a contingency category.       As reported, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No. 1904 of 1997 (Bubba/DiFrancesco).

 

FISCAL IMPACT

      The bill appropriates $5,856,000 from monies made available pursuant to the "Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 1992," P.L.1992, c.88, for the purpose of providing loans to assist local government units, and private lake associations or similar organizations or owners of private dams (as co-applicants with local government units), with dam restoration and inland waters projects.