ASSEMBLY, No. 1134

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblywoman MURPHY and Assemblyman DeCROCE

An Act concerning joint insurance fund refunds, amending N.J.S.40A:4-39 and supplementing P.L.1983, c.372 (C.40A:10-36 et seq.).

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. N.J.S.40A:4-39 is amended to read as follows:

    40A:4-39. a. In the budget of any local unit, dedicated revenues anticipated during the fiscal year from any dog tax, dog license, solid fuel license, sinking fund for term bonds, bequest, escheat, federal grant, motor vehicle fine dedicated to road repairs, relocation costs deposited into a revolving relocation assistance fund established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1987, c.98 (C.20:4-4.1a), refund payments from a joint insurance fund deposited into a joint insurance revolving fund established pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C.      )(pending before the Legislature as this bill) and, subject to the prior written consent of the director, other items of like character when the revenue is not subject to reasonably accurate estimate in advance, may be included in said budget by annexing to said budget a statement in substantially the following form:

    "The dedicated revenues anticipated during the year ....... from ........ (here insert one or more of the sources above, as the case may be) are hereby anticipated as revenue and are hereby appropriated for the purposes to which said revenue is dedicated by statute or other legal requirement."

    b. Dedicated revenues included in accordance with this section shall be available for expenditure by the local unit as and when received in cash during the fiscal year. The inclusion of such dedicated revenues shall be subject to the approval of the director, who may require such explanatory statements or data in connection therewith as

he deems advisable for the information and protection of the public.

(cf: P.L.1987, c.98, s.1)

    2. (New section) The governing body of any local unit that has established a joint insurance fund may by resolution or ordinance, as appropriate, establish a joint insurance revolving fund into which may be deposited any refunds paid to the local unit by the joint insurance fund to be dedicated for the payment of liabilities to the fund in future years. In no event shall amounts deposited in a joint insurance revolving fund exceed the annual amount contributed by the local unit to the joint insurance fund during the prior year.

    Moneys appropriated from the joint insurance revolving fund shall be used by the local unit to cover losses attributable to claims being paid by the joint insurance fund in future years which exceed contributions paid into the joint insurance fund by the local unit.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would authorize a local unit to establish a dedicated fund into which may be deposited refunds from a joint insurance fund, which amounts would be retained to protect against a future year when claims payable by the joint insurance fund exceed contributions paid into the joint insurance fund by the local unit. Maintenance of such a revolving fund would allow a local unit to have assets readily available to make additional contributions into the joint insurance fund when they are needed without resorting to raising monies at that time.

Authorizes establishment of joint insurance revolving fund.