ASSEMBLY ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1535

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 20, 1996

      The Assembly Environment, Science and Technology Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 1535 with committee amendments.

      As introduced, this bill would appropriate from the "Water Conservation Fund" established pursuant to the "Water Conservation Bond Act," P.L.1969, c.127, to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), for distribution to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission acting in a cooperative partnership with each other, the sum of $6.4 million for the acquisition of lands in the Highlands area of New Jersey, for the purpose of augmenting, increasing, improving, preserving, protecting, or conserving natural water resources and supplies important to New Jersey and facilitating recreational uses incidental thereto.

      To the extent that the balance of the moneys available in the "Water Conservation Fund" that have not been previously appropriated pursuant to law is insufficient to support the sums appropriated pursuant to the bill, the bill would make the following available from the "Water Conservation Fund" to support the remainder of the appropriation: (1) moneys returned to the "Water Conservation Fund" due to project withdrawals, cancellations, or cost savings involving projects previously funded by law; and (2) moneys previously appropriated pursuant to law from the "Water Conservation Fund" to fund projects but for which no such moneys have been expended, other than for administrative or program purposes, in the five-year period immediately prior to the date of enactment of the bill, or to fund projects deemed by the DEP as of the date of enactment of the bill to be otherwise no longer active, the previous appropriation of which is canceled subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor, except that this provision would not apply to moneys appropriated pursuant to P.L.1995. c.7 (which appropriated $10 million from the "Water Conservation Fund" for use toward the acquisition of lands in Sterling Forest in the State of New York and $1 million for use toward the acquisition of certain lands in the pinelands area of New Jersey).

      The committee amended the bill to reduce the appropriation from $6.4 million to $2.3 million in order to better reflect the remaining balance available for appropriation in the "Water Conservation Fund" of the 1969 "Water Conservation Bond Act."

      The committee also amended the bill to delete the provision distributing the monies appropriated by the bill to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, and to instead provide that those monies would be appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection for use by the department, in consultation with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, for the purpose set forth in the bill.

      The committee also amended the bill to provide for the acquisition of interests in land less than fee simple. Finally, the committee made technical amendments to the bill.