STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2134

with Assembly Floor Amendments

(Proposed By Assemblyman ASSELTA)

ADOPTED: FEBRUARY 20, 1997

      These amendments would diminish somewhat the requirement that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) establish an inventory of the State's natural, historic and recreational resources. The bill currently requires the DEP to include in the inventory all federal, state, county and local sites of interest as enumerated in the bill. The DEP has indicated that this information is currently not available on the Geographic Information System (GIS), and would take more than one year to accumulate. Thus, the amendments would require that the inventory of resources include, "to the greatest extent possible," the enumerated sites. The amendments also require the department to annually update the information contained in the inventory pamphlet to provide the public with the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on the resources described therein.

      The amendments make the bill identical to Senate No. 1263 (2R), which has already passed the full Senate.