ASSEMBLY, No. 2969

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED MAY 12, 1997

 

 

By Assemblymen CORODEMUS and WOLFE

 

 

An Act concerning legislative oversight of shore protection expenditures, amending and supplementing P.L.1992, c.148.

 

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

 

    1. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall develop a priority system for ranking shore protection projects and establish appropriate criteria therefor. Commencing with the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1998, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the commissioner shall use the priority system to establish a shore protection project priority list for projects designated to receive funding pursuant to an appropriation made from the Shore Protection Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "fund," established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1992, c.148 (C.13:19-16.1). The list shall include a description of each project and its purpose, impact, estimated cost, and estimated construction schedule, and an explanation of the manner in which priorities were established. A description of the priority system and the project priority list for the ensuing fiscal year shall be submitted to the Legislature on or before January 31 of each year on a day when both Houses are meeting. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly shall cause the date of submission to be entered upon the Senate Journal and the Minutes of the General Assembly, respectively, and shall cause the project priority list to be introduced in each House in the form of legislative bills authorizing the expenditure of monies appropriated pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1992, c.148 (C.13:19-16.1) for projects on the list, and shall refer these bills to the Senate Economic Growth, Agriculture and Tourism Committee and the General Assembly Environment, Science and Technology Committee, or their successors, for their respective consideration.

    b. Within 60 days of the referral thereof, the Senate Economic Growth, Agriculture and Tourism Committee and the General Assembly Environment, Science and Technology Committee , or their successors, shall, either individually or jointly, consider the legislation containing the project priority list, and shall report the legislation, together with any modifications, out of committee for consideration by each House of the Legislature. On or before June 1 of each year, the Legislature shall approve the legislation containing the project priority list, including any amendatory or supplementary provisions thereto. The legislation approved by the Legislature shall authorize the expenditure of monies appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection from the Shore Protection Fund for the specific projects, including the estimated amounts therefor, on the list.

    c. No monies appropriated from the Shore Protection Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection shall be expended for any shore protection project unless the estimated expenditure is authorized pursuant to legislation approved in accordance with the provisions of subsection b. of this section or unless the shore protection project is of an emergency nature pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.1992, c.148 (C.13:19-16.1). The department is authorized to transfer monies between authorized projects to compensate for the differences between the estimated and actual costs of a project. If the Legislature fails to approve legislation within the time frame specified pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the expenditure of monies appropriated from the Shore Protection Fund shall be authorized pursuant to the provisions of the annual appropriations act.

 

    2. Section 1 of P.L.1992, c.148 (C.13:19-16.1) is amended to read as follows:

    1. a. There is created in the Department of the Treasury a special non-lapsing fund to be known as the "Shore Protection Fund." The monies in the fund are dedicated and shall only be used to carry out the purposes enumerated in subsection b. of this section. The fund shall be credited with all revenues collected and deposited in the fund pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1968, c.49 (C.46:15-8), all interest received from the investment of monies in the fund, and any monies which, from time to time, may otherwise become available for the purposes of the fund. Pending the use thereof pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of this section, the monies deposited in the fund shall be held in interest-bearing accounts in public depositories, as defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1970, c.236 (C.17:9-41), and may be invested or reinvested in such securities as are approved by the State Treasurer. Interest or other income earned on monies deposited into the fund shall be credited to the fund for use as set forth in this act for other monies in the fund.

    b. Monies deposited in the "Shore Protection Fund" shall be used, in accordance with the priority list approved by the Legislature pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill), for shore protection projects associated with the protection, stabilization, restoration or maintenance of the shore, including monitoring studies and land acquisition, consistent with the current New Jersey Shore Protection Master Plan prepared pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1978, c.157, and may include the nonfederal share of any State-federal project[, provided however that]. The requirements of subsection c. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill) notwithstanding, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection [and Energy] may, pursuant to appropriations made by law, allocate monies deposited in the fund for shore protection projects of an emergency nature, in the event of storm, stress of weather or similar act of God. Two percent of the monies annually deposited in the fund shall be allocated and annually appropriated for the purposes of funding the Coastal Protection Technical Assistance Service established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1993, c.176 (C.18A:64L-1), of which amount up to $100,000 annually may be utilized for funding coastal engineering research and development to be conducted by Stevens Institute of Technology in response to requests therefor made by State or local governmental entities.

(cf: P.L.1993, c.176, s.5)

 

    3. This act shall take effect on January 1 following enactment, but the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection may take such anticipatory action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of the act.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill would establish a procedure for the Legislature to annually review the expenditure of monies deposited in the Shore Protection Fund. Currently, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) receives an annual appropriation ($15 million) pursuant to the appropriations act from the fund to pay for the costs of shore protection projects as determined by the DEP. This bill would require the commissioner to develop a priority system for ranking shore protection projects and establish appropriate ranking criteria.

    Commencing with the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1998, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the commissioner would be required to use the priority system to establish a shore protection project priority list for projects designated to receive funding pursuant to an appropriation made from the Shore Protection Fund, established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1992, c.148 (C.13:19-16.1). The list would include a description of each project and its purpose, impact, estimated cost, and estimated construction schedule, and an explanation of the manner in which priorities were established.

    The commissioner would be required to submit a description of the priority system and the project priority list for the ensuing fiscal year to the Legislature on or before January 31 of each year on a day when both Houses are meeting. The project priority list would then be introduced in each House in the form of legislative bills authorizing the expenditure of monies appropriated pursuant to the fund for projects on the list. The bills would be referred to the Senate Economic Growth, Agriculture and Tourism Committee and the General Assembly Environment, Science and Technology Committee, or their successors, for their respective consideration.

    Within 60 days of referral, the Senate and General Assembly Committees would be required to consider the legislation and report it, together with any modifications, out of committee for consideration by each House of the Legislature. On or before June 1 of each year, the Legislature would be required to approve the authorizing legislation. The bill would prohibit the expenditure of monies appropriated from the Shore Protection Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection for any shore protection project unless the expenditure is authorized pursuant to legislation, as described above.

    The bill would also amend P.L.1992, c.148 to provide that monies deposited in the "Shore Protection Fund" be used for shore protection projects in accordance with the priority list approved by the Legislature. However, the commissioner would retain the authority to allocate monies appropriated from the fund for shore protection projects of an emergency nature.

    The bill authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to transfer monies between projects authorized pursuant to legislation to compensate for the differences between the estimated and actual costs of a project. The bill also provides that, in the event the Legislature does not approve legislation within the time frame specified in the bill, the expenditure of monies appropriated from the Shore Protection Fund would be authorized pursuant to the provisions of the annual appropriations act. Other provisions of the bill further clarify that monies appropriated from the Shore Protection Fund could be expended for shore protection projects of an emergency nature, as already provided pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1992, c.148 (C.13:19-16.1). The bill would take effect on January 1 following enactment.

 

 

 

Establishes priority list and legislative approval of shore protection projects.