SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 800

 

with Senate committee amendments

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: MARCH 18, 1996

 

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 800 (1R) of 1996 with amendments.

      Senate Bill No. 800 (1R), as amended, creates the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority (NJRA), with far-reaching powers to assist in the revitalization of New Jersey's urban areas. The bill establishes the authority in, but not of, the Department of Commerce and Economic Development and confers upon it all of the powers necessary to oversee the revitalization of the State's urban areas. The NJRA is given bonding authority with an annual bonding cap of $100 million.

      In addition, the bill creates a framework under which properties declared as abandoned based on their condition may be acquired in an abbreviated manner and redeveloped. The bill also authorizes the use of payments in lieu of taxes as a financing method for redevelopment projects.

      The bill establishes an empowerment neighborhood program through which certain municipalities may be made eligible for financial assistance from the NJRA. The Office of Neighborhood Empowerment will be in, but not of, the Department of Community Affairs.

      Finally, the bill also sets forth procedures for remediating contaminated properties.

 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

      The committee amended the bill with the approval of the sponsor to:

 

    Remove the requirement that projects in empowerment neighborhoods receive first priority for financing from the NJRA, and reinsert a requirement that the NJRA give preference to projects in such neighborhoods when making project financing decisions.

 

    Require the Urban Coordinating Council to work in conjunction, as well as in consultation, the NJRA for the final eligibility guidelines which the council will establish for municipal participation in the neighborhood empowerment program, for the identification of municipalities that qualify for the program, and for the final designation of municipalities as empowerment neighborhoods.

 

    Require NJRA projects to be considered for funding from the "Water Supply Bond Act of 1981," the "Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 1992," and the "1992 New Jersey Employment and Workforce Development Act."

      

    Correct the wording of the appropriation for the NJRA and the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment.

 

    Change the effective date to make the establishment of the NJRA immediate upon enactment. The remainder of the bill will become effective on the 60th day after enactment.

 

    Make a deletion from section 56 of the bill concerning the liability of owners or operators of property for discharges on the property occurring prior to the owner or operator becoming the owner or operator.

 

   

FISCAL IMPACT

      The bill appropriates $9 million from the General Fund to the NJRA in, but not of, the Department of Commerce and Economic Development. In addition, the bill appropriates $1 million from the General Fund to the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment in, but not of, the Department of Community Affairs.

        The bill sets aside a portion of the aggregate amount of loans and loan guarantees made by the Economic Development Authority for NJRA projects. In addition, the bill makes available funds out of pre-existing bond issues for projects in empowerment neighborhoods or enterprise communities and provides that consideration be given to funding such projects, as may be practicable in an empowerment zone or enterprise community, as well as other NJRA projects, out of the "Water Supply Bond Act of 1981," the "Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 1992," and the "1992 New Jersey Employment and Workforce Development Act."