March 7, 1997

Senate Bill No. 1268

(First Reprint)

To the Senate:

    Pursuant to Article V, Section 1, Paragraph 15 of the New Jersey Constitution, I am appending to Senate Bill No. 1268 (First Reprint) at the time of signing it my statement of the items, or parts thereof, to which I object so that each item, or part thereof, so objected to shall not take effect.

    Under the “Local Redevelopment and Housing Law,” members of housing authorities and redevelopment agencies must enroll in certain training courses to improve their technical expertise and management skills. These courses, prescribed under the rule-making authority of the Department of Community Affairs (“DCA”), must be completed within one year of the member’s appointment to the authority or agency, or within the effective date of the rules, whichever is later. Members who do not complete their required courses must resign at the end of their five-year terms. The bill makes several changes to current law.

    First, this bill extends the time within which courses must be completed following the member’s appointment. Second, under this bill, members who do not complete their courses are ineligible for reappointment to membership on a housing authority or redevelopment agency for five years following the completion of the member’s term. Third, this bill allows DCA to accept, as fulfilling course requirements, any prescribed course completed when the member was not serving a housing authority or

redevelopment agency. Finally, the bill appropriates to DCA $90,000 to assist local housing authorities with the costs of the required courses. This bill is retroactive to June 5, 1995.

    Although I recognize the merit of changing the completion deadline for members of local housing authorities and redevelopment agencies, I believe that the appropriation is unnecessary because the costs associated with the required courses are currently and appropriately absorbed by the housing authorities and redevelopment agencies on behalf of their members.

    Accordingly, I herewith append the following statement of objections to the sums, or parts thereof, appropriated by this bill.

Page 1, Title, Line 3:                 Delete “and making an

                                       appropriation”

Page 3, Section 3, Lines 14-17:        Delete in entirety.

                                  Respectfully,

                                  /s/ Christine Todd Whitman

                                  Governor

    [seal]

Attest:

/s/ Michael P. Torpey

Chief Counsel to the Governor