SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1734

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JANUARY 23, 1997

      The Senate Transportation Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 1734 with committee amendments.

      This amended bill adds to the definition of the "Circle of Mobility" commuter rail service in the central New Jersey region terminating at the proposed Lakewood Transportation Center in Ocean County or other location, as determined by the Board of the New Jersey Transit Corporation, pursuant to a resolution of the board providing for the achievement of a consensus among the interested parties as to the direction of the proposed rail line. The bill additionally provides, however, that this bill shall not be construed as affecting any priorities which may have been assigned to any other project in the Circle of Mobility. Current law provides that the New Jersey Transit Corporation is to proceed expeditiously to complete the Circle of Mobility.

      The committee amended the bill by deleting reference to a specific route from South Brunswick Township in Middlesex County to the proposed Lakewood Transportation Center in Ocean County through intermediate points, in favor of relying upon the recently adopted resolution of the Board of the New Jersey Transit Corporation providing for the achievement of a consensus on the appropriate route. The committee also amended the bill by providing that it would not affect any priorities which may have been assigned to any other project in the Circle of Mobility.