SENATE, No. 2272

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 17, 1997

By Senator BARK

An Act concerning the Pinelands Development Credit Bank, and amending P.L.1985, c.310.

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

    1. Section 18 of P.L.1985, c.310 (C.13:18A-47) is amended to read as follows

    18. a. There is appropriated to the bank, from the General Fund, the sum of $5,000,000.00. This sum shall be used for the purchase of pinelands development credits and to extend pinelands development credit guarantees, as herein provided.

    b. The proceeds from the sale of pinelands development credits by the board or a county board shall remain available to the board or county board for the purposes of this act. Not more than five days after the [15th] 20th anniversary of the effective date of this act the board shall transfer to the General Fund all funds remaining on deposit in the bank. The board may transfer part or all of the funds on deposit in the bank to the General Fund prior to this date upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the board.

    c. On the [15th] 20th anniversary of the effective date of this act a county board shall transfer to the board that percentage of the funds remaining on deposit in the county bank which reflects the percentage of the matching grant made by the board to the county board pursuant to section 16 of this act.

(cf: P.L.1985, c.310, s.18)

    2. Section 19 of P.L. 1985, c.310 (C.13:18A-48) is amended to read as follows:

    19. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this act to the contrary:

    a. No pinelands development credit guarantee shall be extended for a period of time in excess of five years;

    b. No pinelands development credit guarantee shall be extended after [December 31, 1997] December 31, 2005;

    c. No pinelands development credit shall be purchased by the bank after [December 31, 1997] December 31, 2005.

(cf: P.L.1994, c.141, s.1)

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would continue for another eight years the authority of the Pinelands Development Credit Bank to purchase pinelands development credits and to extend pinelands development credit guarantees. Current law provides for that authority to expire December 31, 1997. Thus, under the bill the new expiration date would be December 31, 2005. This would be the third extension for this provision, the previous one being for a period of five years.

    Although established in 1985, the Pinelands Development Credit Bank did not become fully operational until 1988. The bank acts as a "last resort" purchaser of pinelands development credits when a seller is unable to find a private buyer.

    If the expiration date is not extended, the bank would still exist, but its role would be reduced to such functions as facilitating development credit transfers between willing private sellers and buyers and verifying credit certificates. However, it would no longer be able to buy and sell credits as a market participant.

    Additionally, if the expiration date is not extended, the Pinelands Development Credit Bank would no longer have the authority to extend loan guarantees to persons using a pinelands development credit as collateral to obtain a loan from a commercial bank.

Extends expiration date of certain powers of the Pinelands Development Credit Bank.