A3528

An Act concerning qualified municipalities and amending P.L.1996, c.62.

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

1. Section 3 of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-22) is amended to read as follows:

3. As used in P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.), except as otherwise clearly required by the context:

"Authority" means the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-23).

"Council" means the Urban Coordinating Council established pursuant to section 45 of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-60).

"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Development.

"Project" means a specific work or improvement, including lands, buildings, improvements, real and personal property or any interest therein, including lands under water, riparian rights, space rights and air rights, acquired, owned, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated or improved by the authority or a subsidiary, or by any other person, firm or corporation under agreement with the authority or subsidiary pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.) in a qualified municipality, and which falls within any of the following classifications:

(1) "Industrial project"--a project designed and intended to provide facilities for manufacturing, industrial, commercial, wholesale, retail, warehousing, or research and development purposes, including but not limited to machinery and equipment deemed necessary for the operation thereof, when the authority finds that there is a compelling public need to undertake such project.

(2) "Land-use improvement project"--a project for the clearance, replanning, reconstruction, rehabilitation, renewal, redevelopment, conservation, restoration or improvement of an area, in cooperation or under agreement with a qualified municipality which has designated the area in need of redevelopment.

(3) "Civil project"--a project designed and intended to provide facilities for educational, cultural, health, recreational, community or other civic purposes.

(4) "Utility project"--a project designed and intended to provide facilities for provision of water, sewerage, solid waste disposal, transportation, utility or other public services necessary for the accommodation of a project of another classification undertaken pursuant to P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-20 et al.), but accommodation of needs greater than those of the other project may be encompassed.

(5) "Mixed-use project"--a project consisting of housing development and commercial development, in which the prorated cost of the housing development is equivalent to no more than one-third of the cost of the total project.

(6) "Multi-purpose project"--a project combining the purposes of two or more of the foregoing classifications.

"Qualified municipality" means any municipality which at the time of the initiation of a project was either eligible to receive aid under the "Special Municipal Aid Act," P.L.1987, c.75 (C.52:27D-118.24 et seq.) or was coextensive with a school district which qualified for designation as a "special needs district" pursuant to the "Quality Education Act of 1990," P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-1 et seq.) or, if no municipality in a county meets these requirements, the Commissioner of Community Affairs may nominate one municipality in that county for inclusion. The nominated municipality must have a rank in the top 20% of the current Municipal Distress Index (MDI), as promulgated by the Division of Housing and Community Resources in the Department of Community Affairs, and be approved by the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority Board. If approved, the municipality shall be eligible to participate in the program for a period of five years and may, thereafter, be re-nominated by the commissioner every five years.

"Subsidiary" means a subsidiary corporation formed by the authority pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1996, c.62 (C.55:19-27).

(cf: P.L.1996, c.62, s.3)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill permits the Commissioner of Community Affairs to nominate a municipality as a “qualified municipality” in order to be eligible to participate in community redevelopment programs financed through the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority (NJRA) when no other municipality within the county meets the requirements of a “qualified municipality” pursuant to N.J.S.A.55:19-22. The nominated municipality must have a rank in the top 20% of the Municipal Distress Index (MDI) and be approved by NJRA’s board. Once approved, the municipality shall be eligible to participate in the program for five years. Thereafter, the commissioner may re-nominate the municipality for participation in the program every five years.

The NJRA, established pursuant to N.J.S.A.55:19-23, acts as a financing agency to eligible urban communities throughout New Jersey. In addition to technical assistance, many financial resources such as loans, loan guarantees, and bonding financing, are offered to redevelop urban neighborhoods.