A963

An Act concerning use of native vegetation by the Department of Transportation, New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and the South Jersey Transportation Authority, and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes, P.L.1948, c.454 (C.27:23.1 et seq.) and P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-1 et seq.).

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

1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, no later than the 180th day after the date of enactment of this section, the Department of Transportation, when planting vegetation for purposes of landscaping, land management, reforestation, or habitat restoration, shall plant only vegetation identified by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to subsection b. of this section as being native to the State and that will thrive in the particular plant hardiness zone in which the vegetation is being planted.

b. No later than the 90th day after the date of enactment of this section, the Department of Environmental Protection shall identify, for each plant hardiness zone, all of the particular species of vegetation that are native to the State, and that thrive in each plant hardiness zone in the State.

c. As used in this section:

“Plant hardiness zone” means a zone identified as existing in New Jersey pursuant to the most recent edition of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map published by the United States Department of Agriculture.

2. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, no later than the 180th day after the date of enactment of this section, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, when planting vegetation for purposes of landscaping, land management, reforestation, or habitat restoration, shall plant only vegetation identified by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to subsection b. of this section as being native to the State and that will thrive in the particular plant hardiness zone in which the vegetation is being planted.

c. As used in this section:

3. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, no later than the 180th day after the date of enactment of this section, the South Jersey Transportation Authority, when planting vegetation for purposes of landscaping, land management, reforestation, or habitat restoration, shall plant only vegetation identified by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to subsection b. of this section as being native to the State and that will thrive in the particular plant hardiness zone in which the vegetation is being planted.

c. As used in this section:

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would require that whenever the Department of Transportation (DOT), New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), or South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) plants vegetation for purposes of landscaping, land management, reforestation, or habitat restoration, the DOT, NJTA, or SJTA, as applicable, would be required to plant only vegetation that is native to the State and that will thrive in the area being planted.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would be required to identify those particular species of vegetation that are native to the State and that thrive in each plant hardiness zone found within the State, as identified pursuant to the most recent edition of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map published by the United States Department of Agriculture. When planting in any given plant hardiness zone, the DOT, NJTA, or SJTA, as applicable, would be required to plant only those species identified by the DEP as being native to the State and that thrive in the plant hardiness zone.