A5045

An Act appropriating $71,700,224 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues and various Green Acres funds to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes.

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

1. As used in this act:

“Constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues” means corporation business tax revenues dedicated pursuant to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution in the “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” and the unexpended balances in the Diesel Risk Mitigation Fund - Constitutional Dedication account made available for this purpose pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2016, c.10, for the acquisition or development of lands by local government units for recreation and conservation purposes in accordance with the provisions of the P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq).

“Densely or highly populated municipality” means a municipality with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile, or a population of at least 35,000 persons, according to the latest federal decennial census.

“Densely populated county” means a county with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile according to the latest federal decennial census.

“Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” means the fund established pursuant to section 19 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-19).

“Green Acres bond act” means P.L.2009, c.117, P.L.2007, c.119, P.L.1995, c.204, P.L.1992, c.88, P.L.1989, c.183, P.L.1987, c.265, and P.L.1983, c.354.

“Highly populated county” means a county with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile according to the latest federal decennial census.

“Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” means the fund established pursuant to section 6 of the “Preserve New Jersey Act,” P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-48).

“Stewardship activity” means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of the “Preserve New Jersey Act,” P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-45).

2. There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection the following sums for the purpose of providing grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to section 4 of this act and for the purpose of providing grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to section 5 of this act:

a. $36,684,000 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues;

b. $29,184,699 from the “Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” and any Green Acres fund established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act, made available due to loan repayments;

c. $5,520,594 from the “Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” and any Green Acres fund established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act, made available due to project cancellations and withdrawals; and

d. $310,931 from the “Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” and any Green Acres fund established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act, made available due to interest earnings.

3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” an amount determined by the State Treasurer to be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

4. a. The following projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

(1) Planning Incentive Acquisition Projects:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Cresskill Boro	Bergen	Cresskill Borough Park Expansion	$276,515
Oakland Boro	Bergen	Boro of Oakland Open Space & Recreation Plan	500,000
River Vale Twp	Bergen	Watershed Property Acq	500,000
Burlington County	Burlington	Planning Incentive	1,000,000
Medford Twp	Burlington	Open Space Incentive	500,000
Moorestown Twp	Burlington	Open Space Preservation Plan	487,220
Cumberland County	Cumberland	Trails & Open Space Acq	600,000
Livingston Twp	Essex	Township of Livingston Open Space Acq	500,000
Gloucester County	Gloucester	Open Space Plan	1,000,000
Hunterdon County	Hunterdon	County Open Space Plan	700,000
Delaware Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space Acq	500,000
East Amwell Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space & Recreation Plan	368,500
Kingwood Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space Plan	289,000
Lebanon Twp	Hunterdon	Lebanon Twp Preservation Priorities	500,000
Readington Twp	Hunterdon	Greenway Incentive Plan	500,000
Tewksbury Twp	Hunterdon	Recreation and Open Space Plan	500,000
Mercer County	Mercer	Mercer County Planning Incentive	1,250,000
Hopewell Twp	Mercer	Hopewell Township Open Space Acq	230,000
Princeton Boro	Mercer	Princeton Open Space Acq	375,500
West Windsor Twp	Mercer	West Windsor Planning Inc	500,000
Monmouth County	Monmouth	Planning Incentive Acq	1,250,000
Allentown Boro	Monmouth	Mercer-Monmouth Regional Greenbelt	500,000
Millstone Twp	Monmouth	Millstone Planning Incentive-Project Evergreen	500,000
Chatham Twp	Morris	Chatham Open Space Acq	500,000
Denville Twp	Morris	Denville Open Space Acquisition	500,000
Hanover Twp	Morris	Open Space Acq	469,325
Kinnelon Boro	Morris	Open Space Acq	181,000
Madison Boro	Morris	Madison Boro Open Space Acq	500,000
Ocean County	Ocean	Planning Incentive Grant	1,000,000
Harvey Cedars Boro	Ocean	James Street Wetlands Project	50,000
Point Pleasant Beach Boro	Ocean	Open Space & Recreation Acq	364,330
Somerset County	Somerset	County Open Space Acq	1,250,000
Bedminster Twp	Somerset	Bedminster Parks Exp	500,000
Bernardsville Boro	Somerset	Bernardsville Boro Open Space and Recreation Lands	500,000
Montgomery Twp	Somerset	Open Space Acq 5	500,000
Peapack-Gladstone Boro	Somerset	Open Space Acq	500,000
Union County	Union	Union County Open Space & Recreation Plan	1,500,000
Alpha Boro	Warren	Alpha Borough Open Space	90,000
Washington Boro	Warren	Washington Boro Open Space Acq	500,000
TOTAL			$22,231,390

(2) Standard Acquisition Projects:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Hamilton Twp	Atlantic	2nd Street ParkAcq	$40,500
Franklin Lakes Boro	Bergen	Franklin Lakes Open Space Acq	500,000
Hillsdale Boro	Bergen	Hillsdale Flood Buyout Acq	61,650
TOTAL			$602,150

b. The following projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes located in municipalities eligible to receive State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.), either as of June 30, 2016 or the effective date of this act, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Bloomfield Twp	Essex	Third River Park and Preserve	$1,000,000
Newark City	Essex	Newark Riverfront Park Acq	1,000,000
Hoboken City	Hudson	Land Acq	1,000,000
Jersey City	Hudson	Berry Lane Acq	1,000,000
Union City	Hudson	Weehawken – Union City Reservoir Acq	1,000,000
Carteret Boro	Middlesex	Arthur Kill Waterfront Park Ph III	1,000,000
Neptune Twp	Monmouth	Flood Prone Property Acq	1,000,000
Paterson City	Passaic	Ryle Ave/West Broadway Corridor Acq	1,000,000
TOTAL			$8,000,000

c. The following projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties or highly populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Wood-Ridge Boro	Bergen	Wood-Ridge Recreation Complex Acq	750,000
Washington Twp	Gloucester	Open Space & Recreation Project	708,000
Harrison Town	Hudson	Waterfront Park Walkway Acq	213,250
Hamilton Twp	Mercer	Hamilton Twp Open Space Acq	456,880
East Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	Open Space Plan	70,000
North Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	North Brunswick Plan	750,000
Howell Twp	Monmouth	Planning Incentive 2	750,000
Marlboro Twp	Monmouth	Marlboro Open Space Acq	750,000
Morristown Town	Morris	Open Space Expansion	500,000
Manchester Twp	Ocean	Planning Incentive	750,000
Little Falls Twp	Passaic	Little Falls Blue Acres Acq	612,050
TOTAL			$6,310,180

GRAND TOTAL			$37,143,720

5. a. The following projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in municipalities eligible to receive State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.) either as of June 30, 2016 or the effective date of this act, or sponsored by densely populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Pleasantville City	Atlantic	Bayview Avenue Waterfront Park	$1,000,000
Bergenfield Boro	Bergen	Twin Boro Field Improvements	1,000,000
Garfield City	Bergen	Garfield Athletic Complex	1,000,000
Hackensack City	Bergen	Foschini Park Improvements	800,000
Camden County	Camden	Cooper River Park Improvements II	1,000,000
Camden City	Camden	North Camden Waterfront Park III	1,000,000
Pennsauken Twp	Camden	Delaware Gardens River View Renewal	593,845
Vineland City	Cumberland	Park Improvement at Burnt Mill Pond	747,500
Essex County	Essex	Multi-Park Improvements	1,500,000
Belleville Twp	Essex	Belleville Municipal Stadium Improvements	1,000,000
East Orange City	Essex	Columbian Park Improvements	1,000,000
Nutley Twp	Essex	Father Glotzbach Soccer Field Turf Project	350,115
Orange City Twp	Essex	Multi-Park Improvements	1,000,000
Glassboro Boro	Gloucester	Town Square Park Improvements	1,000,000
Woodbury City	Gloucester	Stewart Lake Park Improvements	665,390
Hudson County	Hudson	Laurel Hill Park Phase IV	1,500,000
Bayonne City	Hudson	Newark Bay Waterfront Project	1,000,000
Kearny Town	Hudson	Gunnell Oval Sports Complex Reconstruction	1,000,000
North Bergen Twp	Hudson	64th Street Field Improvements	1,000,000
Weehawken Twp	Hudson	Weehawken Recreation Pier and Bridge Project	1,000,000
West New York Town	Hudson	Historic Miller Stadium Field Surface Improvements	1,000,000
Trenton City	Mercer	Hetzel Field Park Development	1,000,000
Middlesex County	Middlesex	Perth Amboy Arthur Kill Waterfront	1,250,000
Long Branch City	Monmouth	Branchport Park Improvements	750,000
Brick Twp	Ocean	Multi-Park Improvements 2	1,000,000
Passaic County	Passaic	Weasel Brook Park Improvements 2	600,000
Clifton City	Passaic	Athenia Park 2	1,000,000
Passaic City	Passaic	Third Ward Veterans Memorial Park Improvements	1,000,000
Rahway City	Union	Madden Field Park Improvements	1,000,000
Roselle Boro	Union	Arminio Field Park Improvement	1,000,000
TOTAL			$28,756,850

b. The following projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by highly populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Bergen County	Bergen	Overpeck Park Improvements 2	$1,250,000
Elmwood Park Boro	Bergen	Birchwood Park Improvements	37,500
New Milford Boro	Bergen	Kennedy Field Improvements	647,500
North Arlington Boro	Bergen	Daniel Morris Park Improvements	59,800
Rutherford Boro	Bergen	Memorial Park Improvements	148,215
West Orange Twp	Essex	West Orange Multipark Development	182,100
Middletown Twp	Monmouth	Multi-Park Improvements	369,250
Berkeley Twp	Ocean	Veterans Park Improvements	750,000
Wayne Twp	Passaic	Alps Road Ballfields	300,000
Bound Brook Boro	Somerset	Multi Park Improvements	104,855
Somerville Boro	Somerset	Chambres Park Improvement	143,355
Fanwood Boro	Union	Forest Road Park Development	425,000
TOTAL			$4,417,575

c. The following projects for stewardship activities are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Bergen County	Bergen	Stormwater Canyon Restoration	$113,000
Ridgefield Boro	Bergen	Ridgefield Nature Center Improvements	61,812
Burlington County	Burlington	Stewardship Multi Parks	54,000
Camden County	Camden	Watchable Wildlife Trail	50,000
Franklin Twp	Gloucester	Piney Hollow Preservation Area	200,000
Jersey City	Hudson	Jersey City Parks Stewardship	82,672
Mercer County	Mercer	Roebling Park Wetlands Restoration	59,350
Woodbridge Twp	Middlesex	Heards Brook Stewardship	164,735
Avon-By-The Sea Boro	Monmouth	Sylvan Lake Restoration	281,750
Passaic County	Passaic	Dey Mansion Improvements	100,000
Woodland Park Boro	Passaic	Rose Place Park Woods	50,250
Peapack - Gladstone Boro	Somerset	Liberty Pond Park Restoration	101,707
Fanwood Boro	Union	Fanwood Nature Center Rescue Initiative	62,803
TOTAL			$1,382,079
GRAND TOTAL			$34,556,504

6. a. Any transfer of funds, or change in project sponsor, site, or type, listed in section 4 or 5 of this act shall require the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.

b. To the extent that moneys remain available after the projects listed in section 4 or 5 of this act are offered funding pursuant thereto, any project of a local government unit that previously received funding appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for recreation and conservation purposes, or that receives funding approved pursuant to this act, shall be eligible to receive additional funding, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.

7. a. There is reappropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection the unexpended balances, due to project withdrawals, cancellations, or cost savings, of the amounts appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, for the purposes of providing:

(1) grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, for projects approved as eligible for such funding pursuant to this act; and

(2) additional funding, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, to any project of a local government unit that previously received funding appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for recreation and conservation purposes or that receives funding approved pursuant to this act, subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor. Any such additional funding provided from a Green Acres bond act may include administrative costs.

b. There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection such sums as may be, or may become, available on or before June 30, 2017, due to interest earnings or loan repayments in any "Green Trust Fund" established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act or in the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund," for the purpose of providing:

8. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill appropriates $71,700,224 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues, the “Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund,” and various Green Acres bond acts to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to provide grants or low-interest loans, or both, to assist local government units in the State to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes.

Of the total amount appropriated: $36,684,000 is from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax (CBT) revenues; $29,184,699 is made available due to loan repayments; $5,520,594 is made available due to project cancellations and withdrawals; and $310,931 is made available due and interest earnings. The funds made available due to loan repayments, project cancellations and withdrawals, and interest earning are from the “Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” and various Green Acres funds established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act.

The CBT revenues appropriated in this bill are provided from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues pursuant to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution, approved by the voters of the State in November 2014, including the unexpended balances in the Diesel Risk Mitigation Fund – Constitutional Dedication account made available for these purposes pursuant to P.L.2016, c.10 (i.e., the FY2017 annual appropriations act).

The “Preserve New Jersey Act” implements for State fiscal years 2017 through 2019, the constitutional dedication of CBT revenues for open space, farmland, and historic preservation. The “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” was established by section 6 of the “Preserve New Jersey Act.” The act provides that of the 60 percent of dedicated CBT revenues allocated each year for the Green Acres program: 55 percent is to be used for State open space acquisition and development projects; 38 percent is to be used for grants and loans to fund local government open space acquisition and development projects; and 7 percent is to be used for grants to fund open space acquisition and development projects undertaken by qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organizations. Further, of the funding allocated for local open space acquisition and development projects, up to 2 percent is to be used to fund stewardship activities. “Stewardship activity” is defined in the act as an activity, which is beyond routine operations and maintenance, undertaken to repair or restore lands acquired or developed for recreation and conservation purposes for the purpose of enhancing or protecting those lands for recreation and conservation purposes.

The total amount of funding allocated for local government projects listed in this bill is $71,700,224. Of this amount, $37,143,720 is for projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservations purposes, and $34,556,504 is for projects to develop lands for recreation and conservations purposes.

Of the sum for projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservations purposes: $22,231,390 is allocated for planning incentive open space acquisition projects; $602,150 is allocated for standard open space acquisition projects (i.e., projects located in municipalities that do not have an open space tax); $8,000,000 is allocated for projects in “urban aid” municipalities; and $6,310,180 is allocated for projects in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by densely or highly populated counties.

Of the sum for projects to develop lands for recreation and conservations purposes: $28,756,850 is allocated for local park development projects in urban aid municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties; $4,417,575 is allocated for local park development projects in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by highly populated counties; and $1,382,079 allocated for stewardship activity projects.

The projects listed have been approved by the DEP and the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT).

The projects approved by the bill include projects in “urban aid” and densely or highly populated municipalities and counties. The bill defines a “densely or highly populated municipality” as a municipality with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile or a population of at least 35,000 persons; a “densely populated county” as a county with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile; and a “highly populated county” as a county with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile.

To the extent that there are funds remaining after those local government unit projects listed in this bill are offered funding, the bill also authorizes the DEP, with the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee (JBOC), to use those funds to provide additional funding for local government unit projects listed in this bill as well as for local government unit projects previously approved for funding pursuant to various other laws.