SR125

A Senate Resolution supporting the resolve and efforts of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators to ensure 40 percent of federal infrastructure investments are made in communities of color and other disadvantaged communities.

Whereas, President Biden, in a historical signing of Executive Order 14008 on January 27, 2021, announced the Justice40 Initiative, directing the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Climate Advisor to jointly publish recommendations on how certain federal investments might be made toward a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits flow to disadvantaged communities; and

Whereas, In the same Executive Order, President Biden called for delivering environmental justice to communities across America, creating jobs to build a new American infrastructure and clean energy economy, and bringing these job opportunities to “communities too often left behind – places that have suffered as a result of economic shifts and places that have suffered the most from persistent pollution, including low-income rural and urban communities, communities of color, and Native communities”; and

Whereas, The federal “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” passed by Congress on November 6, 2021, provides $1 trillion for infrastructure investments; and

Whereas, It has been documented that a higher percentage of Black and Hispanic Americans than Americans overall – 26 percent of Black Americans and 29 percent of Hispanic Americans – live within three miles of Superfund sites, and the federal “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” will invest $21 billion to clean up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mines, and cap orphaned oil and gas wells; and

Whereas, This federal legislation, lauded for the bipartisan support it received, will deliver, through a historic investment in broadband infrastructure and deployment, $65 billion to help ensure that every American has access to high-speed Internet, the lack of which has had great negative impact on the educational and professional opportunities of people in communities of color and low income households; and

Whereas, The federal “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” provides for billions of other investments to modernize transit, develop and expand the use of clean energy, build thousands of miles of new resilient transmission lines, protect against droughts, heat, floods, and wildfires, and invest in weatherization to mitigate the impacts of, and damage from, climate change weather events; and

Whereas, The federal “Inflation Reduction Act,” signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022, also takes significant action concerning advancing clean energy and addressing climate change, establishes $370 billion of investments, and advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative by prioritizing the creation of shared prosperity and economic investments to historically underserved communities, particularly those living with legacy pollution; and

Whereas, The more than 70 members of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands represent over 60 million people; and

Whereas, The neighborhoods, communities, counties, cities, and states that the members of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators represent are plagued by failing infrastructure, including the presence of lead pipes, compromised and failing water systems, the lack of available affordable housing, and other negative social, economic, and environmental conditions that would be significantly mitigated by much-needed investments in these communities; and

Whereas, The National Black Caucus of State Legislators has issued Resolution ETE-23-34, in which the caucus resolved to establish, through legislation, oversight committees to interact with federal agencies to further President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and coordinate with local and State agencies to assure maximum benefits are received by the constituents of the legislators in the National Black Caucus of State Legislators; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Senate supports Resolution ETE-23-34 and the efforts of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators to ensure 40 percent of federal infrastructure investments are made in communities of color and other disadvantaged communities.

2. The Senate further supports the efforts of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators to establish, through legislation, oversight committees to interact with federal agencies, and to otherwise work to accomplish the goals of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative so that the disadvantaged and underserved constituents of the legislators in the National Black Caucus of State Legislators receive the maximum economic, environmental, and infrastructure investment benefits from federal funding initiatives.

3. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the President and Vice President of the United States, each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of New Jersey, and the officers of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

STATEMENT

This resolution supports the resolve and efforts of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators to:

1) ensure 40 percent of federal infrastructure investments are made in communities of color and other disadvantaged communities;

2) establish, through legislation, oversight committees to interact with federal agencies; and

3) otherwise work to accomplish the goals of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative so that the disadvantaged and underserved constituents of the legislators in the National Black Caucus of State Legislators receive the maximum economic, environmental, and infrastructure investment benefits from federal funding initiatives.

The National Black Caucus of State Legislators issued Resolution ETE-23-34, in which the caucus resolved to establish, through legislation, oversight committees to interact with federal agencies to further President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and coordinate with local and State agencies to assure maximum benefits are received by the constituents of the legislators in the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.