S2280

An Act providing additional temporary contracting powers to county improvement authorities.

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

1. Any agreement, contract, executed instrument, or action taken or performed as necessary, convenient, or desirable for the purposes of an authority, created pursuant to the "county improvement authorities law," P.L.1960, c.183 (C.40:37A-44 et seq.), to carry out any power expressly given in P.L.1960, c.183 (C.40:37A-44 et seq.) in the two years immediately preceding the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall be valid and enforceable, if the agreement, contract, executed instruments, or act was subject to the requirements of the "Local Public Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.) or was related to actions of the authority taken pursuant to section 34 of P.L.1979, c.275 (C.40:37A-55.1).

2. a. The Legislature finds and declares that as the most densely populated state in the nation, the State of New Jersey is faced with the challenge of accommodating vital growth while developing available properties and redeveloping under-utilized properties, and strengthening the vibrancy of individual communities in the Garden State; that the responsibility for meeting this challenge falls most heavily upon local government entities to appropriately shape the development and land use patterns so that growth and redevelopment become supporting goals, and that county improvement authorities are entities capable of targeting such development; that county improvement authorities in mid-sized counties which are densely populated and have significant numbers of urban aid municipalities may be particularly benefited from greater flexibility pursuing individual projects; and that the tools necessary to meet the challenge of balanced growth and redevelopment in an equitable manner in New Jersey must be made available to county improvement authorities and other local government entities as the architects of New Jersey's future. The Legislature therefore determines that it is in the public interest to authorize a pilot program to allow one county improvement authority in the State to explore the benefits of prospectively permitting that authority greater flexibility to enter into agreements, contracts, executed instruments, and take actions as necessary, convenient or desirable for the purposes of that authority.

b. (1) The pilot county improvement authority may for the two years following the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) enter into any agreement, contract, executed instrument, or take actions necessary, convenient or desirable for the purposes of an authority, created pursuant to the "county improvement authorities law," P.L.1960, c.183 (C.40:37A-44 et seq.), provided that the agreement, contract, executed instrument, or action is subject to the requirements of the "Local Public Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.) or is related to actions of the authority taken pursuant to section 34 of P.L.1979, c.275 (C.40:37A-55.1).

(2) A pilot county improvement authority that enters into any agreement, contract, executed instrument, or takes actions related to actions of the authority for projects pursuant to section 34 of P.L.1979, c.275 (C.40:37A-55.1) shall enter into a project labor agreement prior to commencing work on the project and shall pay each worker employed to perform construction work and building services work at the project property a wage not less than the prevailing wage rate for the worker's craft or trade, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.).

c. The pilot county improvement authority shall, not later than 30 months following the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) submit a final report to the Department of Community Affairs and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature on the benefits and effectiveness of the additional flexibility provided to the pilot county improvement authority by the enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

d. As used in this section:

"Pilot county improvement authority" means the county improvement authority created pursuant to the "county improvement authorities law," P.L.1960, c.183 (C.40:37A-44 et seq.) established in a county in which at least five municipalities met the criteria in State fiscal year 2020 for urban aid and which has a population greater than 500,000 and less than 700,000, and a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile, both as measured based upon the most recent federal decennial census.

"Project labor agreement" means a form of pre-hire collective bargaining agreement covering terms and conditions of a specific project that satisfies the requirements set forth in section 5 of P.L.2002, c.44 (C.52:38-5).

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill relates to county improvement authority contracting powers by validating certain past agreements, contracts, executed instruments, or action taken by county improvement authorities in the State and by authorizing a pilot county improvement authority greater flexibility to enter into certain agreements, contracts, and executed instruments, and to take certain action necessary, convenient, and desirable for the purposes of the pilot county improvement authority.

The bill validates any agreement, contract, executed instrument, or action taken or performed as necessary, convenient, or desirable for the purposes of a county improvement authority to carry out any power expressly given in the "county improvement authorities law," N.J.S.A.40:37A-44 et seq., in the two years immediately preceding the effective date of the bill, if the agreement, contract, executed instruments, or act was subject to the requirements of the "Local Public Contracts Law," N.J.S.A.40A:11-1 et seq., (LPCL) or was related to actions of the authority taken pursuant to N.J.S.A.40:37A-55.1.

The bill also allows a pilot county improvement authority to enter into any agreement, contract, executed instrument, or take actions necessary, convenient or desirable for the purposes of a county improvement authority provided that the agreement, contract, executed instrument, or action is subject to the requirements of the LPCL or is related to actions of the authority taken pursuant to N.J.S.A.40:37A-55.1. The bill further requires that a pilot county improvement authority that enters into any agreement, contract, executed instrument, or takes actions related to actions of the authority for projects pursuant to N.J.S.A.40:37A-55.1 to enter into a project labor agreement prior to commencing work on the project and pay each worker employed to perform construction work and building services work at the project property a wage not less than the prevailing wage rate for the worker's craft or trade, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to N.J.S.A.34:11-56.25 et seq.

The bill specifies that the pilot county improvement authority is to be the county improvement authority established in a county in which at least five municipalities met the criteria in State fiscal year 2020 for urban aid and which has a population greater than 500,000 and less than 700,000, and a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile. The bill requires that the pilot county improvement authority report to the Department of Community Affairs on the benefits and effectiveness of the additional flexibility provided to the pilot county improvement authority under the bill.