ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4127

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 11, 2020

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4127.

      This bill authorizes local governments and school districts to engage in certain borrowing to provide them with added financial flexibility to be able to effectively respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and the economic crisis it has caused.

      First, this bill authorizes a local unit to issue refunding bonds for the repayment of a Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Disaster Loan for which the local unit executed a promissory note in 2013.

      Next, this bill authorizes a municipality or county to make special emergency appropriations to support its response to, and recovery from, the COVID-19 crisis.  The bill allows municipalities and counties to issue special emergency notes to fund these appropriations under current law.

      Next, the bill authorizes a school district to issue refunding bonds for the repayment of a Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Disaster Loan for which the board of education executed a promissory note in 2013 or to cover the cost of COVID-19 response and recovery expenditures.

      Lastly, the bill authorizes a local authority to borrow funds in order to cover the cost of COVID-19 response and recovery expenditures.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.