Bill Text: NJ A1158 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides representation of Burlington County on SJTA.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A1158 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1158-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Provides for representation of Burlington County on SJTA.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the South Jersey Transportation Authority and amending P.L.1991, c.252.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-2) is amended to read as follows:
2. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. It is the public policy of this State to provide for the coordinated development and planning of the State's transportation system both on the State and regional level. Through the medium of the Transportation Executive Council, established by Executive Order No. 10 of 1990, the activities of the various transportation related authorities are coordinated on the State level. In the northern region of the State the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, the North Jersey Transportation Coordinating Committee and other organizations exist to provide for the support and planning of the transportation system in that region.
b. In the southern region of the State an increase in residential development, the completion of Interstate Route 476 (also known as the "Blue Route") in Pennsylvania, the establishment of casino gaming in Atlantic City, and other factors, have caused an increase in vehicular traffic in southern New Jersey and have highlighted the need for a more coordinated effort on a regional basis to deal with the operation and possible extension of the region's highway system, the improvement and expansion of its aviation facilities, and the coordination of Atlantic County's transportation system within the larger regional system.
c. Concomitant with the development of the transportation system in southern New Jersey the need exists for the ancillary establishment of economic development facilities directly related to transportation projects in that region to be funded by a transportation authority.
d. It is in the public interest to create a South Jersey Transportation Authority, encompassing the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem, as a successor to the New Jersey Expressway Authority and the Atlantic County Transportation Authority, to provide more coordination of the region's transportation system and to deal particularly with the highway system, aviation facilities and the transportation problems of Atlantic County through the acquisition, construction, maintenance, operation and support of expressway and transportation projects and economic development facilities directly related to transportation projects authorized by this act. However, the activities of a transportation authority are not to supplant or replace the funding of projects by the Transportation Trust Fund Authority or the operation of public transportation services by the New Jersey Transit Corporation.
(cf: P.L.2013, c.253, s.7)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in this act:
"Air passenger service" means any service which involves the carriage of persons for compensation or hire by aircraft.
"Atlantic City Expressway" means the expressway project known as the Atlantic City Expressway constructed by the New Jersey Expressway Authority pursuant to section 40 of P.L.1962, c.10 (C.27:12C-40).
"Atlantic City International Airport" means the airport authorized by section 24 of this act.
"Atlantic County Transportation Authority" means the county transportation authority authorized pursuant to P.L.1980, c.44 (C.40:35B-1 et seq.).
"Authority" means the South Jersey Transportation Authority created by section 4 of this act.
"Bond" means any bond or note issued by the authority pursuant to the provisions of this act or issued by or for an original authority or any predecessor authority thereof, as the case may be.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Transportation.
"Construction" or "construct" means the planning, designing, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, replacement, repair, extension, enlargement, improvement and betterment of expressway projects and transportation projects, and includes the demolition, clearance and removal of buildings or structures on land acquired, held, leased or used for those projects.
"Cost" means all or any part of the expenses incurred in connection with the acquisition, construction and maintenance of any real property, lands, structures, real or personal property rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and interests acquired or used for a project; any financing charges and reserves for the payment of principal and interest on bonds or notes; the expenses of engineering, appraisal, architectural, accounting, financial and legal services; and other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the acquisition, construction and maintenance of a project, the financing thereof and the placing of the project into operation.
"County" means a county in South Jersey.
"Department" means the Department of Transportation.
"Economic development facility" means any area, place, building or other improvement or structure related to, connected with, or in the vicinity of, a transportation project which may serve the users of that project or assist in, enhance or stimulate its operation or development.
"Expressway project" means the acquisition, construction and maintenance of the Atlantic City Expressway as transferred to the authority pursuant to this act and of any express highway, super highway or motorway at the locations and between the termini as may hereafter be established by law and acquired or to be acquired or constructed or to be constructed under the provisions of this act by the authority, over which abutters have no easements or rights of light, air or direct access by reason of the fact that their properties abut thereon, and shall include but not be limited to all bridges, parking facilities, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, interchanges, traffic circles, grade separations, entrance plazas, approaches, toll houses, service areas, stations and facilities, communications facilities, administration, storage and other buildings, and other structures related to the use of the express highway, superhighway or motorway, intersecting highways and bridges and feeder roads which the authority may deem necessary or desirable for the operation of the project, together with all property rights, easements and interests which may be acquired by the authority for the construction or the operation of the project, and includes any planning necessary for the execution of any expressway project.
"Feeder road" means any road which in the determination of the authority is necessary to create or facilitate access to a project and is not more than five miles in length from the point of its connection with the project.
"Land and improvements" means any area or lands, any interest, right or title in land, including but not limited to, any reversionary right, and any real or personal property, structure, facility, building or equipment.
"Marine passenger service" means any service which involves the carriage of persons for compensation or hire by waterborne craft.
"Motorbus charter service" means subscription, tour and other special motorbus services.
"Motorbus regular route service" means the operation of any motorbus or motorbuses on streets, public highways or other facilities, over a fixed route and between fixed termini on a regular schedule for the purpose of carrying passengers, for hire or otherwise, within South Jersey or between points within South Jersey and points without South Jersey.
"Municipality" means any city, borough, village, town or township in South Jersey but not a county or a school district.
"New Jersey Expressway Authority" means the authority created pursuant to P.L.1962, c.10 (C.27:12C-1 et seq.).
"Original authority" means the New Jersey Expressway Authority or the Atlantic County Transportation Authority.
"Paratransit service" means any service, other than motorbus regular route service and motorbus charter service, including but not limited to, dial-a-ride, non-regular route, jitney or community minibus, and shared-ride services such as vanpools, limousines or taxicabs which are regularly available to the public. Paratransit services shall not include limousine or taxicab service reserved for the private and exclusive use of individual passengers.
"Parking facility" means any area or place, garage, building, or other improvement or structure for the parking or storage of motor or other vehicles, including but not limited to all real property and personal property, driveways, roads and other structures or areas necessary or useful or convenient for access to a facility from a public street, road or highway, or from any transportation project; meters, mechanical equipment necessary or useful or convenient for or in connection with that parking or storage; and any structures, buildings, space or accommodations, whether constructed by an authority or by the lessee, to be leased for any business, commercial or other use, including the sale of gasoline or accessories for, or the repair or other servicing of automobiles and other motor vehicles, if, in the opinion of the authority, the inclusion, provision and leasing is necessary to assist in defraying the expenses of the authority and make possible the operation of the parking facility at reasonable rates, but the authority shall not itself engage in the sale of gasoline or accessories for, or in the repair or other servicing of automobiles or other motor vehicles except in emergency, nor in the sale of any service or commodity of trade or commerce.
"Project" means an expressway project or transportation project and the costs associated therewith.
"Public highway" means any public highway, road or street in South Jersey, including federal aid highways, whether maintained by the State or by a county, municipality or other governmental subdivision in South Jersey.
"Public transportation facility" means, in connection with public transportation service, passenger stations, shelters and terminals, automobile and bus parking facilities, ramps, track connections, signal systems, power systems, information and communication systems, roadbeds, transit lanes or rights-of-way, equipment storage and servicing facilities, bridges, grade crossings, rail cars, locomotives, motorbuses and other motor vehicles, maintenance and garage facilities, revenue handling equipment and any other equipment, facility or property useful or related to the provision of transportation service.
"Public transportation service" means rail passenger service, motorbus regular route service, paratransit service, motorbus charter service and marine passenger service.
"Rail passenger service" means the operation of railroad, subway, or light rail systems including fixed and automated guideway systems for the purpose of carrying passengers in South Jersey or between points within South Jersey and points without South Jersey.
"Real property" means lands within the State, above or below water, and improvements thereof or thereon, or any riparian or other rights or interests therein.
"South Jersey" means the area encompassing the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem.
"Transfer date" means, with respect to the New Jersey Expressway Authority, the date on which all bonds issued by the New Jersey Expressway Authority cease to be outstanding within the meaning of the resolutions pursuant to which those bonds were issued, as certified by the trustee or trustees thereunder and, with respect to the Atlantic County Transportation Authority, the date on which New Jersey Economic Development Authority first mortgage revenue bonds, series of 1980, dated July 1, 1980, (New York Parking Associates - Parking Authority of Atlantic City project) issued by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority cease to be outstanding within the meaning of the indenture pursuant to which those bonds were issued, as certified by the trustees thereunder or the date on which the South Jersey Transportation Authority certifies to the Atlantic County Transportation Authority for a predecessor authority to the Atlantic County Transportation Authority and the State Treasurer that it assumes all debts and obligations of the Atlantic County Transportation Authority.
"Transportation facility" means any area, place, building, or other structure designed to provide rail passenger service, motorbus regular route service, paratransit service, motorbus charter service, air passenger and air freight service, or marine passenger service, or any two or more of these services, to the public, and includes passenger stations, shelters and terminals, air passenger terminals, hangars, heliports, docking and launching facilities, parking facilities, ramps, track connections, signal systems, power systems, information and communication systems, roadbeds, transit lanes or rights-of-way, equipment storage and servicing facilities, bridges, grade crossings, rail cars, locomotives, motorbus and other motor vehicles, boats, ferries and other marine vehicles, aircraft, maintenance and garage facilities, revenue handling equipment and any other equipment, facility or property useful for or related to the provision of these services;
"Transportation project" means the acquisition, construction, and maintenance of an airport, public transportation facility or other transportation facility, established by this act or which may be hereafter established by law and may include related facilities and activities which may consist of public transportation services, public transportation facilities, including but not limited to rail and bus stations and terminals, noise abatement projects, parking facilities, public highways and feeder roads related to or connected with the project, and any economic development facilities as defined in this section. Transportation project includes any planning necessary to develop a comprehensive, efficient, convenient or economical transportation system in South Jersey, any planning or marketing necessary or desirable for the execution of any transportation project, and any planning, acquisition, construction or operation of economic development facilities related to, connected with, or in the vicinity of the project.
"Transportation system" means public highways, expressway projects, transportation projects, and all other methods of transportation for the movement of people and goods in South Jersey.
"Transportation Trust Fund Authority" means the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority established by section 4 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-4).
(cf: P.L.1991, c.252, s.3)
3. Section 5 of P.L.1991, c.252 (C.27:25A-5) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. The authority shall consist of the Commissioner of Transportation who shall be an ex officio voting member, the Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority [Commissioner of Commerce, Energy and Economic Development] who shall be an ex officio nonvoting member, and [seven] eight members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, [six] seven of whom are residents of South Jersey, four of whom shall be residents of that portion of South Jersey within a 30 mile radius of the civil aviation terminal at the Atlantic City International Airport or of municipalities through which the Atlantic City Expressway traverses , [and] [two] and three of whom shall be residents of that portion of South Jersey outside of a 30 mile radius of that terminal; provided that all of the appointed members shall have expertise in transportation, finance, law, public administration, or aviation or any other related field. Not more than [four] five of the appointed members shall be members of the same political party. Each appointed member shall have been a qualified voter of the State for at least one year preceding the appointment.
b. Each ex officio member of the authority may designate an employee of the member's department to represent the member at meetings of the authority. The designee of the commissioner may lawfully vote and otherwise act on behalf of the member. The designation shall be made annually in writing and delivered to the authority and shall be effective until revoked or amended by written notice delivered to the authority.
c. Each appointed member of the authority shall serve for a term of five years, except that, of those first appointed, one shall serve for a term of two years, two shall serve for a term of three years, two shall serve for a term of four years and two shall serve for a term of five years, as the Governor may designate upon appointment.
d. Each member appointed by the Governor shall hold office for the term of appointment and until a successor is appointed and qualified. A member shall be eligible for reappointment. Any vacancy in the membership occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but for the unexpired term only.
e. The Governor shall designate one of the members of the authority as chairperson who shall serve as such at the pleasure of the Governor. The authority, upon the first appointment of its members and thereafter on or after July 1 in each year, shall annually elect from among its members, including the ex officio voting member, a vice-chairperson who shall hold office until July 1 next ensuing and until a successor is elected. The authority may also appoint and employ, without regard to the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, a secretary, a chief financial officer, an executive director, a general counsel and a chief engineer and other consulting engineers, special attorneys or counsel, accountants, construction, legal and financial experts, and other agents and employees as the authority may require, and shall determine their qualifications, terms of office, duties and compensation, except (1) the authority shall not enter into a contract of employment for the position of executive director or other policy-making positions for a term of employment ending later than the last day of the four-year gubernatorial term in effect on the date on which the contract is executed, provided the authority may continue to employ, at its pleasure, the executive director or other employee subject to the provisions of this paragraph after the termination of an employment contract until such time as a contract of employment for that position is executed and (2) those employees not subject to the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act," P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.) shall receive (a) sick and vacation leave only as provided for State employees in Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and if supplemental compensation upon retirement is to be paid, it shall be calculated and limited as in N.J.S. 11A:6-19 and (b) health benefits no greater than the level of benefits provided to State employees pursuant to the "New Jersey State Health Benefits Program Act," P.L.1961, c.49 (C.52:14-17.25 et seq.).
f. The powers of the authority shall be vested in the voting members thereof in office from time to time; five voting members of the authority shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of five members shall be necessary for any action taken by the authority unless the bylaws of the authority shall require a larger number. No vacancy in the membership of the authority shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the authority.
g. The members of the authority shall serve without compensation, but the authority may reimburse its members for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no member of the authority shall be deemed to have forfeited nor shall forfeit the member's office or employment or any benefits or emoluments thereof by reason of the member's service as ex officio member of the authority.
h. Each appointed member of the authority may be removed by the Governor for cause after a public hearing and may be suspended by the Governor pending the completion of the hearing. Each member of the authority before entering upon the duties of office shall take and subscribe an oath to perform the duties of the office faithfully, impartially and justly to the best of the member's ability. A record of these oaths shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. Each member of the authority, the executive director and other employees as the authority may require shall file annually with the Secretary of State a financial disclosure statement in the manner required by Executive Order No. 1 of 1990.
i. The authority may be dissolved by act of the Legislature on condition that the authority has no debts or obligations outstanding or provision has been made for the payment, retirement, termination or assumption of its debts and obligations. Upon dissolution of the authority all property, funds and assets thereof shall be vested in the State.
(cf: P.L.1991, c.252, s.5).
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill includes Burlington County as a member county of the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA). The bill also changes the composition of the Board of Commissioners of the SJTA by adding new members to the Board.
The SJTA currently includes Atlantic, Cape May, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties within its transportation development and planning scope as member counties.
