Bill Text: NJ A5122 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

New Jersey Assembly Bill 5122 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Establishes task force to determine feasibility of creating New Jersey Marine Science Institute in Atlantic County-Cape May County region.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-07-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A5122 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2016-A5122-Introduced.html

ASSEMBLY, No. 5122

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

217th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED JULY 13, 2017

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman R. BRUCE LAND

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

Assemblyman BOB ANDRZEJCZAK

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

SYNOPSIS

Establishes task force to determine feasibility of creating New Jersey Marine Science Institute in Atlantic County-Cape May County region.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

An Act establishing a task force to examine the feasibility of creating a New Jersey Marine Science Institute.

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

1. There is established a task force for the purpose of studying and determining the feasibility of creating a New Jersey Marine Science Institute to be located in the Atlantic County-Cape May County region. The task force shall consist of 10 members as follows: the Secretary of Higher Education, ex officio, the Secretary of Agriculture, ex officio, and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, ex officio, or their designees; the Presidents of Rutgers, the State University, Rowan University, Stockton University, and Atlantic Cape Community College, or their designees; the Chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden, or a designee; a person with a background in marine biology or marine sciences selected by the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium; and a person with a background in marine biology or marine sciences selected by the Board of Trustees of the Center for Aquatic Sciences at Adventure Aquarium.

2. Members of the task force shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties within the limits of funds made available to the task force for its purposes.

3. The task force shall organize as soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days following the effective date of this act. The task force shall choose a chairperson from among its members and shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force.

4. Staff and related support services shall be provided to the task force by the Department of Agriculture. The task force shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission or agency it may require and as may be available for its purposes.

5. It shall be the duty of the task force to determine the feasibility of creating a New Jersey Marine Science Institute in the Atlantic County-Cape May County region. The task force shall elicit testimony from experts in the marine science community on the economic impact the creation of the institute would have on the region, including job creation, industry partnerships, the augmentation of existing fisheries and other aquacultural industries, and potential revenue and other benefits generated for the region's coastal and marine-related industries. The task force shall also study and consider:

a. the amount of funding that may be necessary for the creation and ongoing operation of the institute, including the costs associated with facilities, equipment, and other resources necessary to accommodate the needs of the institute;

b. the potential for the institute to partner with regional institutions of higher education to conduct scientific research, promote environmental stewardship, and provide public educational programs;

c. other states which have established similar institutes, including the funding necessary for the creation and ongoing operation of those institutes and the impact the institutes have had on their regional economies; and

d. any other issues as determined by the task force associated with the establishment of the institute in the Atlantic County-Cape May County region.

6. The task force shall issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than one year following its organizational meeting.

7. This act shall take effect immediately, and the task force shall expire 30 days after the submission of its report.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a 10-member task force to determine the feasibility of creating a New Jersey Marine Science Institute in the Atlantic County-Cape May County region. The task force will be composed of: the Secretary of Higher Education, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or their designees; the Presidents of Rutgers, the State University, Rowan University, Stockton University, and Atlantic Cape Community College, or their designees; the Chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden, or his designee; a person with a background in marine biology or marine sciences selected by the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium; and a person with a background in marine biology or marine sciences selected by the Board of Trustees of the Center for Aquatic Sciences at Adventure Aquarium.

Under the bill, the task force will elicit testimony from experts in the marine science community on the economic impact the creation of the institute would have on the region, including job creation, industry partnerships, the augmentation of existing fisheries and other aquacultural industries, and potential revenue and other benefits generated for the region's coastal and marine-related industries.

The task force will also examine:

� the amount of funding that may be necessary for the creation and ongoing operation of the institute, including the costs associated with facilities, equipment, and other resources necessary to accommodate the needs of the institute;

� the potential for the institute to partner with regional institutions of higher education to conduct scientific research, promote environmental stewardship, and provide public educational programs; and

� other states which have established similar institutes, including the funding necessary for the creation and ongoing operation of those institutes and the impact the institutes have had on their regional economies.

The task force will issue a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature no later than one year following its organizational meeting.