Bill Text: NJ S413 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates "Task Force on the Extension of Route 55."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S413 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S413-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Creates "Task Force on the Extension of Route 55."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing a task force to study the establishment of an appropriate transportation corridor from State Highway Route No. 55 to the Garden State Parkway.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares:
a. State Highway Route No. 55 currently extends from State Highway Route 42 in Deptford Township, Gloucester County to the area of Port Elizabeth, Maurice River Township, Cumberland County;
b. In order to facilitate the flow of traffic to and from the New Jersey seashore and to relieve congestion on the Atlantic City Expressway, as well as to enhance opportunities for economic development in Cumberland and Cape May Counties, it is in the public interest for there to be a study and examination of an appropriate transportation corridor from Route 55 to the Garden State Parkway;
c. The South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization has identified the completion of Route 55 as its number one priority for the region and has noted in a report on this matter: "Interim improvement concepts under development, such as signalized intersection upgrades and the first phase of a motorist information system, may provide some mitigation of the short range needs, but a long-term solution to this growing regional problem must be advanced"; and
d. The study and examination of an appropriate corridor proposed in this act may facilitate any federal or State transportation project scoping which may occur in the future in regard to a possible transportation corridor to the Garden State Parkway.
2. There is created a task force to be known as the "Task Force on the Extension of Route 55." The task force is to consist of 11 members as follows: eight members are to be residents of Cumberland or Cape May Counties and appointed by the Governor, of whom one shall be a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Cumberland County and one shall be an elected municipal public official in Cumberland County, who shall not be members of the same political party; one shall be a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Cape May County and one shall be an elected municipal public official in Cape May County, who shall not be members of the same political party; one shall be a representative of the South Jersey Transportation Authority; one shall be a representative of the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization; and two shall be public members, who shall not be members of the same political party. Of the remaining three members, two shall be members of the Legislature appointed by the presiding officers thereof from among the members who are residents of Cumberland or Cape May Counties who shall not be members of the same political party; and one shall be a representative of the Department of Transportation, appointed by the Governor, who need not be a resident of Cumberland or Cape May Counties.
The members of the task force shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
3. The task force shall organize as soon as may be practicable after the appointment of a majority of its members and shall select a chairperson from among the members. The members shall select a secretary, who need not be a member of the task force. The task force shall meet at the call of the chairperson.
The task force shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State department, board, bureau, commission or agency, as it may require and as may be available for its purposes, and to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as may be necessary in order to perform its duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.
4. It shall be the duty of the task force to study and examine the issue of establishing an appropriate transportation corridor from the terminus of Route 55 in Cumberland County to the Garden State Parkway in Cape May County. In its examination, the task force shall consider the proposals and plans of the Department of Transportation to improve existing highways and shall solicit comment from public officials, transportation experts, engineers and other professionals, as well as members of the public, on other corridor improvements and extensions which could serve to facilitate the flow of traffic to the Shore region. The task force in its findings shall present the various points of view received in order that its report could serve as a template for further discussion and possible scoping in connection with any State or federally funded project to establish corridor improvements or extensions.
5. The task force shall prepare and submit a report containing its findings and recommendations, if any, that it deems appropriate, no later than 12 months after the task force organizes, to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the members of the Senate Transportation Committee and the Assembly Transportation Committee, or the respective successor committees.
6. The task force shall dissolve 12 months following its organization.
7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 12 months following the organization of the task force.
STATEMENT
This bill creates a task force to be known as the "Task Force on the Extension of Route 55" to study and examine the issue of establishing an appropriate transportation corridor from the terminus of Route 55 in Cumberland County to the Garden State Parkway in Cape May County. The task force is composed of 11 members as follows: ten of the members are to be residents of Cumberland or Cape May County. Of the ten members appointed from those counties, one is to be a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Cumberland County and one an elected municipal public official in that county, but not of the same political party; one is to be a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Cape May County and one an elected municipal public official in that county, but not of the same political party; two are to be members of the Legislature, but not of the same political party; one is a representative of the South Jersey Transportation Authority; one is a representative of the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization; and two are to be public members, but not of the same political party. The 11th member shall be an employee of the Department of Transportation. All of the members, except the legislative members who shall be appointed by the presiding officers of the Legislature, shall be appointed by the Governor.
The task force is charged with studying and examining the establishment of an appropriate transportation corridor from Route 55 to the Garden State Parkway. In the course of its deliberations the task force is to consider the proposals and plans of the Department of Transportation, as well as the comments of public officials, professionals and the general public. Its report should be so constructed that it could be considered a template for further discussion and possible scoping in connection with a State or federally funded transportation corridor project.
Not later than 12 months after it organizes, the task force is to submit a report containing its findings and recommendations, if any, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly and the transportation committees in each House.
The task force is to dissolve 12 months following its organization.
