ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 3811

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 22, 2023

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 3811 (1R) with committee amendments.

      As amended and reported, this bill requires a geotechnical engineer to provide expert recommendations concerning the type and frequency of geotechnical tests needed for major transportation projects.  The recommended testing and frequency of testing is to be included in the construction contracts of the project and are to be completed during the construction phase of the project.  The geotechnical engineer is to be retained by the entity that solicits bids for a major transportation project.

      The bill requires a groundwater test to have occurred within 180 days of the date primary construction begins for any major transportation project that requires groundwater testing at the project site.  Thereafter, the bill also requires ongoing groundwater monitoring if the site conditions warrant more frequent testing, as determined by the geotechnical engineer.

      Under the bill, data is to be collected concerning the shifting and settling of the major transportation project.  The shifting and settling is to be monitored and compared against the levels of shifting and settling deemed acceptable by the project’s design documents.  If the shifting and settling is greater than that deemed acceptable by the design documents, advanced monitoring is to be completed, as determined by the Commissioner of Transportation.

      The bill requires the Department of Transportation to comply with all internal standards, manuals, procedures, and design documents and the department is prohibited from waiving any of the standards and procedures provided in these documents.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments limit the scope of the bill’s provisions to major transportation projects.  The amendments defined a “major transportation project” to mean a transportation project that is funded in whole or in part by State resources, including those of the Transportation Trust Fund Authority, and that has an estimated project completion date not less than three years after the date on which the final design phase of the project commenced.

      The committee amendments also provide that a geotechnical engineer is to be retained by the entity that solicits bids for the major transportation project.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      Fiscal information for this bill is currently unavailable.