Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Stanley, Assemblywoman Jaffer, Assemblymen Karabinchak, Danielsen and Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson
SYNOPSIS
Establishes fund in DEP for Blue Acres acquisition and relocation projects; appropriates $25 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning Blue Acres acquisition and relocation assistance, supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Blue Acres Buyout Fund (hereinafter referred to as the "fund") is established in the Department of Environmental Protection as a nonlapsing, revolving fund. All monies appropriated pursuant to this act, monies appropriated annually by law for the purposes of the fund, and any other grants received by the State for the purposes of the fund shall be deposited into the fund. All interest or other income or earnings derived from the investment or reinvestment of monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund. The fund shall be administered by the Department of Environmental Protection. No more than five percent of the total annual revenue allocated to the fund in each fiscal year may be used by the department for administrative costs.
b. Monies in the fund shall be used by the Department of Environmental Protection for:
(1) relocation assistance for homeowners displaced by a Blue Acres acquisition;
(2) relocation assistance for tenants in single family and multifamily housing displaced by a Blue Acres acquisition of their rental property; and
(3) the Blue Acres cost to the State for the acquisition of lands for a Blue Acres project.
c. As used in this section, “Blue Acres cost” and “Blue Acres project” mean the same as those terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-45).
2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Blue Acres Buyout Fund, established pursuant to section 1 of this act, the sum of $25 million.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Blue Acres Buyout Fund (hereinafter referred to as the "fund") as a nonlapsing, revolving fund in the Department of Environmental Protection and appropriates $25 million from the General Fund for the purposes of the fund. The fund would be administered by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to be used for relocation assistance for homeowners and tenants displaced by a Blue Acres acquisition or for a Blue Acres acquisition of flood-prone property. No more than five percent of the total annual revenue allocated to the fund in each fiscal year may be used by the DEP for administrative costs. The monies may be used for relocation assistance, for buyouts of single-family or multifamily property or other flood-prone property, and for administrative costs associated with the program.
Since its inception in 1995, the DEP’s Blue Acres program has worked to protect public safety and the environment by acquiring properties subject to repeated flooding, for use as natural flood storage, parks, and community open space. The Blue Acres program seeks to improve the slow approval times that keep residential property owners from selling flood-prone properties and finding replacement homes both for owners and tenants. Furthermore, the Blue Acres program has a role in supporting tenant relocation. The Blue Acres program helps relocate tenants affected by the buyout of their rental property and assists in finding a comparable living arrangement. In order to support renters and landlords more quickly, a tenant relocation program with a dedicated team was added to the Blue Acres program in 2017. This appropriation will provide the DEP with assistance to complete larger-scale buyouts by supporting the relocation of tenants of multifamily housing under the Blue Acres program, and would provide additional funding for acquisition of flood-prone property under the Blue Acres program.