S4053

An Act appropriating $87,783,515 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues and various Green Acres funds to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, and for certain administrative expenses.

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

1. As used in this act:

“Constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues” means corporation business tax revenues dedicated pursuant to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution in the “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” for the acquisition or development of lands by local government units for recreation and conservation purposes in accordance with the provisions of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.).

“Densely or highly populated municipality” means a municipality with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile, or a population of at least 35,000 persons, according to the latest federal decennial census.

“Densely populated county” means a county with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile according to the latest federal decennial census.

“Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” means the fund established pursuant to section 19 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-19).

“Green Acres bond act” means P.L.2009, c.117, P.L.2007, c.119, P.L.1995, c.204, P.L.1992, c.88, P.L.1989, c.183, P.L.1987, c.265, and P.L.1983, c.354.

“Highly populated county” means a county with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile according to the latest federal decennial census.

“Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” means the fund established pursuant to section 6 of the “Preserve New Jersey Act,” P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-48).

“Stewardship activity” means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of the “Preserve New Jersey Act,” P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-45).

2. There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection the following sums for the purpose of providing grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to section 4 of this act and for the purpose of providing grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to section 5 of this act:

a. $81,361,250 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues. Of the amount appropriated pursuant to this subsection, the sum of $255,000 is available due to interest earnings on the constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues; and

b. $2,153,515 from the “Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” and any Green Acres fund established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act, made available due to loan repayments and interest earnings.

3. a. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” the sum of $85,630,000 to implement the provisions of this act.

b. Of the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the sum of $4,268,750 is appropriated from the “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” to the Department of Environmental Protection for the purposes of paying administrative costs associated with administering the applicable provisions of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.).

4. a. The following planning incentive acquisition projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Oakland Boro	Bergen	Boro of Oakland Open Space & Recreation Plan	$700,000
River Vale Twp	Bergen	Watershed Property Acquisition	66,650
Burlington County	Burlington	Planning Incentive	1,000,000
Evesham Twp	Burlington	Planning Incentive	1,000,000
Camden County	Camden	Open Space Plan	1,500,000
Livingston Twp	Essex	Open Space Acquisition	700,000
Verona Twp	Essex	Verona Open Space Acquisition	700,000
Gloucester County	Gloucester	Open Space Plan	1,400,000
Washington Twp	Gloucester	Open Space & Recreation Project	270,000
Bethlehem Twp	Hunterdon	Open Space Plan Implementation	400,000
Lebanon Twp	Hunterdon	Lebanon Twp Preservation Priorities	350,000
Raritan Twp	Hunterdon	Land Acquisition Plan	700,000
Union Twp	Hunterdon	Union Twp Open Space Plan	700,000
Hamilton Twp	Mercer	Hamilton Township Open Space Acquisition	1,050,000
Hopewell Twp	Mercer	Hopewell Open Space Acquisition	500,000
Lawrence Twp	Mercer	Open Space Plan Acquisition	272,167
Pennington Boro	Mercer	Pennington Greenbelt Planning Incentive	300,000
Princeton Boro	Mercer	Princeton Open Space Acquisition	700,000
Robbinsville Twp	Mercer	Green Links Program	700,000
West Windsor Twp	Mercer	West Windsor Planning Incentive	700,000
Middlesex County	Middlesex	Middlesex County Open Space Acquisition	1,280,000
North Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	North Brunswick Plan	1,050,000
Monmouth County	Monmouth	Planning Incentive Acquisition	1,750,000
Millstone Twp	Monmouth	Millstone Planning Incentive-Project Evergreen	700,000
Madison Boro	Morris	Madison Boro Open Space Acquisition	500,000
Ocean County	Ocean	Planning Incentive Grant	1,400,000
Brick Twp	Ocean	Open Space & Recreation Plan	1,200,000
Manchester Twp	Ocean	Planning Incentive	1,050,000
Passaic County	Passaic	Open Space Plan Acquisitions	1,750,000
Somerset County	Somerset	County Open Space Acquisition	1,400,000
TOTAL			$25,788,817

b. The following standard acquisition projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT

COUNTY

PROJECT

APPROVED AMOUNT

Wood-Ridge Boro

Bergen

Wood-Ridge Recreation Complex Acquisition

$750,000

TOTAL

$750,000

c. The following site-specific incentive acquisition projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Mansfield Twp	Burlington	Land Acquisition	$700,000

TOTAL			$700,000

GRAND TOTAL			$27,238,817

5. a. The following projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in municipalities eligible to receive State aid pursuant to P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.) either as of June 30, 2021 or the effective date of this act, or sponsored by densely populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Pleasantville City	Atlantic	Bayview Avenue Waterfront Park	$1,190,000
Bergenfield Boro	Bergen	PAL Field Lighting Improvement Project	455,000
Cliffside Park Boro	Bergen	Honor Park Redevelopment Project	621,460
Garfield City	Bergen	Columbus Park Improvements	1,260,000
Hackensack City	Bergen	Columbus & Carver Park Improvements	843,416
Mount Holly Twp	Burlington	Iron Works Park Improvements	900,000
Gloucester City	Camden	Johnson Park Improvements	830,000
Gloucester Twp	Camden	Playground Improvements	586,521
Pennsauken Twp	Camden	Pennsauken Pool Complex	654,000
Vineland City	Cumberland	Romano Complex Improvements	1,400,000
Essex County	Essex	Weequahic Park Improvements	1,807,550
Bloomfield Twp	Essex	Clarks Pond South & Vassar Field Improvements	396,381
Irvington Twp	Essex	Center Playground Civic Square Park Improvements	276,310
Newark City	Essex	Broadway Park	1,400,000
Nutley Twp	Essex	Monsignor Owens Park Improvements	528,755
Orange City Twp	Essex	Metcalf Park Improvements	481,590
Woodbury City	Gloucester	Francis Avenue Park Improvements	597,200
Hudson County	Hudson	Laurel Hill Park Phase IV	1,500,000
Harrison Town	Hudson	Cape May Street Waterfront Park	1,400,000
Hoboken City	Hudson	Southwest Park Development	1,400,000
Jersey City	Hudson	Leonard Gordon Park Improvement Project	600,000
Weehawken Twp	Hudson	Weehawken Recreation Pier & Bridge Project	997,988
Trenton City	Mercer	Assunpink Greenway Park Development	1,400,000
Carteret Boro	Middlesex	Arthur Kill River Walk North	1,400,000
Old Bridge Twp	Middlesex	Cottrell Farm Park Development	1,400,000
Perth Amboy City	Middlesex	Raritan Riverfront Park	1,300,000
Woodbridge Twp	Middlesex	Dog Park & Marina Improvements	1,285,113
Clifton City	Passaic	Nash Park Improvements	1,400,000
Passaic City	Passaic	Third Ward Veterans Memorial Park Improvements	1,400,000
Paterson City	Passaic	Westside Park Improvements	1,400,000
Salem City	Salem	Salem City Pool Recreational Area	46,203
Plainfield City	Union	Rushmore Ave. Rec. Complex – Phase II	1,400,000
Roselle Boro	Union	Warren Street Park Development	1,011,408
TOTAL			$33,568,895

b. The following projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, located in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by highly populated counties, are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT

COUNTY

PROJECT

APPROVED AMOUNT

Egg Harbor Twp

Atlantic

Tony Canale Park Improvements

$1,050,000

Bergen County

Bergen

Riverside County Park South

1,750,000

Edgewater Boro

Bergen

Edgewater Dog Park Improvements

172,068

Elmwood Park Boro

Bergen

Elmwood Drive Park Improvement Project

269,619

Englewood City

Bergen

Mackay Park Revitalization Project

364,300

Fairview Boro

Bergen

Columbus Park Improvements Project

330,000

Fort Lee Boro

Bergen

Inwood Terrace Park Improvements Project

475,000

North Arlington Boro

Bergen

Allan Park Improvements

222,813

Teaneck Twp

Bergen

Herrick Park Improvements Project

750,000

Riverside Twp

Burlington

Spring Garden Park Upgrade

340,500

Mercer County

Mercer

Fields and Lighting at Mercer County Park

1,750,000

Freehold Boro

Monmouth

Musgrave Park Improvements Project

115,883

Keyport Boro

Monmouth

Fireman’s Park Improvements

900,000

Prospect Park Boro

Passaic

Hofstra Park Playground Improvements

754,250

Union Twp

Union

Bill Kilb Park Improvements

297,280

TOTAL

$9,541,713

c. The following standard park development projects are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT	COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Hamilton Twp	Atlantic	Liepe Recreation Complex Expansion	$700,000
Burlington Twp	Burlington	Improvements at Green Acres II Park	700,000
Morris Twp	Morris	Collinsville Playground Tucker Field	562,000
TOTAL			$1,962,000

d. The following projects for stewardship activities are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT

COUNTY

PROJECT

APPROVED AMOUNT

Oradell Boro

Bergen

Lotus Woods Nature Walk Improvements

$80,213

Saddle River Boro

Bergen

Rindlaub Park Trail & Streambank Restoration

291,964

Evesham Twp

Burlington

Passive Park Improvements

71,252

Belleville Twp

Essex

Rifle Range Preserve Project

141,750

Harrison Town

Hudson

Cape May Street Waterfront Park

1,400,000

Hamilton Twp

Mercer

Sayen Gardens Restoration Project

310,364

Morristown Town

Morris

Burnham Park Lower Pond Restoration

900,000

Passaic County

Passaic

Lambert Castle Landscape Restoration

500,000

Fanwood Boro

Union

Fanwood Nature Center Rescue Initiative

82,672

TOTAL

$3,778,215

e. The following projects for completely inclusive playgrounds, pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2018, c.104 (C.13:8C-27.1), are eligible for funding with the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act:

Completely Inclusive Playground at County Library

COUNTY	PROJECT	APPROVED AMOUNT
Bergen County	Riverside County Park South Inclusive Playground	$1,000,000
Burlington County	Nature Playground	1,000,000
Camden County	Jake’s Place at New Brooklyn Park	1,000,000
Cumberland County	1,000,000
Hudson County	Inclusive Playground at JJ Braddock	1,000,000
Middlesex County	Inclusive Playground at David B. Crabiel Park	750,000
	Inclusive Playground at David B. Crabiel Park
Ocean County	Eno’s Pond County Park Inclusive Playground	771,750
Passaic County	Camp Hope Inclusive Playground	903,375
TOTAL		$7,425,125
GRAND TOTAL		$56,275,948

6. a. Any transfer of funds, or change in project sponsor, site, or type, listed in section 4 or 5 of this act shall require the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.

b. To the extent that moneys remain available after the projects listed in section 4 or 5 of this act are offered funding pursuant thereto, any project of a local government unit that previously received funding appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for recreation and conservation purposes, or that receives funding approved pursuant to this act, shall be eligible to receive additional funding, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor.

7. a. There is reappropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection the unexpended balances, due to project withdrawals, cancellations, or cost savings, of the amounts appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, for the purposes of providing:

(1) grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, for projects approved as eligible for such funding pursuant to this act; and

(2) additional funding, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, to any project of a local government unit that previously received funding appropriated or reappropriated from any Green Acres bond act, any annual appropriations act, or the Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund for recreation and conservation purposes or that receives funding approved pursuant to this act, subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor. Any such additional funding provided from a Green Acres bond act may include administrative costs.

b. There is appropriated to the Department of Environmental Protection such sums as may be, or may become, available on or before June 30, 2023, due to interest earnings or loan repayments in any "Green Trust Fund" established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act or in the "Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund," for the purpose of providing:

8. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill appropriates $87,783,515 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax (CBT) revenues and various Green Acres funds to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Of the total amount appropriated by the bill, $83,514,765 would be used by the DEP to provide grants or loans, or both, to assist local government units in the State to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes, and $4,268,750 would be used for the DEP’s associated administrative costs.

Of the total amount appropriated, $85,630,000 is from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues, including $255,000 made available due to interest earnings, and $2,153,515 is made available due to loan repayments and interest earnings from the “Garden State Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund” and various Green Acres funds established pursuant to a Green Acres bond act.

The CBT revenues appropriated in this bill are provided from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues pursuant to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution. The “Preserve New Jersey Act” implements the constitutional dedication of CBT revenues for open space, farmland, and historic preservation. The “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” was established by section 6 of the “Preserve New Jersey Act.” The act provides that a certain amount of the portion of dedicated CBT revenues allocated each year for the Green Acres program is to be used for: the acquisition of lands for open space, including Blue Acres projects, and development projects on State lands administered by the DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife and Division of Parks and Forestry; grants and loans to fund local government open space acquisition and development projects; and grants to nonprofit entities to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes.

This bill appropriates funds to be used for grants and loans to fund local government open space acquisition and development projects. Further, of the funding allocated for local open space acquisition and development projects, a certain percentage may be used to fund stewardship activities undertaken by local governments. “Stewardship activity” is defined in the act as an activity, which is beyond routine operations and maintenance, undertaken to repair or restore lands acquired or developed for recreation and conservation purposes for the purpose of enhancing or protecting those lands for recreation and conservation purposes.

The total amount of funding allocated for local government projects listed in this bill is $83,514,765. Of this amount, $27,238,817 is for projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes identified in section 4 of the bill, and $56,275,948 is for projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes identified in section 5 of the bill.

Of the sum for projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes: $25,788,817 is allocated for planning incentive open space acquisition projects (i.e., projects located in municipalities and counties that have an open space tax and an approved open space plan); $750,000 is allocated for standard open space acquisition projects (i.e., projects located in municipalities that do not have an open space tax); and $700,000 is allocated for site-specific incentive acquisition projects (i.e., projects located in municipalities that have an open space tax, but do not have an open space plan).

Of the sum for projects to develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes: $33,568,895 is allocated for local park development projects in urban aid municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties; $9,541,713 is allocated for local park development projects in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by highly populated counties; $1,962,000 is allocated for standard local park development projects (i.e., projects located in municipalities that do not meet the criteria of the prior two categories); $3,778,215 is allocated for stewardship activity projects; and $7,425,125 is allocated for completely inclusive playground projects, pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2018, c.104 (C.13:8C-27.1), otherwise known as “Jake’s Law.”

The projects listed in the bill have been approved by the DEP and the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT).

The projects approved by the bill include projects in “urban aid” and densely or highly populated municipalities and counties. The bill defines a “densely or highly populated municipality” as a municipality with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile or a population of at least 35,000 persons; a “densely populated county” as a county with a population density of at least 5,000 persons per square mile; and a “highly populated county” as a county with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile.

To the extent that there are funds remaining after the local government unit projects listed in this bill are offered funding, the bill also authorizes the DEP, with the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee (JBOC), to use those funds to provide additional funding for local government unit projects listed in this bill as well as for local government unit projects previously approved for funding pursuant to various other laws.