P.L. 2025, c.119 (S4567)

An Act appropriating $107,999,000 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues and various Green Acres funds to assist local government units to acquire, develop, and conduct planning activities related to, 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. $52,679,000 from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues. Of the amount appropriated pursuant to this subsection, the sum of $8,352,000 is available due to interest earnings on the constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax revenues;

b. $13,000,000 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; and

c. $40,000,000 from the “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund,” 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 project cancellations and withdrawals.

3. a. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the “Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund” the sum of $54,999,000 to implement the provisions of this act.

b. Of the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the sum of $2,320,000 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
Burlington County	Burlington	Planning Incentive	$150,000
Cherry Hill Twp	Camden	Planning Incentive Grant	$1,025,000
Clementon Boro	Camden	Open Space Acquisition	$342,000
Gloucester Twp	Camden	Open Space Acquisition	$2,000,000
Livingston Twp	Essex	Open Space Acquisition	$362,000
Verona Twp	Essex	Open Space Acquisition	$1,000,000
West Orange Twp	Essex	Open Space Acquisition	$1,500,000
Gloucester County	Gloucester	Open Space Plan	$2,000,000
Readington Twp	Hunterdon	Greenway Incentive Plan	$1,000,000
Mercer County	Mercer	Planning Incentive	$825,000
West Windsor Twp	Mercer	Planning Incentive	$1,000,000
Monmouth County	Monmouth	Planning Incentive Acquisition	$2,500,000
Millstone Twp	Monmouth	Planning Incentive	$484,000
Denville Twp	Morris	Open Space Acquisition	$700,000
Madison Boro	Morris	Open Space Acquisition	$1,000,000
Mendham Twp	Morris	Open Space Acquisition	$546,000
Point Pleasant Beach Boro	Ocean	Open Space & Recreation Acquisition	$1,000,000
Somerset County	Somerset	County Open Space Acquisition	$295,000
Montgomery Twp	Somerset	Open Space Acquisition	$1,000,000
Warren County	Warren	Open Space Plan	$665,000
Knowlton Twp	Warren	Open Space Acquisition	$565,000
Total			$19,959,000

b. The following projects to acquire 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
Bloomfield Twp	Essex	Third River Park and Preserve	$2,000,000
Neptune Twp	Monmouth	Division Street Park Acquisition	$86,000
Total			$2,086,000

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
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp	Morris	Kosut Tract Acquisition	$382,000
Total			$382,000
Grand Total, Acquisition			$22,427,000

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
Atlantic City	Atlantic	Dolphin Field Improvements	$1,330,000
Bergenfield Boro	Bergen	Twin Boro Park Improvements Project – Phase 3	$673,000
Garfield City	Bergen	Columbus Park Improvements	$2,000,000
Hackensack City	Bergen	Foschini Park Improvements	$1,152,000
Pennsauken Twp	Camden	Stockton Park Improvements	$770,000
Vineland City	Cumberland	Romano Complex Improvements	$1,313,000
Essex County	Essex	Irvington Park Improvements	$1,916,000
Belleville Twp	Essex	Municipal Stadium Grandstand Improvements	$680,000
East Orange City	Essex	Oval Park Improvements	$2,000,000
Montclair Twp	Essex	Mountainside Park Improvements	$1,867,000
Monroe Twp	Gloucester	Amphitheater at Owens Memorial Park	$1,302,000
Hudson County	Hudson	James J. Braddock Park Nature Trail	$2,099,000
Bayonne City	Hudson	Veterans Park Shoreline Restoration & Resiliency	$605,000
Hoboken City	Hudson	800 Monroe Resiliency Park Project	$500,000
Union City	Hudson	Ellsworth Park Improvements	$1,400,000
Weehawken Twp	Hudson	Waterfront Multi-Use Pavilion II	$2,000,000
Trenton City	Mercer	Assunpink Greenway Park Development	$2,000,000
Perth Amboy City	Middlesex	Veteran Memorial Park Improvements	$2,000,000
Brick Twp	Ocean	Windward Beach Playground Rehabilitation	$405,000
Passaic City	Passaic	Third Ward Veterans Memorial Park Improvements	$985,000
Salem City	Salem	Salem City Pool Recreational Area	$573,000
Union County	Union	Improvements at Wheeler Spray Park	$1,575,000
Total			$29,145,000

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	Veteran's Memorial Park Improvements – Phase I	$139,000
Bergen County	Bergen	Riverside County Park South	$2,500,000
New Milford Boro	Bergen	Williams Field Lighting	$148,000
Teaneck Twp	Bergen	Argonne Park Restroom & Splash Pad Improvements	$375,000
West Caldwell Twp	Essex	Grover Cleveland Field Improvements	$1,500,000
Edison Twp	Middlesex	Angels Field Improvement Project	$1,050,000
North Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	Sabella Park Field House	$832,000
Sayreville Boro	Middlesex	Bailey Park Improvements	$975,000
Keyport Boro	Monmouth	Fireman's Park Improvements	$872,000
Dover Town	Morris	Waterworks Splash Water Park	$400,000
Toms River Twp	Ocean	Deer Hollow Park Improvements	$707,000
Passaic County	Passaic	Peckman Preserve Improvements	$2,018,000
North Plainfield Boro	Somerset	Green Acres Park Inclusive Playground	$435,000
Total			$11,951,000

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	$1,000,000
Somers Point City	Atlantic	Bike Path Improvements	$342,000
Burlington City	Burlington	6th Street Park Improvements	$955,000
Burlington Twp	Burlington	Amenity Expansions at Green Acres II	$1,000,000
Greenwich Twp	Gloucester	Memorial Park Improvements	$1,000,000
Woolwich Twp	Gloucester	Locke Ave Park Improvement Project	$1,000,000
Little Falls Twp	Passaic	Amity Field Park Improvements	$84,000
Carneys Point Twp	Salem	Recreation Complex Improvements	$511,000
Alpha Boro	Warren	Walking Trail Phase 1	$746,000
Total			$6,638,000

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
West Orange Twp	Essex	Vincent's Pond Improvements	$906,000
Mercer County	Mercer	Rosedale Lake Restoration and Enhancement	$105,000
Middlesex Boro	Middlesex	Victor Crowell Park Stewardship Improvements	$76,000
Passaic County	Passaic	Lambert Castle Historic Landscape Restoration II	$2,500,000
Somerset County	Somerset	Green Knoll Golf Course Hydro-raking	$174,000
Union County	Union	Deserted Village Improvements	$191,000
Linden City	Union	Wilson Pond Restoration	$295,000
Total			$4,247,000

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:

Local Government Unit	County	Project	Approved Amount
Brigantine City	Atlantic	East Shore Drive Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Hammonton Town	Atlantic	Jake's Law Playground at Hammonton Lake Park	$745,000
Somers Point City	Atlantic	JFK Park Inclusive Playground	$423,000
Bergen County	Bergen	Pascack Brook County Park CIP	$1,000,000
East Rutherford Boro	Bergen	Anthony Gallo Park	$544,000
Fort Lee Boro	Bergen	Constitution Park Playground Improvements Project	$693,000
Franklin Lakes Boro	Bergen	Pulis Avenue Jake’s Law Playground	$750,000
Garfield City	Bergen	Garden Court East Park Project	$496,000
Rutherford Boro	Bergen	Tamblyn Together	$536,000
Teaneck Twp	Bergen	Votee Park Inclusive Playground Improvements	$750,000
Maple Shade Twp	Burlington	Improvements to Buttonwood Park	$750,000
Moorestown Twp	Burlington	Full Throttle IP at Wesley Bishop Park	$750,000
Camden County	Camden	New Camden Park Playground	$883,000
Gloucester Twp	Camden	Jake's Law Playground Valleybrook Complex	$750,000
Lower Twp	Cape May	Jake's Law Playground at Rotary Park	$750,000
Stone Harbor Boro	Cape May	82nd St. Jakes Law Playground	$750,000
Nutley Twp	Essex	Father Glotzbach Park Inclusive Playground	$403,000
West Orange Twp	Essex	Colgate Park Playground	$503,000
Bayonne City	Hudson	Improvements to North Street Park	$534,000
Hoboken City	Hudson	Tom Olivieri Park Improvement Project	$750,000
Secaucus Town	Hudson	Schmidt's Woods Park Inclusive Playground	$630,000
Mercer County	Mercer	Rosedale Park Inclusive Playground	$938,000
Trenton City	Mercer	Inclusive Playground at Franklin Park	$750,000
Carteret Boro	Middlesex	Carteret Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
North Brunswick Twp	Middlesex	Sabella Park Inclusive Playground	$642,000
Perth Amboy City	Middlesex	Truxton Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Sayreville Boro	Middlesex	Bailey Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
South River Boro	Middlesex	Volunteer Memorial Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Fair Haven Boro	Monmouth	McCarter Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Red Bank Boro	Monmouth	Marine Park Playground Improvement	$750,000
Spring Lake Boro	Monmouth	Divine Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Beach Haven Boro	Ocean	Together We Play	$750,000
Lavalette Boro	Ocean	Chandler Park Jake's Law Improvements	$652,000
Pine Beach Boro	Ocean	Vista Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Toms River Twp	Ocean	Clifton Avenue Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Passaic County	Passaic	Weasel Brook Park Playground Replacement	$850,000
Pennsville Twp	Salem	Riverview Beach Park Inclusive Playground	$750,000
Union County	Union	Improvements at Unami Park	$1,000,000
Linden City	Union	George L. Milkosky Jake's Law Playground	$590,000
Plainfield City	Union	Hannah Atkins Completely Inclusive Playground	$459,000
Total			$28,271,000
Grand Total, Development			$80,252,000

6. The department shall utilize $3 million of the moneys appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act to establish a Planning Grant program, the purpose of which shall be to provide matching grants to local governments to fund the preparation of plans and other activities necessary to identify needs and opportunities for additional recreation and conservation initiatives in the State. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection e. of section 6 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-48) or any other law to the contrary, the distribution of grant funds pursuant to this section shall not require the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.

7. 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.

8. 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, 2025, 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:

9. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill appropriates $107,999,000 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, $102,679,000 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, $3,000,000 would be used for a new planning grant program, and $2,320,000 would be used for the DEP’s associated administrative costs.

The total amount of funding allocated for local government projects listed in this bill is $102,679,000. Of this amount, $22,427,000 is for projects to acquire lands for recreation and conservation purposes identified in section 4 of the bill, and $80,252,000 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: $19,959,000 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); $2,086,000 is allocated for open space acquisition projects in urban aid municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties; and $382,000 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: $29,145,000 is allocated for local park development projects in urban aid municipalities or sponsored by densely populated counties; $11,951,000 is allocated for local park development projects in densely or highly populated municipalities or sponsored by highly populated counties; $6,638,000 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); $4,247,000 is allocated for stewardship activity projects; and $28,271,000 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 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.

In addition, the bill would appropriate $3 million to the DEP in order to establish a new a Planning Grant program, the purpose of which would be to provide matching grants to local governments to fund the preparation of plans and other activities necessary to identify needs and opportunities for additional recreation and conservation initiatives in the State.

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

Appropriates $107,999,000 from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues and various Green Acres funds to DEP for local government open space acquisition, park development, and planning projects, and for certain administrative expenses.