SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3881

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 12, 2024

      The Senate Environment and Energy Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3881.

      As amended by the committee, this bill would amend P.L.2024, c.35 to make changes to the lists of environmental infrastructure projects for which the Legislature has appropriated funds to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for State fiscal year 2025.

      In July 2024, P.L.2024, c.35 was enacted into law, which appropriated funds to the DEP for the purpose of financing approximately $2.73 billion in Storm Sandy and other environmental infrastructure projects through the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (NJIB) in FY 2025.  This bill would amend the lists of environmental infrastructure projects for which the DEP is appropriated funds pursuant to P.L.2024, c.35, in order to include new projects, remove certain projects, modify the priority of certain projects, and modify the loan amounts for certain projects, as enumerated in sections 2 and 3 of the bill.  As amended by the bill, P.L.2024, c.35 would appropriate, to the DEP, up to $2.47 billion, as well as any unexpended balances from previous authorizations, in order to provide loans to project sponsors for a total of 227 eligible environmental infrastructure projects for FY 2025.  This would include 152 projects on the "Storm Sandy and State Fiscal Year 2025 Clean Water Project Eligibility List" and 67 projects on the "Storm Sandy and State Fiscal Year 2025 Drinking Water Project Eligibility List."

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to make technical changes to update internal references to P.L.2024, c.41 (another environmental infrastructure trust appropriations bill previously enacted, in 2024, as a companion to P.L.2024, c.35), as necessary to appropriately reference the currently pending Senate and Assembly bills (i.e., S3879 and A5123) that would amend the list of projects, which are eligible for FY 2025 funding from the NJ Infrastructure Bank, under the provisions of that P.L.2024, c.41.