ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 5810
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: DECEMBER 4, 2023
The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably
Assembly Bill No. 5810.
This bill would amend P.L.2023, c.120 to amend the lists of
environmental infrastructure projects for which the Legislature has
appropriated funds to the Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) for State fiscal year 2024.
In July 2023, P.L.2023, c.120 was enacted into law, which
appropriated funds to the DEP for the purpose of financing
approximately $1.78 billion in Storm Sandy and other
environmental infrastructure projects through the New Jersey
Infrastructure Bank (NJIB) in FY 2024. This bill would amend the
lists of environmental infrastructure projects for which the DEP is
appropriated funds pursuant to P.L.2023, c.120 to include new
projects, remove projects, modify the priority of certain projects,
and modify the loan amounts for certain projects, as enumerated in
subsections a. and b. of section 3 of the bill. As amended by the
bill, P.L.2023, c.120 would appropriate to the DEP up to $3.08
billion, and any unexpended balances from previous authorizations,
to provide loans to project sponsors for a total of 223 eligible
environmental infrastructure projects for FY 2024. This would
include 137 projects on the "Storm Sandy and State Fiscal Year
2024 Clean Water Project Eligibility List" and 70 projects on the
"Storm Sandy and State Fiscal Year 2024 Drinking Water Project
Eligibility List."
The bill would also give the DEP the explicit authority to use
funds in the “Pinelands Infrastructure Trust Fund” established
pursuant to section 14 of the "Pinelands Infrastructure Trust Bond
Act of 1985," P.L.1985, c.302, for drinking water projects. The bill
would require such drinking water projects to be funded in
accordance with the regulations applicable to the financing of
wastewater projects by the Pinelands Infrastructure Trust Fund,
unless and until regulations specific to the financing of drinking
water projects are promulgated.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This bill has not been certified as requiring a fiscal note.