27:1B-22.2 Financial Policy Review Board.
6.There is hereby created in the Executive Branch of the State Government, a body corporate and politic, with corporate succession, to be known as the Financial Policy Review Board. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the board is hereby allocated within the Department of Transportation, but, notwithstanding that allocation, the board shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any body or officer thereof. The board is hereby constituted as an instrumentality of the State exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the board of the powers conferred by this act shall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the State.
The board shall be comprised of five public members with experience in transportation finance and policy. The Governor shall appoint three of the members with the advice and consent of the Senate. The remaining members shall be appointed by the Governor as follows: one upon the joint recommendation of the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the Senate, and one upon the joint recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Minority leader of the General Assembly. Each member shall serve for a four-year term and shall serve until the member's successor is appointed and qualified; provided, however, that in order to achieve non-concurrent terms, of the members first appointed pursuant to this section, two members appointed by the Governor shall serve for four years; while the two members appointed upon the joint recommendation of the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the Senate and upon the joint recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly shall serve for three years each, and the remaining member appointed by the Governor shall serve for two years. The Financial Policy Review Board shall be deemed to be constituted immediately upon appointment and qualification in the manner provided in this section of at least three members.
The purpose of the board is to assure fiscal discipline through evaluating the financing of transportation and preparing an annual State of Condition of Transportation Financing certification. The certification shall ensure that the financing and expenditures of the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority (the "authority") adhere to certain standards. The standards are: a. The bonding limitation as provided in subsection i. of section 9 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-9). b. For the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2007, the amount expended from the revenues and other funds of the authority for permitted maintenance shall not exceed the amount expended for permitted maintenance in the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2006. c. The total amount authorized to be appropriated from the revenues and other funds of the authority for project costs shall not exceed $1,600,000,000 annually.
Commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, the board shall submit to the Governor, the Legislature, and the commissioner on an annual basis the State of Condition of Transportation Financing certification as to the requirements of subsection a. of this section referencing therein a certification with regard to subsections b. and c. of this section to the extent feasible, given the other provisions of this section. The certifications shall be based on the board's review of the State's fiscal year final expenditures from the preceding fiscal year, including bonding and expenditures from the annual independent audit of the authority, and the amount of authority funds programmed for permitted maintenance. If the capital program and its financing are found to be in compliance, the first annual certification required by this paragraph shall be submitted by February 1, 2008, after the certification is concurred with by the members of the authority, and by February 1 of each year thereafter. The board shall advise the commissioner and the authority on February 1, 2008 and on each succeeding February 1, if the board finds that the authority is not in compliance with the bonding requirements as provided in subsection a. of the section, and that a corrective action plan is needed. The authority shall submit a corrective action plan that would reduce its future bond sales to offset the amount of excess bonding or to reduce future debt service payments, or both, as the case may be. Upon approval of the corrective action plan by the board, the certification shall be issued with certain conditions. The Annual Transportation Capital Program submitted to the Legislature for the forthcoming year shall be in compliance with the provisions of the corrective action plan. If the board does not approve the corrective action plan, the authority shall submit a financial plan showing bonding only for existing projects, noting that no bonds shall be issued for new projects shown in the department's Annual Transportation Capital Program. The board shall advise the commissioner on February 1, 2008 and on each succeeding February 1, if the board finds that the Department of Transportation has exceeded the limitation for the amount of authority funds spent on permitted maintenance pursuant to subsection b. of this section, or for the amount authorized to be appropriated for project costs pursuant to subsection c. of this section and that a corrective action plan is needed. The department shall submit a corrective action plan that would offset the excess amount spent, or the excess amount appropriated, in the prior year with less funding for permitted maintenance or for projects, as the case may be, in the proposed capital budget request. Upon approval of the corrective action plan by the board, a certification as to these matters shall be issued with certain conditions. The Annual Transportation Capital Program submitted to the Legislature for the forthcoming year shall be in compliance with the provisions of the corrective action plan. If the board does not approve the corrective action plan, the authority shall submit a financial plan showing bonding only for existing projects, noting that no bonds shall be issued for new projects shown in the department's Annual Transportation Capital Program.
L.2006,c.3,s.6.
27:1B-22.3 Report to Governor, Legislature.
9.The Department of Transportation shall report to the Governor and the Legislature on September 1, 2008 and on September 1, 2010 on the amount of revenues and other funds of the authority which have been expended on permitted maintenance and on salaries and overhead of the department and the corporation in the previous two fiscal years respectively. In the reports the department shall provide reasons as to why the reported expenditure levels are appropriate and in the public interest. In addition, the department shall detail steps that have been undertaken to reduce expenditures for these purposes after June 30, 2006.
L.2006,c.3,s.9.
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Last modified: October 11, 2016