A 5346

ASSEMBLY, No. 5346
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 28, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� SHAMA A. HAIDER
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes payment of relocation costs under Blue
Acres program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act concerning the Blue Acres program and amending
P.L.2016, c.12.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� Section 3 of P.L.2016,
c.12 (C.13:8C-45) is amended to read as follows:
���� 3.��� As used in P.L.2016,
c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.):
���� �Acquisition� or �acquire�
means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152
(C.13:8C-3).
���� �Blue Acres cost� means the
expenses incurred in connection with:� all things deemed necessary or useful
and convenient for the acquisition by the State or a qualifying tax exempt
nonprofit organization, for recreation and conservation purposes, of lands that
have been damaged by, or may be prone to incurring damage caused by, storms or
storm-related flooding, or that may buffer or protect other lands from such
damage; the execution of any agreements or franchises deemed by the Department
of Environmental Protection to be necessary or useful and convenient in
connection with any Blue Acres project authorized by P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43
et seq.); the procurement or provision of appraisal, archaeological,
architectural, conservation, design, engineering, financial, geological,
historic research, housing counseling, hydrological, inspection, legal,
planning, relocation, surveying, or other professional advice, estimates,
reports, services, or studies; the purchase of title insurance; the undertaking
of feasibility studies; the demolition of structures, the removal of debris,
and the restoration of lands to a natural state or to a state useful for
recreation and conservation purposes, which activities may be carried out
through direct contracts with service providers, and shall not require the
approval of the Division of Property Management and Construction in the
Department of the Treasury; the establishment of a reserve fund or funds
for working capital, operating, maintenance, or replacement expenses as the Director
of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury may
determine; the provision of direct payments, advances, or bridge loans to
households for relocation expenses; and reimbursement to any fund of the
State of moneys that may have been transferred or advanced therefrom to any
fund established by� P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.), or any moneys that
may have been expended therefrom for, or in connection with, P.L.2016, c.12
(C.13:8C-43 et seq.).
���� �Blue Acres project� means any
project of the State or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization to relocate
residents from or acquire, via fee simple sale, sale commitment letter,
right of occupancy, leaseback, life estate, or other transfer of property
interest, for recreation and conservation purposes, lands that have been
damaged by, or may be prone to incurring damage caused by, storms or
storm-related flooding, or that may buffer or protect other lands from such
damage, including through the use of nature-based infrastructure such as
bioswales, living shorelines, vegetative basins, and vegetated berms.
���� �Commissioner� means the
Commissioner of Environmental Protection.
���� �Committee� means the State
Agriculture Development Committee established pursuant to section 4 of
P.L.1983, c.31 (C.4:1C-4).
���� �Constitutionally dedicated
CBT moneys� means any moneys made available pursuant to Article VIII, Section
II, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution deposited in the funds established
pursuant to sections 6, 7, 8, and 9 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-48 through
C.13:8C-51), and appropriated by law, for recreation and conservation, farmland
preservation, or historic preservation purposes set forth in Article VIII,
Section II, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution or P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43
et seq.).
���� �Convey� or �conveyance� means
the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Cost� means the expenses
incurred in connection with:� all things deemed necessary or useful and
convenient for the acquisition or development of lands for recreation and
conservation purposes, the acquisition of development easements or fee simple
titles to farmland, or the preservation of historic properties, as the case may
be; the execution of any agreements or franchises deemed by the Department of
Environmental Protection, State Agriculture Development Committee, or New
Jersey Historic Trust, as the case may be, to be necessary or useful and
convenient in connection with any project funded in whole or in part using
constitutionally dedicated CBT moneys; the procurement or provision of
appraisal, archaeological, architectural, conservation, design, engineering,
financial, geological, historic research, hydrological, inspection, legal,
planning, relocation, surveying, or other professional advice, estimates,
reports, services, or studies; the purchase of title insurance; the undertaking
of feasibility studies; materials and labor costs for stewardship activities,
but not overhead or administration costs for such activities; the establishment
of a reserve fund or funds for working capital, operating, maintenance, or
replacement expenses, as the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting
in the Department of the Treasury may determine; and reimbursement to any fund
of the State of moneys that may have been transferred or advanced therefrom to
any fund established by P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.), or any moneys that
may have been expended therefrom for, or in connection with, P.L.2016, c.12
(C.13:8C-43 et seq.).
���� �Department� means the
Department of Environmental Protection.
���� �Development� or �develop�
means, except as used in the definitions of �acquisition� and �development
easement� in this section, any improvement, including a stewardship activity,
made to a land or water area designed to expand and enhance its utilization for
recreation and conservation purposes, and shall include the construction,
renovation, or repair of any such improvement, but shall not mean shore
protection or beach nourishment or replenishment activities.
���� �Development easement� means
the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Emergency intervention� means
an immediate assessment or capital improvement necessary to protect or
stabilize the structural integrity of a historic property.
���� �Farmland� means the same as
that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Farmland preservation,�
�farmland preservation purposes,� or �preservation of farmland� means the same
as those terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Garden State Preservation
Trust� or �trust� means the Garden State Preservation Trust established
pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-4).
���� �Green Acres bond act� means:�
P.L.1961, c.46; P.L.1971, c.165; P.L.1974, c.102; P.L.1978, c.118; P.L.1983,
c.354; P.L.1987, c.265; P.L.1989, c.183; P.L.1992, c.88; P.L.1995, c.204;
P.L.2007, c.119; P.L.2009, c.117; and any State general obligation bond act
that may be approved after the date of enactment of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43
et seq.) for the purpose of providing funding for the acquisition or
development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes or for farmland
preservation purposes.
���� �Historic preservation,�
�historic preservation purposes,� or �preservation of historic properties�
means the same as those terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152
(C.13:8C-3) and shall also include emergency intervention and the acquisition
of a historic preservation easement.
���� �Historic preservation
easement� means an interest in land, less than fee simple title thereto, that
is purchased from a private or governmental property owner to permanently
protect a historic property, and that is granted by the property owner to the New
Jersey Historic Trust, a local government unit, or a qualifying tax exempt
nonprofit organization.
���� �Historic property� means the
same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Land� or �lands� means the
same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Local government unit� means
the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �New Jersey Historic Trust�
means the entity established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1967, c.124
(C.13:1B-15.111).
���� �Permitted investments� means
the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Preserve New Jersey Blue
Acres Fund� means the Preserve New Jersey Blue Acres Fund established pursuant
to section 7 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-49).
���� �Preserve New Jersey Farmland
Preservation Fund� means the Preserve New Jersey Farmland Preservation Fund
established pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-50).
���� �Preserve New Jersey Green
Acres Fund� means the Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund established pursuant
to section 6 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-48).
���� �Preserve New Jersey Historic
Preservation Fund� means the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund
established pursuant to section 9 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-51).
���� �Preserve New Jersey Fund
Account� means the Preserve New Jersey Fund Account established pursuant to
section 4 of P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-46).
���� �Project� means all things
deemed necessary or useful and convenient in connection with the acquisition or
development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes, the acquisition
of development easements or fee simple titles to farmland, or the preservation
of historic properties, as the case may be.
���� �Qualifying tax exempt
nonprofit organization� means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of
P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Recreation and conservation
purposes� means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999,
c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� �Stewardship activity� means
an activity, which is beyond routine operations and maintenance, undertaken by
the State, a local government unit, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit
organization 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.� For the purposes of the
farmland preservation program, �stewardship activity� means an activity, which
is beyond routine operation and maintenance, undertaken by the landowner, or a
farmer operator as an agent of the landowner, to repair, restore, or improve
lands preserved for farmland preservation purposes, including, but not limited
to, soil and water conservation projects approved pursuant to section 17 of
P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-24) and projects that improve the resiliency of farmland
soils.
(cf:� P.L.2019, c.136, s.2)
���� 2.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would modify the
definitions of �Blue Acres cost� and �Blue Acres project� in the �Preserve New
Jersey Act,� P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.), which governs the use of
constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax (CBT) revenues for State
land preservation programs.� In particular, the �Preserve New Jersey Act�
establishes the Blue Acres program, which authorizes the State to acquire flood-prone
properties.
���� Specifically, the bill would
add housing counseling expenses and the provision of direct payments, advances,
and bridge loans to households for relocation expenses to the definition of
�Blue Acres cost,� meaning that these would be allowable uses of dedicated CBT
funding under the Blue Acres program.� The bill would also modify the
definition of �Blue Acres project� to include the relocation of residents using
sale commitment letters, rights of occupancy, leasebacks, life estates, and
other methods, meaning that the State could effectively acquire a property
while minimizing shocks to affordability and allowing the resident to continue
living there.� The bill would also provide that demolition and restoration
activities through the Blue Acres program may be carried out via direct
contracts with service providers, and would not require the approval of the
Division of Property Management and Construction in the Department of the
Treasury.� Finally, the bill would clarify that the preservation of land
through the Blue Acres program may include the use of nature-based infrastructure
such as bioswales, living shorelines, vegetated basins, and vegetated berms.