Bill Text: NJ A5091 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes program and investment fund in DEP to support implementation of Wildlife Corridor Action Plan; authorizes creation of special Wildlife Corridor license plates.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee [A5091 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5091-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CLINTON CALABRESE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes program and investment fund in DEP to support implementation of Wildlife Corridor Action Plan; authorizes creation of special Wildlife Corridor license plates.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the implementation of the Department of Environmental Protection's Wildlife Corridor Action Plan, and supplementing P.L.2025, c.77 (C.23:2A-7.1) and Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Action plan" means the "Wildlife Corridor Action Plan" developed pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.2025, c.77 (C.23:2A-7.1).
"Chief administrator" means the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
"Commission" means the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission established by section 4 of P.L.2003, c.13 (C.39:2A-4).
"Crossing project" means the same as the term is defined in subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.2025, c.77 (C.23:2A-7.1).
"Fund" means the "Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund" established pursuant to subsection a. of section 6 of this act.
"Program" means the public-private partnership program established pursuant to subsection a. of section 2 of this act.
"Transportation project" means the same as the term is defined in subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.2025, c.77 (C.23:2A-7.1).
"Wildlife corridor" means the same as the term is defined in subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.2025, c.77 (C.23:2A-7.1).
2. a. No later than 12 months after the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan is submitted to the Governor and Legislature pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.2025, c.77 (C.23:2A-7.1), the Department of Environmental Protection, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation, shall establish a program to facilitate partnerships with private businesses, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and philanthropic organizations to support the implementation of wildlife corridors and crossing projects identified in the action plan. The program shall be set up to enable the participating entities to provide financial support, technical assistance, research, or other resources to facilitate the planning, construction, monitoring, and maintenance of wildlife corridors and crossing projects identified in the action plan.
b. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Transportation shall jointly appoint a program liaison. The liaison shall be responsible for:
(1) identifying and securing applicable federal, State, or private grant funding opportunities or other forms of financial assistance;
(2) facilitating and overseeing the program's partnership agreements; and
(3) monitoring the use of monies expended by the Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund to support wildlife corridors and crossing projects.
c. No later than 12 months after the program's implementation and every five years thereafter, the Department of Environmental Protection, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation, shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a summary of the program's effectiveness. The report shall include:
(1) the status of wildlife corridors and crossing projects supported by partnership agreements or external funding;
(2) the amount and sources of public and private monies utilized by the program;
(3) the effectiveness of wildlife corridors and crossing projects supported by the Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund based on wildlife monitoring data and transportation safety reports; and
(4) recommendations for funding strategies, infrastructure improvements, and Legislative or regulatory policies that enhance wildlife corridor connectivity and public safety.
3. a. Upon proper application, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall issue Wildlife Corridor license plates for any motor vehicle owned or leased and registered in this State. In addition to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise prescribed by law, the license plates shall display appropriate words or a slogan and emblem honoring the State's wildlife protected by wildlife corridors and crossing projects. The chief administrator shall, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, select the design and color scheme of the Wildlife Corridor license plates. The Wildlife Corridor license plates shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, except as hereinafter otherwise specifically provided.
b. Application for issuance of Wildlife Corridor license plates shall be made to the chief administrator on forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator. In order to be deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, payable to the commission, which shall be in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the Wildlife Corridor license plates, a $10 fee for the license plates in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle. The additional fees required by this subsection shall be deposited in the "Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund" established pursuant to subsection a. of section 6 of this act.
c. Prior to the deposit of the additional fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of this section into the fund amounts thereof as are necessary shall be used to reimburse the commission for all costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator, for:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the Wildlife Corridor license plates; and
(2) any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the Wildlife Corridor license plate program in an amount not to exceed $150,000.
The chief administrator shall annually certify to the State Treasurer the average cost per license plate incurred in the immediately preceding year by the commission in producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the Wildlife Corridor license plates. The annual certification of the average cost per license plate shall be approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor.
In the event that the average cost per license plate as certified by the chief administrator and approved by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, or its successor, is greater than the $50 application fee established in subsection b. of this section in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the issuance of Wildlife Corridor license plates.
d. The chief administrator shall notify eligible motorists of the opportunity to obtain Wildlife Corridor license plates by publicizing the availability of the license plates on the website of the commission. The Department of Environmental Protection, and any other individual or entity designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, may publicize the availability of the license plates in any manner that the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection deems appropriate.
e. The chief administrator and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall develop and enter into a memorandum of agreement setting forth the procedures to be followed in carrying out their respective responsibilities under this section.
f. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall appoint a representative who shall act as a liaison between the Department of Environmental Protection and the commission. The liaison shall represent the Department of Environmental Protection in any and all communications with the commission regarding the license plates established by this section.
4. a. State or public funds shall not be used by the commission for the initial cost of:
(1) designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Wildlife Corridor license plates; or
(2) any computer programming changes that may be necessary to implement the Wildlife Corridor license plate program established by section 3 of this act.
b. The individual or entity designated by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall contribute non-public monies in an amount to be determined by the chief administrator, not to exceed a total of $25,000, to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for designing, producing, issuing, and publicizing the availability of Wildlife Corridor license plates, and any computer programming that may be necessary to implement the program. Concerned organizations and individual donors may contribute monies to the Department of Environmental Protection to be used to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission for the Wildlife Corridor license plates authorized by section 3 of this act. Any amount remaining after the payment of the initial cost shall be deposited in the "Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund" established pursuant to subsection a. of section 6 of this act.
c. The commission shall not begin designing, producing, issuing, or publicizing the availability of Wildlife Corridor license plates, or making any necessary programming changes, until the following requirements have been met:
(1) the individual or entity designated by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection has provided the commission with the money necessary, as determined by the chief administrator pursuant to subsection b. of this section, to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the Wildlife Corridor license plate program; and
(2) the representative appointed by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection pursuant to subsection f. of section 3 of this act has provided the commission with not less than 500 completed applications for Wildlife Corridor license plates. These applications shall constitute the initial order for Wildlife Corridor license plates and shall be accompanied by a fee representing the total cost of the initial order. The fee shall be determined by multiplying the number of sets of license plates being ordered by the applicable initial fee for each set of license plates as set forth in subsection b. of section 3 of this act.
5. a. No later than 12 months after the effective date of this act, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall establish a system that allows a person that pays a fee for any service offered by the commission, including, but not limited to: vehicle registration; vehicle inspection; vehicle title; issuance of an identification card or driver's license; or any renewal thereof, to voluntarily contribute monies to the "Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund" established pursuant to subsection a. of section 6 of this act. All monies collected by the commission pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the fund.
b. The commission shall be reimbursed from the monies collected pursuant to subsection a. of this section, prior to the deposit of the monies into the fund, for all costs reasonably and actually incurred, as stipulated by the chief administrator, for any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the donation system.
6. a. There is established in the Department of Environmental Protection a special, nonlapsing fund to be known as the "Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund." Monies in the fund shall be held separately and be dedicated solely for the purpose of making qualifying expenditures.
b. The fund shall be credited with:
(1) monies secured by partnership agreements made under the program established pursuant to subsection a. of section 2 of this act;
(2) monies collected by the Motor Vehicle Commission from all license plate fees collected pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this act, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the commission for the administrative costs pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of this act;
(3) monies collected by the Motor Vehicle Commission from all voluntary contributions made by the public collected pursuant to subsection a. of section 5 of this act, less the amounts necessary to reimburse the commission for the administrative costs pursuant to subsection b. of section 5 of this act;
(4) grants, gifts, donations, or other monies received from any source public or private, dedicated for deposit into the fund and approved by the State Treasurer;
(5) any other monies appropriated by the Legislature or otherwise made available to the fund for the purposes enumerated by subsection d. of this section; and
(6) any interest earnings or other investment income earned or received on the monies in the fund.
c. All monies appropriated or otherwise made available to the fund shall be dedicated for the purposes of the fund. Pending use, monies in the fund may be invested and reinvested in the same manner as other monies of the Department of Environmental Protection in the manner provided by law. All earnings received from the investment or deposit of such monies shall be paid into and become a part of the fund and be available for use pursuant to subsection d. of this section.
d. Monies in the fund shall be used for:
(1) costs associated with the implementation of the program, including, but not limited to, wildlife corridors and crossing projects identified by the action plan, and administrative expenses deemed necessary by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation;
(2) monitoring and collecting data on wildlife in the State;
(3) researching and evaluating wildlife corridors, crossing projects, and the impact of transportation projects as identified in the action plan; and
(4) public education campaigns related to wildlife corridors.
e. The Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, shall develop criteria for the equitable distribution of monies in the fund, prioritizing high-risk wildlife-vehicle collision areas and projects demonstrating the greatest environmental and transportation safety benefits.
7. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Transportation, may, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement sections 1, 2, and 6 of this act.
8. This act shall take effect immediately, but sections 3 and 4 shall remain inoperative until the first day of the 13th month following the date on which the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) subsection c. of section 4 of this act have been satisfied. The chief administrator may take such anticipatory actions in advance of that date as may be necessary for the timely implementation of sections 3 and 4 of this act. Sections 3 and 4 of this act shall expire if the conditions set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) subsection c. of section 4 of this act are not satisfied by the last day of the 12th month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish a public-private partnership program (partnership program) in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in conjunction with the Department of Transportation (DOT), in order to implement the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan (action plan) developed pursuant to P.L.2025, c.77 (C.23:2A-7.1). The bill would also establish a Wildlife Corridor Investment Fund (fund) in the DEP which would be used, in part, to pay costs associated with the implementation of the program.
Under the bill, the DEP and DOT would jointly appoint a liaison to assist with the facilitation of partnerships with private businesses, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and philanthropic organizations to support the implementation of wildlife corridors and crossing projects identified in the action plan. The partnership program would be set up to enable the participating entities to provide financial support, technical assistance, research, or other resources to facilitate the planning, construction, monitoring, and maintenance of wildlife corridors and crossing projects identified in the action plan.
Additionally, the bill would require the partnership program's liaison to be responsible for identifying and securing applicable federal, State, or private grant funding opportunities or other forms of financial assistance and monitoring the use of monies expended by the fund to support wildlife corridors and crossing projects. No later than 12 months after the partnership program's implementation and every five years thereafter, the bill would require the DEP and DOT to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature concerning the partnership program's effectiveness and other facets of the program as detailed in the bill's provisions.
The bill would also authorize the Chief Administrator (chief administrator) of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to issue Wildlife Corridor license plates. The license plates are to be designed by the chief administrator in consultation with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection (commissioner) and feature an emblem that honors the State's wildlife protected by wildlife corridors and crossing projects. In addition to the required motor vehicle registration fees, there would be an application fee of $50 and an annual renewal fee of $10 for the Wildlife Corridor license plates. After deducting the costs to implement the plates, the additional fees collected would be deposited into the fund established by the bill.
The bill would require the chief administrator to annually certify the average cost of producing, issuing, renewing, and publicizing the availability of the specialty license plates. If the average cost per plate exceeds $50 in two consecutive fiscal years, the chief administrator may discontinue the Wildlife Corridor license plate program. Under the bill, the commissioner would be required to represent the DEP in all communications with the commission regarding the Wildlife Corridor license plates.
Under the bill, the commission would not be required to design, produce, issue, or publicize the available of Wildlife Corridor license plates, or make any necessary programming changes until: (1) an individual or entity designated by the commissioner has provided the commission with the money necessary to offset the initial costs incurred by the commission in establishing the Wildlife Corridor license plate program; and (2) the representative appointed by the commissioner has provided the commission with a minimum of 500 completed applications.
The bill would also require the commission to establish a system which allows a person that pays a fee for any service offered by the commission, including, but not limited to: vehicle registration; vehicle inspection; vehicle title; issuance of an identification card or driver's license; or any renewal thereof, to voluntarily contribute monies to the fund established by the bill. Under the bill, monies collected by this public donation system would be deposited into the fund, minus any computer programming changes that may be initially necessary to implement the donation system.
Finally, in addition to paying costs associated with implementation of the program, the bill would provide that monies in the fund could only be used for: (1) monitoring and collecting data on wildlife in the State; (2) researching and evaluating wildlife corridors, crossing projects, and the impact of transportation projects as identified in the action plan; and (3) public education campaigns related to wildlife corridors. The bill would require the DEP and DOT to develop criteria for the equitable distribution of monies in the fund, prioritizing high-risk wildlife-vehicle collision areas and projects demonstrating the greatest environmental and transportation safety benefits. The fund would be credited with: (1) monies secured by partnership agreements made under the program; (2) monies collected by the commission through special license plate fees collected pursuant to the bill's provisions, less administrative costs borne by the commission; (3) monies collected by the commission through voluntary contributions made by the public to the fund pursuant to the bill's provisions, less administrative costs borne by the commission; (4) grants, gifts, donations, or other monies received from any source public or private, dedicated for deposit into the fund and approved by the State Treasurer; (5) any other monies appropriated by the Legislature or otherwise made available to the fund for the purposes enumerated by the bill; and (6) any interest earnings or other investment income earned or received on the monies in the fund.
