Bill Text: NJ A5105 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes NJ's right of first refusal regarding conveyance of certain federal lands.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-07-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [A5105 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A5105-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman TIM EUSTACE
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes NJ's right of first refusal regarding conveyance of certain federal lands.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the conveyance of certain federal lands and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection, on behalf of the State, shall have the right of first refusal to acquire for recreation and conservation purposes any federal lands used for recreation and conservation purposes proposed to be conveyed by the federal government.
b. (1) Any lands acquired by the commissioner pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall not be conveyed, disposed of, or diverted to use for other than recreation and conservation purposes without the approval of the commissioner and the State House Commission, in accordance with the requirements of P.L.1993, c.38 (C.13:1D-51 et seq.) and any other applicable law.
(2) If the commissioner elects not to exercise the right to acquire any federal lands used for recreation and conservation purposes pursuant to this subsection, the commissioner shall issue a certificate indicating so and specifying the reason for not exercising the right to acquire the lands. The commissioner shall send a copy of this certificate to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the Chairs of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, or their respective successor committees, and post the certificate on the department's website.
c. No deed or other instrument transferring title to real property from the federal government to a party other than the State of New Jersey shall be recorded, transferred, or filed unless it contains a certificate issued by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection indicating that the commissioner has elected not to exercise the right to acquire the federal lands pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section.
d. As used in this section, "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).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish a right of first refusal for the State for the conveyance of certain federal lands. Specifically, this bill would provide the Commissioner of Environmental Protection with the right of first refusal to acquire federal lands used for recreation and conservation purposes. Such lands could only be transferred to a third party if the commissioner elects not to exercise the right to acquire the lands and issues a certificate to that effect which includes the reason for not exercising the right to acquire the lands. The commissioner would be required to send a copy of this certificate to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the Chairs of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, or their respective successor committees, and post the certificate on the department's website.
The bill also would prohibit the recording, transferring, or filing of any deed or other instrument that transfers title to real property from the federal government to a party other than the State unless it contains a copy of the certificate issued by the commissioner.
The bill is intended to recognize the environmental and economic benefits of public lands and discourage the conveyance of federal public lands in the State. On April 26, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a review of all presidential designations and expansions of designations made under the federal Antiquities Act since January 1, 1996, where the designation covers more than 100,000 acres. While there are no designations in New Jersey that are implicated by this executive order, there is a long tradition of open space preservation at the State and local level, and New Jersey also benefits greatly from the national parks and wildlife refuges in the State that are owned and managed by the National Park Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, respectively, and it is therefore important to take any available actions to discourage the conveyance of any federal public lands.
