Bill Text: NJ S221 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns expenses to municipalities for tree purchase, planting, and removal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-03-05 - Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee [S221 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S221-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns expenses to municipalities for tree purchase, planting, and removal.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning tree purchase, planting, and removal expenses, and amending N.J.S.40A:2-22 and N.J.S.40A:4-53.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.40A:2-22 is amended to read as follows:
40A:2-22. The governing body of the local unit shall determine the period of usefulness of any purpose according to its reasonable life computed from the date of the bonds, which period shall not be greater than the following:
a. Buildings and structures.
1. Bridges, including retaining walls and approaches, or permanent structures of brick, stone, concrete or metal, or similar durable construction, 30 years.
2. Buildings, including the original furnishings and equipment therefor:
Class A: A building, of which all walls, floors, partitions, stairs and roof are wholly of incombustible material, except the window frames, doors, top flooring and wooden handrails on the stairs, 40 years;
Class B: A building, the outer walls of which are wholly of incombustible material, except the window frames and doors, 30 years;
Class C: A building which does not meet the requirements of Class A or Class B, 20 years.
3. Buildings or structures acquired substantially reconstructed or additions thereto, one-half the period fixed in this subsection for such buildings or structures.
4. Additional furnishings, five years.
b. Marine improvements.
1. Harbor improvements, docks or marine terminals, 40 years.
2. Dikes, bulkheads, jetties or similar devices of stone, concrete or metal, 15 years; of wood or partly of wood, 10 years.
c. Additional equipment and machinery.
1. Additional or replacement equipment and machinery, 15 years.
2. Voting machines, 15 years.
3. Information technology and telecommunications equipment, 7 years, except that for items with a unit cost of less than $5,000, 5 years.
d. Real property.
1. Acquisition for any public purpose of lands or riparian rights, or both, and the original dredging, grading, draining or planting thereof, 40 years.
2. Improvement of airport, cemetery, golf course, park, playground, 15 years.
3. Stadia of concrete or other incombustible materials, 20 years.
e. Streets or thoroughfares.
1. Elimination of grade crossings, 35 years.
2. Streets or roads:
Class A: Rigid pavement. A pavement of not less than eight inches of cement concrete or a six-inch cement concrete base with not less than three-inch bituminous concrete surface course, or equivalent wearing surface, 20 years.
Flexible pavement. A pavement not less than 10 inches in depth consisting of five-inch macadam base, three-inch modified penetration macadam and three-inch bituminous concrete surface course or other pavements of equivalent strength, in accordance with the findings of the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) Road Test, 20 years.
Class B: Mixed surface-treated road. An eight-inch surface of gravel, stone or other selected material under partial control mixed with cement or lime and fly ash, six inches in compacted thickness with bituminous surface treatment and cover, 10 years.
Bituminous penetration road. A five-inch gravel or stone base course and a three-inch course bound with a bituminous or equivalent binder, 10 years.
Class C: Mixed bituminous road. An eight-inch surface of gravel, stone, or other selected material under partial control mixed with bituminous material one inch or more in compacted thickness, five years.
Penetration macadam road. A road of sand, gravel or water-bound macadam, or surfacing with penetration macadam, five years.
3. Sidewalks, curbs and gutters of stone, concrete or brick, 10 years.
The period of usefulness in this subsection shall apply to construction and reconstruction of streets and thoroughfares.
f. Utilities and municipal systems.
1. Sewerage system, whether sanitary or storm water, water supply or distribution system, 40 years.
2. Electric light, power or gas systems, garbage, refuse or ashes incinerator or disposal plant, 25 years.
3. Communication and signal systems, 10 years.
4. House connections to publicly-owned gas, water or sewerage systems from the service main in the street to the curb or property lines where not part of original installation, five years.
g. Vehicles and apparatus.
1. Fire engines, apparatus and equipment, when purchased new, but not fire equipment purchased separately, 10 years.
2. Automotive vehicles, including original apparatus and equipment (other than passenger cars and station wagons), when purchased new, five years.
3. Major repairs, reconditioning or overhaul of fire engines and apparatus, ambulances, rescue vehicles, and similar public safety vehicles (other than passenger cars and station wagons) which may reasonably be expected to extend for at least five years the period of usefulness thereof, five years.
h. The closure of a sanitary landfill facility utilized, owned or operated by a county or municipality, 15 years; provided that the closure has been approved by the Board of Public Utilities and the Department of Environmental Protection. For the purposes of this subsection "closure" means all activities associated with the design, purchase or construction of all measures required by the Department of Environmental Protection, pursuant to law, in order to prevent, minimize or monitor pollution or health hazards resulting from sanitary landfill facilities subsequent to the termination of operations at any portion thereof, including, but not necessarily limited to, the costs of the placement of earthen or vegetative cover, and the installation of methane gas vents or monitors and leachate monitoring wells or collection systems at the site of any sanitary landfill facility.
i. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2007, c.62.)
j. The prefunding of a claims account for environmental liability claims by an environmental impairment liability insurance pool pursuant to P.L.1993, c.269 (C.40A:10-38.1 et al.), 20 years.
k. The purchase, and planting or removal, or both, of trees and shrubbery, 15 years.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.62, s.17)
2. N.J.S.40A:4-53 is amended to read as follows:
40A:4-53. A local unit may adopt an ordinance authorizing special emergency appropriations for the carrying out of any of the following purposes:
a. Preparation of an approved tax map.
b. Preparation and execution of a complete program of revaluation of real property for the use of the local assessor, or of any program to update and make current any previous revaluation program when such is ordered by the county board of taxation.
c. Preparation of a revision and codification of its ordinances.
d. Engagement of special consultants for the preparation, and the preparation of a master plan or plans, when required to conform to the planning laws of the State.
e. Preparation of drainage maps for flood control purposes.
f. Preliminary engineering studies and planning necessary for the installation and construction of a sanitary sewer system.
g. Authorized expenses of a consolidation commission established pursuant to the "Municipal Consolidation Act," P.L.1977, c.435 (C.40:43-66.35 et seq.) or sections 25 through 29 of the "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act," P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-25 through C.40A:65-29).
h. Contractually required severance liabilities resulting from the layoff or retirement of employees. Such liabilities shall be paid without interest and, at the sole discretion of the local unit, may be paid in equal annual installments over a period not to exceed five years.
i. Preparation of a sanitary or storm system map.
j. Liabilities incurred to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development for the reimbursement of unemployment benefits paid to former employees.
k. Subject to approval by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, non-recurring expenses incurred by a municipality to implement a consolidation with another municipality, or municipalities, pursuant to the "Municipal Consolidation Act," P.L.1977, c.435 (C.40:43-66.35 et seq.); the sparsely populated municipalities law, P.L.1995, c.376 (C.40:43-66.78 et seq.); sections 25 through 29 of the "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act," P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-25 through C.40A:65-29); or N.J.S.40A:7-1 et seq., in the case of a consolidation effectuated through the annexation of land comprising an entire municipality or entire municipalities, to another municipality. The director shall approve the ordinance if he or she determines that the non-recurring expenses are reasonable and permissible by law and that the consolidation will result in long-term savings for the municipality.
l. The purchase, and planting or removal, or both, of trees and shrubbery following natural disaster.
A copy of all ordinances or resolutions as adopted relating to special emergency appropriations shall be filed with the director.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.101, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would allow the purchase, planting, and removal of trees and shrubbery to be categorized as capital expenditures. This would allow the municipality to issue 15 year bonds to address the cost of the expenses.
This bill would also authorize a municipality to adopt an ordinance authorizing special emergency appropriations for the cost of purchasing, planting, and removing trees, following a natural disaster. This authorization would allow the municipality to issue special emergency notes to address the cost of the purchases.
