Bill Text: NJ S301 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires notice of certain transportation-related infrastructure projects and activities to be published on Internet website, and directs State Comptroller to monitor publication of those notifications.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S301 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S301-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires notice of certain transportation-related infrastructure projects and activities to be published on Internet website, and directs State Comptroller to monitor publication of those notifications.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the accountability and transparency of transportation-related infrastructure projects and activities and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes and P.L.2007, c.52 (C.52:15C-1 et al.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Chief Technology Officer" means the person appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Governor, in accordance with section 11 of P.L.2007, c.56 (C.52:18A-229), who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Office of Information Technology in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury.
"Control" means authority over the affairs of a business, including, but not limited to, capital investment, property acquisition, employee hiring, contract negotiations, legal matters, officer and director selection, operating responsibility, financial transactions, and the rights of other shareholders or joint partners; except that control shall not include absentee ownership and shall not be deemed to exist if an owner or employee who is not a minority, in the case of a minority business, or a male owner or employee, in the case of a women's business, is disproportionately responsible for the operation of the business or for policy and contractual decisions.
"Employed" means employed for more than 90 days in a full-time position of employment in which the average hourly rate, excluding benefits and reimbursements, is greater than or equal to 150 percent of the federal minimum wage, and which includes an employee incentive package that provides or allows employees to receive employee health benefits under a group health plan as defined by section 14 of P.L.1997, c.146 (C.17B:27-54), a health benefits plan as defined by section 1 of P.L.1992, c.162 (C.17B:27A-17), or a policy or contract of health insurance covering more than one person issued pursuant to Article 2 of Title 17B of the New Jersey Statutes.
"Full-time position" means a position filled by an employee for at least 140 hours per month, which does not include seasonal employment.
"Minority" means a person who is: (1) Black, which is a person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa; (2) Hispanic, which is a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture, with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race; (3) Asian-American, which is a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, Indian subcontinent, Hawaii, or the Pacific Islands; or (4) American Indian or Alaskan native, which is a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America.
"Minority business" means a business which is: (1) a sole proprietorship owned and controlled by a minority; (2) a partnership or joint venture owned and controlled by minorities in which at least 51 percent of the ownership interest is held by minorities and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more of the minorities who own it; or (3) a corporation or other entity whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more minorities who own it, and which is at least 51 percent owned by one or more minorities, or, if stock is issued, at least 51 percent of the stock is owned by one or more minorities.
"State agency" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State Government and any division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or created by such principal department, and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency.
"State resident" means a person legally domiciled within the State of New Jersey.
"Transportation-related infrastructure project or activity" includes, projects funded in whole, or in part, with State, federal, or any other funds of the Special Transportation Fund of the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority.
"Woman" or "women" means a female or females, regardless of race.
"Women's business" means a business which is: (1) a sole proprietorship owned and controlled by a woman; (2) a partnership or joint venture owned and controlled by women in which at least 51 percent of the ownership is held by women and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by one or more women who own it; or (3) a corporation or other entity whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women who own it, and which is at least 51 percent owned by women, or, if stock is issued, at least 51 percent of the stock is owned by one or more women.
2. a. The Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the chief technology officer, shall, not later than 30 days after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), design, develop, maintain, and operate a single, searchable Internet website, or stand-alone section of the website of the department, with the capacity to retain and display data and information concerning the allocation and spending of State and federal funds made available for transportation-related infrastructure projects or activities.
b. The Internet website, or stand-alone section of the department website, developed in accordance with subsection a. of this section shall:
(1) be accessible through a link prominently displayed on the home page of the official Internet website for the New Jersey Department of Transportation;
(2) be available without charge for access;
(3) be organized by the same categorizations provided in the Annual Transportation Capital Program, including by phase of work, investment category, and core mission;
(4) provide opportunity for public comment regarding its utility and recommendations for its improvement; and
(5) incorporate links to any other State or federal Internet websites with information regarding transportation-related infrastructure projects or activities, including but not limited to, federal project dashboards.
c. Data and information made available in accordance with this section shall be updated not less than quarterly.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the department shall not retain or display data or information deemed private or confidential by any State or federal laws, rules, or regulations when providing the information required in accordance with this section.
e. The requirements established in this section shall be considered as complementary to the requirements established pursuant to Section 1 of P.L.2013, c.252 (C.27:1A-5.22) and subsection j. of section 21 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-21) to publish information concerning the State transportation capital program, and to the extent practicable the information required pursuant to all three sections of law shall be included in the same location on the website of the department, and designed as a single information portal.
3. a. The Commissioner of Transportation shall publish, on the Internet website developed in accordance with section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), notice of each transportation-related infrastructure project or activity, the cost or contract price, and the composition and source of all project funding between State, federal, local, and other sources.
b. The notice of a transportation-related infrastructure project or activity published in accordance with subsection a. of this section shall include:
(1) the name, address, and primary office number of the contractor and subcontractors responsible for coordinating and conducting the project or activity;
(2) the names of the principal officers of the contractor and subcontractors;
(3) a description of the project or activity and a statement of its purpose;
(4) the disadvantaged business enterprise contracting goals set for the project;
(5) all planholder and bidders lists for the project;
(6) updated project timelines which note the percentage of project funds expended and percentage of project completion, with a comparison of those benchmarks to original goals to determine whether a project is on schedule financially and in terms of completion; and
(7) the State agency responsible for administering any federal funds awarded for a project or activity and the name and contact information for the appropriate disadvantaged business enterprise, civil rights, or business development entity assigned to the respective project for disadvantaged, small, emerging, women, and minority business enterprise goals, as applicable.
c. To monitor minority and women's business participation and to account for job creation and retention resulting from the allocation and spending of federal funds, the notice of a transportation-related infrastructure project or activity published in accordance with subsection a. of this section shall provide data and information regarding:
(1) whether the entity responsible for coordinating and conducting a transportation-related infrastructure project or activity, or any of the subcontractors for that entity on a project, is certified as a minority business or a women's business by the Director of the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the Department of the Treasury, a disadvantaged business enterprise in the New Jersey Unified Certification Program Directory, an emerging small business enterprise certified by the Department of Transportation, or a small business enterprise in the New Jersey Selective Assistance Vendor Information database; and
(2) the number of State residents and the number of women and minorities employed as a result of the project or activity, as reported to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development Construction EEO Compliance Monitoring Program on form AA-202, or any successor form providing the requisite information.
d. Planholder and bidder's lists for each project shall be published in accordance with subsection a. of this section on the Internet website, or standalone section of the website of the department, developed in accordance with section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) for each project on the date that the bidders list information has been compiled by the State agency responsible for the project and prior to the award of the bid. The bidder's list shall include information relevant to a disadvantaged business enterprise seeking work with the contractors and subcontractors that are eventually awarded the bid, prior to the deadline for contractors and subcontractors to report the disadvantaged business enterprises that will be working on the project.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the Commissioner of Transportation may adopt, immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law, such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary and appropriate by the commissioner to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which rules and regulations shall be effective for a period not exceeding 180 days following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and may thereafter be amended, adopted, or readopted by the commissioner in accordance with the requirements of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
5. a. In addition to the duties and responsibilities prescribed by P.L.2007, c.52 (C.52:15C-1 et al.), the State Comptroller shall monitor the Internet website developed in accordance with section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and oversee the publication of notifications required in accordance with section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. The State Comptroller shall provide written notification to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the General Assembly of any irregularities or inconsistencies identified by the State Comptroller in the design, development, maintenance, and operation of the Internet website designed in accordance with section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall provide written notification to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the General Assembly of any failure identified by the State Comptroller to publish notifications required in accordance with section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
c. (1) The State Comptroller shall, on or before December 1 of each year in which the Internet website developed in accordance with section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is maintained and operated, submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature regarding the design and development, maintenance and operation of the Internet website; any irregularities or inconsistencies or failures identified during the previous year; and recommendations, if any, for the improvement of the website or the publication of notifications.
(2) The annual report shall provide data and information concerning the number of State residents and the number of women and minorities employed as a result of transportation-related infrastructure projects or activities, and the number of contractors and subcontractors responsible for coordinating and conducting transportation-related infrastructure projects or activities during the previous year which are certified as a minority business or a women's business.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Transportation (department) to design, develop, maintain, and operate a single, searchable Internet website or stand-alone section of the department's website with data concerning transportation capital projects in the State funded with State or federal funds. The website is required to: be updated quarterly; be free for use to the public; be accessible through a link on the home page of the department's website; be organized in the same manner as the Annual Transportation Capital Program; provide an opportunity for public comment on its utility and recommendations for its improvement; be linked to other State and federal websites with public data on the same capital projects; and be integrated with the other statutorily required transportation capital program websites.
The website is required to contain information for each capital project concerning funding sources and contract information. It is to provide contact information for the contractor and subcontractors involved on a project, the names of the principal officers of the contractor and subcontractors, a description of the project or activity and a statement of its purpose, the disadvantaged business enterprise contracting goals for the project, planholder and bidder lists, updated project timelines which track both construction progress and project funding expenditures, and the State agency responsible for administering any federal funds.
The website is also to provide
data concerning minority and women's business participation, including contact
information for the appropriate disadvantaged business enterprise, civil rights,
or business development entity assigned to the project as applicable, identification
of disadvantaged business, emerging small business, small business enterprise,
minority business, or women's business certification for any contractor or
subcontractor on a project as appropriate, and the number of State residents
and the number of women and minorities employed as a result of the project or
activity as reported on the AA-202 form for EEO compliance monitoring.
Planholder and bidder's lists are to be published on the website on the date
that the lists are compiled by the State, before the award of a bid, and prior
to the deadline for contractors and subcontractors to report the disadvantaged
businesses that will be working on the project.
The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Transportation to adopt immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law, rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of the substitute, which are to be effective for a period of 180 days after the effective date of the substitute. Thereafter, the rules and regulations may be amended, adopted, or readopted in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act."
The bill also requires the State Comptroller to monitor the website and ensure compliance with the requirements of the substitute, and to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature concerning the website.
