Bill Text: NJ SR103 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Senate Beach Fee Task Force.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-05-30 - Filed with Secretary of State [SR103 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-SR103-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Senate Beach Fee Task Force.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution establishing a task force to study the expenditure of beach fee revenues.
Whereas, New Jersey's beaches are one of the State's most cherished resources, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year;
Whereas, Under the public trust doctrine, every individual has the right to access and enjoy the State's beaches;
Whereas, Shore municipalities act as trustees of the State's beaches, managing them for the benefit of the public, and are authorized to charge reasonable fees for beach access in order to fund services and facilities related to beach maintenance, safety, and recreation;
Whereas, Beach access fees should be as affordable as possible to ensure that all individuals and families can enjoy their public trust doctrine rights, to bolster the shore tourism industry, and to reflect the millions of taxpayer dollars that fund beach replenishment;
Whereas, It is a common practice of shore municipalities to allocate beach fee revenues into their general budgets, which can make it difficult to clearly account for how some beach fee revenues are expended on beach services and facilities;
Whereas, The budgeting and expenditure of beach fee revenues by shore municipalities should be studied to explore potential avenues of improvement to increase efficiency and transparency, and to help ensure that beach fee revenues are solely used to fund beach services and facilities, while ensuring sufficient resources to preserve the high quality of the State's beaches; now, therefore
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established a Senate task force to be known as the Senate Beach Fee Task Force. The task force shall consist of nine members as follows: two members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall not both be of the same political party, and one of whom shall be designated as chair by the President of the Senate; two public members to be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall be mayors of shore municipalities bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and authorized to impose beach fees pursuant to statutory law, and who shall not both be of the same political party; two public members to be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall be residents of the State and shall have knowledge and expertise in the areas of local public finance and budgeting in shore municipalities bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and authorized to impose beach fees pursuant to statutory law; one public member to be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall be a representative of a public interest group with expertise, knowledge, or experience in public beach access issues in the State; one public member to be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall be a representative of an entity organized for the principal purpose of promoting tourism in the shore region of the State; and one public member to be appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall be a representative of a chamber of commerce with a significant member presence in the shore region of the State.
b. The task force shall organize as soon as practicable after the appointment of its members.
c. All task force members shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement of necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force for its purposes.
d. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
2. a. The Senate Beach Fee Task Force shall study the beach fee revenue budgeting and expenditure policies of shore municipalities in the State, and make recommendations on how to increase their efficiency and transparency and help ensure that beach fee revenues are solely used to fund services and facilities related to beach maintenance, safety, and recreation. To this end, the task force shall identify any deficiencies in current beach fee revenue budgeting and expenditure policies and shall examine alternative practices, including structural governance changes such as implementing shared services arrangements, beach utilities or districts, and other models based on the practices of other states.
b. The Office of Legislative Services shall provide staffing for the work of the task force. The task force shall be entitled to accept the assistance and services of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as may be made available to it and to employ such legal, stenographic, technical, and clerical assistance and incur such expenses as may be necessary in order to perform its duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.
c. The task force may meet and hold public hearings at the place or places it designates during the sessions or recesses of the Legislature.
3. The Senate Beach Fee Task Force shall report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Senate within 180 days following the original appointment of all members of the task force.
STATEMENT
This Senate resolution would establish a Senate task force to be known as the Senate Beach Fee Task Force. The task force would be composed of nine members appointed by the President of the Senate as follows: two members of the Senate, one of whom would chair the task force; two mayors of shore municipalities bordering the Atlantic Ocean and authorized by law to collect beach fees; two members who have knowledge and expertise in the areas of local public finance and budgeting in shore municipalities bordering the Atlantic Ocean and authorized by law to collect beach fees; one member who is a representative of a public interest group with expertise, knowledge, or experience in public beach access issues in the State; one member who is a representative of an entity organized for the principal purpose of promoting tourism in the shore region of the State; and one member who is a representative of a chamber of commerce with a significant member presence in the shore region of the State. The duty of the Senate Beach Fee Task Force would be to study the beach fee revenue budgeting and expenditure policies of shore municipalities in the State, and to make recommendations on how to increase their efficiency and transparency and help ensure that beach fee revenues are solely used to fund services and facilities related to beach maintenance, safety, and recreation. The task force would be required to report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Senate within six months following the original appointment of all members of the task force.
