Bill Text: NJ S2664 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits DOT commissioner to augment engineering staff with outside contractors and adjust permit fees based on staff augmentation costs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-06 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S2664 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S2664-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Permits DOT commissioner to augment engineering staff with outside contractors and adjust permit fees based on staff augmentation costs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning Department of Transportation staff augmentation and permit fees, amending P.L.1966, c.301, and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 5 of P.L.1966, c.301 (C.27:1A-5) is amended to read as follows:
5. The commissioner, as head of the department, shall have all of the functions, powers and duties heretofore vested in the State Highway Commissioner and shall, in addition to the functions, powers and duties vested in him by this act or by any other law:
(a) Develop and maintain a comprehensive master plan for all modes of transportation development, with special emphasis on public transportation. Such plan shall be revised and updated at least every five years;
(b) Develop and promote programs to foster efficient and economical transportation services in the State;
(c) Prepare plans for the preservation, improvement and expansion of the public transportation system, with special emphasis on the coordination of transit modes and the use of rail rights of way, highways and public streets for public transportation purposes;
(d) Enter into contracts with the New Jersey Transit Corporation for the provision and improvement of public transportation services;
(e) Coordinate the transportation activities of the department with those of other public agencies and authorities;
(f) Cooperate with interstate commissions and authorities, State departments, councils, commissions and other State agencies, with appropriate federal agencies, and with interested private individuals and organizations in the coordination of plans and policies for the development of air commerce and air facilities;
(g) Make an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on the department's operations, and render such other reports as the Governor shall from time to time request or as may be required by law;
(h) Promulgate regulations providing for the charging of and setting the amount of fees for certain services performed by and permits issued by the department, including but not limited to the following:
(1) Providing copies of documents prepared by or in the custody of the department;
(2) Aeronautics permits;
(3) Right-of-way permits;
(4) Traffic signal control systems;
(i) Develop and promote programs for the preservation, improvement and expansion of freight railroads, with special emphasis on the use of rail rights of way for the purpose of providing rail freight service;
(j) Develop and promote a program to ensure the safety and continued operation of aviation facilities in New Jersey;
(k) Enter into agreements with a public or private entity or consortia thereof to provide for the development of demonstration projects through the use of public-private partnerships pursuant to sections 1 through 9 of P.L.1997, c.136 (C.27:1D-1 through C.27:1D-9);
(l) Do any and all things necessary, convenient or desirable to effectuate the purposes of P.L.1966, c.301 (C.27:1A-1 et seq.) and to exercise the powers given and granted in that act;
(m) Enter into agreements or contracts with a private entity and charge and collect fees or other payments for the placement of sponsorship acknowledgment and advertising on signs, equipment, materials, and vehicles used for a safety service patrol or emergency service patrol program operated by the department, or operated by a private entity under contract with the department or through the use of a public-private partnership or demonstration project; [and]
(n) Acquire by eminent domain, pursuant to the eminent domain law and R.S.27:7-22, any property, property rights, or property interests, including easements, air rights, below-grade and subsurface rights, hereinafter referred to as "Property Interests," including rights on property now or previously designated as parkland or dedicated to a public use, provided that such Property Interests are located in the State and, in the judgment of the commissioner, are necessary or appropriate for the construction, reconstruction, development, redevelopment, use, occupancy, operation, and maintenance of passenger rail transportation facilities and ancillary facilities between New Jersey and New York Penn Station, in a corridor beginning at or near Newark Penn Station and ending at the boundary of the State of New Jersey in the Hudson River. Property Interests may be acquired pursuant to this subsection notwithstanding any requirement in R.S.27:7-36 or any other provision of law, general, special, charter, or local, and regardless of whether the Property Interests are or were dedicated to public use. All of such Property Interests may be acquired by the commissioner pursuant to applicable provisions of the eminent domain law and R.S.27:7-22, provided that any acquisition of Property Interests pursuant to this subsection shall be contingent on the commissioner entering into an agreement addressing such acquisition with the Gateway Development Commission, approved in accordance with that entity's authorizing statute, and the Gateway Development Commission shall agree to pay the costs incurred by the commissioner in acquiring such Property Interests pursuant to the eminent domain law. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, general, special, charter, or local, following acquisition, the commissioner may use such property together with property already owned or held, to: enter into contracts to sell, transfer, lease, or exchange with, or grant easements, licenses, permits, concessions, or other authorizations to, the Gateway Development Commission sufficient to permit the construction, reconstruction, development, redevelopment, use, occupancy, operation, and maintenance by the Gateway Development Commission or its permittees and successors, of the aforementioned passenger rail facilities and ancillary facilities. Authorization is hereby given to the commissioner to do all things necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this subsection; and
(o) Enter into contracts with outside engineering firms for augmentation of the department's engineering staff to accelerate the review of permit applications and administer permit fees as provided in section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.2019, c.195, s.27)
2. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Transportation shall ensure timely and efficient review of and decisions on permits issued by the department.
b. When internal Department of Transportation staff are not capable of reviewing and issuing decisions on all permit applications that are before the department in a timely fashion, the commissioner may contract with outside engineering firms to augment department engineering staff capacity.
c. If the cost of augmenting the department's engineering staff exceeds the revenue generated from permit fees for the work performed by the augmented staff, and this staff augmentation results in faster and more timely review of permits, then the department may administer a separate and additional permit fee for the permit applications that utilize augmented staff, in an amount not to exceed the increase in cost faced by the department to utilize staff augmentation instead of existing staff. If an applicant chooses to pay the staff augmentation permit fee, then the applicant's application shall be reviewed by augmented engineering staff and the commissioner shall ensure that the permit review and decision are completed expeditiously. If an applicant does not pay the separate and additional permit fee, then the applicant's application shall be reviewed by department staff in the order that internal department staff are able to review the permit.
3. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits the Commissioner of Transportation (commissioner) to contract with outside engineering firms to augment Department of Transportation (department) engineering staff capacity to accelerate the review of department permits.
The bill requires the commissioner to ensure speedy and efficient review and decisions on department permit applications. When the department is unable to review and issue decisions on permits in a timely fashion, the commissioner is authorized to utilize staff augmentation.
The bill allows the department to administer a new staff augmentation fee for permit applications when: (1) the cost of staff augmentation exceeds the revenue from permit fees for work performed by the augmented staff; and (2) utilization of staff augmentation results in faster and more timely permit review and decisions for applicants. The staff augmentation fee is limited to the increase in cost for the department to utilize augmented staff instead of internal staff. The bill also allows an applicant to choose whether or not to pay the staff augmentation fee. Those applicants who pay the fee will have their permit application reviewed by augmented staff and the decision will be expedited. Those who do not pay the fee will have their permits reviewed by internal staff in the order that internal department staff are able to conduct the reviews.
