By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
For decades, public opinion polls have shown steadfast support by New Jersey residents for open-space, farmland and historic site acquisition and preservation. Until a few years ago, funding to keep the programs alive depended on voter approval of ballot questions every two years at election time. But when the economy started to sour, some feared that future ballot votes might not prove as automatic as in the past, so preservationists convinced the legislature to pass a big one — a change to the state constitution establishing a stable funding source for the programs. It comes from a four-percent slice of New Jersey’s annual Corporate Business Tax (which has grown to a six-percent today).
The funding history might have looked easy today when the Senate Environment and Energy Committee prepared to pass, without opposition, a total of eight farmland and open space appropriation bills. So Chairman Bob Smith appropriately took a few minutes to remind the audience of what a long, hard road it had been, including last year’s negotiations among farmland, open space, urban space and historic site representatives over how to apportion the annual funding. “Like herding cats,” Smith quipped. The eight bills approved today will distribute a total of $188 million if approved, as expected, in the Senate and Assembly.
Here’s the breakdown (click individual bill numbers for details):
| S4276 | Corrado, Kristin M. | Agriculture Development Committee-farmland preservation purposes;$31.153M |
| S4277 | Greenstein, Linda R. | CBT revenues to St. Agric Devel Committee-mun planning incentive farmland grants |
| S4278 | Greenstein, Linda R. | CBT revenues to St. Agric Devel Committee-co. planning incentive farmland grants |
| S4279 | Smith, Bob | CBT rev. to State Agric Devel Committee-non-profit organizations farmland grants |
| S4310 | Codey, Richard J. | Nonprofit entities develop lands for recreation & conservation purposes;$8.872M |
| S4311 | Greenstein, Linda R. | Open space acquisition and park development projects;$77.450M |
| S4312 | Smith, Bob | State capital and park development projects;$36.143M |
| S4313 | Corrado, Kristin M. | Recreation and conservation purposes including Blue Acres projects;$33.915M |
If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond.
Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.
