Plan's aim is saving land
Voters will be asked to decide on allocating more sales tax revenue.
Friday, March 02, 2007
By TRISH G. GRABER
The Express-Times

Legislators are pushing a plan to replenish the state's nearly depleted land preservation fund by asking voters to allow up to $175 million more each year from sales tax revenue to go toward preservation.

The move would require a constitutional amendment, which lawmakers are proposing to place on the ballot for voter approval in November.

The funds would add to the $98 million worth of sales tax revenue already constitutionally dedicated to the Garden State Preservation Trust through 2029
-- passed by voters in 1998 -- but largely earmarked for debt service and existing preservation deals.

The constitutional amendment would dedicate funding through 2038, to pay for 10 years' worth of land deals.

Legislators say allocating more of the sales tax revenue is necessary to fund additional preservation projects, as development pressures mount in the most densely populated state in the nation.

Supporters who attended the first of three public hearings on the proposal in South Jersey this week said they feared that if the measure is not passed, nearly $500 million in matching grant applications to the Green Acres program would remain unfunded.

"This (resolution) is to get the question on the ballot," said Assemblyman Douglas Fisher, D-Bridgeton, chairman of the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. "If we don't get this money dedicated, then those issues will be moot."

The money would also be used to acquire flood-prone areas, and preserve farmland and historic sites.

The hearing comes just a week after Gov. Jon S. Corzine laid out sobering news in his budget address, announcing that vital programs including those to build schools and preserve land remain unfunded in next year's proposed $33.3 billion budget.

Corzine said his administration would seriously consider "asset monetization,"
or leasing or selling the state's assets, in order to help bail the state out of its cash-strapped situation. The New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and the state lottery have all been discussed as possible assets for monetization.

Legislators have raised concerns with that plan, with many apprehensive that the funds would go toward the state's operational budget.

Trish G. Graber is Trenton correspondent for The Express-Times. She can be reached at 609-292-5154.

© 2007 The Express Times

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