New Jersey A 3172: Establishes State Debt Capacity Advisory Commission.

Bill Text

A3172 

ASSEMBLY, No. 3172 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JAY WEBBER

District 26 (Morris and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Simonsen, McClellan and Assemblywoman Fantasia

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes State Debt Capacity Advisory Commission.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative 
Counsel.

��

An Act creating the State Debt Capacity Advisory 
Commission and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

���� Be It 
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of 
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.�� There is created a 
commission to be known as the �State Debt Capacity Advisory 
Commission.�� The purpose of the commission shall be to publish and 
make available to the public, and maintain in electronic form on the State 
government Internet website, an annual report on the State's overall debt, 
which shall include: (1) a detailed analysis and narrative discussion of the 
State's ability to afford an increase in its overall debt by incurring 
additional debt, and (2) nonbinding, advisory information on the affordability 
of the amount of any such increase for purposes of assisting State policymakers 
evaluate priorities for legislative and executive considerations that may 
impact the amount of State debt that may be incurred or issued during future 
State fiscal years.� The annual report of the commission shall be submitted, on 
or before December 1, to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature 
pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and the commission is 
authorized to issue revisions of the annual report at other times as the 
commission deems appropriate.

���� b.��� In presenting its 
analysis, narrative discussion and nonbinding advisory information, the 
commission shall include in the annual report:

���� (1)�� An estimate of revenues 
available for the next ten fiscal years to pay debt service on State debt, 
including State general revenues plus any revenues specifically pledged to pay 
debt service;

���� (2)�� An estimate of 
additional debt issuance for the next ten fiscal years for the State's existing 
borrowing programs;

���� (3)�� A schedule of the annual 
debt service requirements, including principal and interest allocation, on 
outstanding State debt and an estimate of the annual debt service requirements 
on State debt for each of the next ten fiscal years;

���� (4)�� The calculations and 
listing of pertinent debt ratios, including, but not limited to, debt service 
to State revenues available to pay debt service, debt to State total personal 
income, and debt per capita for the State's net tax-supported debt;

���� (5)�� The estimated debt 
capacity available over the next ten fiscal years benchmarked to various ratios 
of debt service to State revenue;

���� (6)�� A comparison of the 
State's debt ratios with the comparable debt ratios for the ten most populous 
states; and

���� (7)�� Such other information 
as the commission deems relevant to the foregoing matters.

���� The analysis, narrative 
discussion and nonbinding advisory information reported by the commission shall 
not constitute an official State disclosure statement of material information 
that is required to be provided by State issuers and shall not represent a 
finding or an opinion of any State issuing official.

���� c.���� The commission shall be comprised of nine 
members, two of whom shall be the State Auditor, ex officio, or a designee, and 
the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer, ex officio, or a designee; three of 
whom shall be appointed by the Governor who shall be members of the public with 
education and experience in areas of public budget and finance, and who shall 
not hold elective or other public office; and four of whom shall be appointed, 
one each, by the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Assembly 
Speaker, and the Assembly Minority Leader, each of whom shall be members of the 
public with education and experience in areas of public budget and finance, and 
shall not hold elective or other public office.� Vacancies in the membership of 
the commission shall be filled in the same manner provided for the original 
appointments.� All members, including any designees, shall be voting members 
and a majority of all the authorized members shall constitute a quorum.� Each 
public member shall serve for a term of four years and until the appointment 
and qualification of that member's successor, and may serve, if so appointed, 
for successive terms.� Of the seven public members first appointed to the 
commission, two shall be appointed for a two-year term, two shall be appointed 
for a three-year term, and three shall be appointed for a four-year term.

���� d.��� The commission shall organize within 60 
days after the appointment of all of its public members.� The commission shall 
elect a chairperson from among