New Jersey A 2264: Requires an annual State debt affordability analysis be included in the State Debt Report.

Bill Text

A2264 

ASSEMBLY, No. 2264 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman MARGIE DONLON, M.D.

District 11 (Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes four-year pilot program, and creates 
Triploid Grass Carp Commission, to study use of triploid grass carp in 
freshwater lakes for weed control; appropriates $150,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

�� 

An Act establishing a pilot program concerning the use of 
triploid grass carp in freshwater lakes, and making an appropriation.

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

���� �1.�� a.� No later than 120 
days after the effective date of this act, the Department of Environmental 
Protection shall establish a four-year pilot program to evaluate the use of 
triploid grass carp as an alternative to the use of herbicide in freshwater 
lakes, while ensuring the protection of native plants and aquatic ecosystems.� 
The pilot program shall provide matching grants to three qualified lake 
management organizations for the purchase of triploid grass carp and the construction 
of the containment barriers necessary to introduce the carp into a freshwater lake.� 
To be eligible for a grant pursuant to this program, the lake shall be between 
10 and 25 acres in size.� 

���� b.� The Commissioner of 
Environmental Protection shall develop an application by which a lake 
management organization may apply for a grant pursuant to this section, and the 
criteria to be used by the department to review applications received by the 
department.� The commissioner shall provide notice of the availability of 
funding for this program, including the requirements necessary to qualify for 
funding, and shall make the application available on the department's Internet 
website.

���� c.� From the applications 
received pursuant to this section, the commissioner shall select three lake 
management organizations to each receive a matching grant, not to exceed $50,000, 
for the purchase of triploid grass carp and the construction of the containment 
barriers necessary to introduce the carp into the lake.

���� 2.� a.� There is established 
in the Department of Environmental Protection the Triploid Grass Carp 
Commission.� The commission shall:

���� (1) consider the efficacy of 
using triploid grass carp as an alternative to herbicides for aquatic weed 
control in freshwater lakes;

���� (2) evaluate whether triploid 
grass carp may be safely used in the State without negatively impacting native 
fisheries or aquatic ecosystems; 

���� (3) evaluate current laws, 
rules, and regulations in effect in other states, concerning the use of 
triploid grass carp, the effectiveness of the use of triploid grass carp in 
other states, and the protection of native fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; 
and

���� (4) at least annually during 
the term of the pilot program operations, evaluate the pilot program 
established pursuant to section 1 of this act, and at the conclusion of the 
pilot program, submit a written report pursuant to subsection f. of this 
section.

���� b.��� The commission shall 
consist of seven members, appointed by the Governor as follows: 

���� (1) a representative of the 
Bureau of Freshwater and Biological Monitoring within the Division of Water 
Monitoring and Standards in the Department of Environmental Protection;

���� (2) a representative of the 
New Jersey Audubon Society; 

���� (3) a representative of 
Rutgers, the State University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and 
aquatic ecosystems; 

���� (4) a representative of Rowan 
University, with expertise in freshwater fisheries and aquatic ecosystems; and 

���� (5) three members, each of 
whom shall represent the lake management organizations selected to receive a 
grant pursuant to section 1 of this act. 

���� c.���� All appointments to the 
commission shall be made no later than 180 days after the effective date of 
this act.� Each member shall serve for the duration of the commission, and 
vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.� The 
members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be 
eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in 
the performance of their official duties, within the limits of funds 
appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

���� d.��� The commission shall 
organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members, and shall 
select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members, as well as 
a secretary who need not be a member of the commission.� A majority of the 
membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of 
commission business.� The commission may meet and hold hearings at the place or 
places the commission designates.

���� e.���� T