New Jersey A 2976: Appropriates $4 million from the Property Tax Relief Fund to DEP for mitigation and prevention of harmful algal blooms in Greenwood Lake; reduces Trenton Capital City Aid Program appropriation.

Bill Text

A2976 

ASSEMBLY, No. 2976 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ERIK PETERSON

District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Fantasia

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires school districts to provide transportation 
to public and nonpublic school pupils living along hazardous routes.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

��

An Act 
concerning pupil transportation, amending N.J.S.18A:39-1, P.L.1984, c.73 and P.L.2007, 
c.260, supplementing chapter 1A of Title 27 of the Revised Statutes and 
repealing section 2 of P.L.1999, c.310.

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

���� 1.��� (New section)��� Sections 
1 through 3 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the "Student 
Safety Act of 2018."

���� 2.��� (New section)��� a.�� The 
Commissioner of Transportation, in conjunction with the Commissioner of 
Education, shall develop three definitions of the term "hazardous 
route," for the purposes of providing transportation for public school 
pupils.� The definitions shall differentiate between suburban, urban and rural 
routes.� The commissioners in developing� the definitions shall consider, but 
not be limited to, the following criteria:

���� (1)�� Population density;

���� (2)�� Traffic volume;

���� (3)�� Average vehicle 
velocity;

���� (4)�� Existence or absence of 
sufficient sidewalk space;

���� (5)�� Roads and highways that 
are winding or have blind curves;

���� (6)�� Roads and highways with 
steep inclines and declines;

���� (7)�� Drop-offs that are in 
close proximity to a sidewalk;

���� (8)�� Bridges or overpasses 
that must be crossed to reach the school;

���� (9)�� Train tracks or trestles 
that must be crossed to reach the school; and

���� (10)� Busy roads or highways 
that must be crossed to reach the school.

���� b.��� The Commissioner of 
Transportation, in consultation with the local police department, shall 
designate hazardous routes in the State using the definitions established 
pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The Commissioner of Transportation 
shall immediately notify the Commissioner of Education of the designated 
hazardous routes.

���� c.���� The Commissioner of 
Transportation shall conduct an annual review to determine whether a particular 
hazardous route continues to require that designation.� The Commissioner of 
Transportation shall immediately notify the Commissioner of Education if a determination 
is made to discontinue a hazardous route designation.

���� 3.��� (New section)��� The 
Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the State Board of 
Education, shall promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the 
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), 
necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.� These regulations shall 
include, but shall not be limited to, procedures for the effective and timely 
review of the hazardous route designation.

���� 4.��� Section 15 of P.L.2007, 
c.260 (C.18A:7F-57) is amended to read as follows:

���� 15.� a.�� Each school 
district's and county vocational school district's State aid for transportation 
shall consist of base aid (BA) and an incentive factor (IF) determined as 
follows:

���� BA = (BA1 x IF) + BA2

���� where

���� BA1=CP1 x P1+CD1 x P1 x D1;

���� BA2=CP2 xP2 + CD2 x P2 x D2;

���� P1 is the total number of 
regular education public pupils and regular nonpublic pupils eligible for 
transportation pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1, excluding preschool pupils except 
pupils that qualify for free full-day preschool pursuant to section 12 of this 
act, and of special education pupils eligible for transportation pursuant to 
N.J.S.18A:46-23 with no special transportation requirements, who are resident 
in the district as of the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget 
year;

���� D1 is the average 
home-to-school mileage for P1 pupils;

���� P2 is the total number of 
special education pupils eligible for transportation pursuant to 
N.J.S.18A:46-23 with special transportation requirements who are resident in 
the district as of the last school day prior to October 16 of the prebudget 
year;

���� D2 is the average 
home-to-school mileage for P2 pupils; and

���� CP1, CD1, CP2 and CD2 are cost 
coefficients with values set forth in subsection b. of this section.

���� IF is the incentive factor, 
which modifies base aid paid for pupils transported on regular vehicles 
according to each district's percentile rank in regular vehicle capacity 
utilization.� [Students 
within the district who receive courtesy busing services shall be included in 
the calculation of the district's regular vehicle capacity utilization if the 
courtesy busing services are provided to a student who would otherwise be 
required to walk to and from school along a route designated