“Everything is on the table” is what Governor Christie has repeatedly said about his plan to secure funding for New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) after his current five-year plan failed pretty much right out of the gate. But what exactly has the legislature put on the table so far? Here is a list of the current bills in Trenton:

A1558 (DeCroce): Authorizes development of public-private partnership transportation demonstration projects.
It would permit the New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner to select transportation projects as “demonstration projects” using public-private partnership agreements. Public-private partnerships (P3’s) are generally used to help finance large-scale projects to free up money for other projects.  Pennsylvania is looking to P3’s as part of a larger transportation funding strategy to help reduce the number of its structurally deficient bridges.

A1865 (Lesniak): Increases the motor fuels tax by five cents per year for three years for a total increase of 15 cents.
Currently, the gas tax brings in $520 million to the TTF and the total debt service for FY 2105 was approximately $1.2 billion. This increase would generate approximately $750 million. Citing the NJDOT’s 2013-2022 Statewide Capital Investment Strategy, Assemblyman Rumana recently stated that even an effort to triple the state’s already low gas tax would fall short of the state’s needs.

SCR106/ACR151 (Lesniak/Lagana): Calls for an amendment to the State Constitution to dedicate all revenue derived from motor fuels tax to TTF.
Currently, the language in the constitution specifically states that $0.0105 per gallon would be dedicated to the TTF. These resolutions would also negate the necessity of amending the constitution every time there is a gas tax increase to dedicate the revenue to the TTF.

A3816 (Eustace): Dedicates a portion of sales tax derived from electricity, natural gas, and hydrogen used to fuel motor vehicles to the TTF. 
This bill would address the gap in the gas tax created by the increasing share of alternative fuel vehicles on New Jersey roads.

A1789 (O’Donnell): Directs New Jersey Turnpike Authority to dedicate toll increase revenue no longer required for payment of Access to the Region’s Core project to the TTF; specifically, the cumulative total of $1.25 billion that is no longer required to help finance the cancelled project, to be collected over time.
Governor Christie had planned to use this toll revenue to fund the pay-go portion of his five-year plan, but this money has instead been used to plug general fund revenue holes and is set to run out in 2016.

SCR126 (Kean): Proposes a constitutional amendment to dedicate portion of motor vehicle fees and surcharges to support State transportation system; specifically, an amount not less than $400 million derived from MVC fees and surcharges that are currently sent to the general fund.
This resolution does not create any new revenue, but rather diverts these monies from the general fund to the TTF.

ACR37 (Bucco): Amends the State Constitution to dedicate certain motor vehicle fee and surcharge revenues collected by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for the cost of funding the State transportation system.
In a twist on Kean’s bill, the amount contemplated under this concurrent resolution would be only those MVC fees and administrative surcharge revenues collected in excess of what is needed for the cost of administration of the commission. This excess is currently directed to the general fund and thus does not create any new revenue.

There are also a few bills (S861/A2727/A801) that call for the study of potential revenue-generating services at New Jersey Turnpike Authority rest areas and service plazas, but it is unclear how the revenue would be used.

And there is one bill that is off the table:  S307/A2268 (Gordon/Wisniewski), which Governor Christie vetoed last month. This bill would have established the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank Fund and Clean Energy and Infrastructure Modernization Fund within the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust. State infrastructure banks help states leverage federal dollars for surface transportation projects on a local, county and state level, making this a missed opportunity for the Garden State.

While there’s a lot on the table, it’s far from “everything.” The spread won’t be complete until there’s a bill that can ensure the TTF’s solvency moving forward.

For an up-to-date status on any of the bills listed above, go to the New Jersey Legislature website and enter the bill number in the Bill Search box on the right.