Governor Phil Murphy today signed legislation renewing the State’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) for five more years, which will invest billions to modernize and maintain New Jersey’s statewide transportation infrastructure, while providing additional capital funding for NJ TRANSIT, supporting local and county projects to alleviate the burden on local taxpayers, and creating thousands of good-paying union jobs.
The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund was established by the Legislature in 1984 and has since been reauthorized seven times. The last reauthorization in 2016, under the previous administration, occurred after the previous authorization had expired, halting projects until a new agreement could be reached. That reauthorization has primarily been implemented by the Murphy Administration, with the largest capital program ever executed by the NJ Department of Transportation (NJDOT) occurring in Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021).
- Establish a five-year program, beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2029, to ensure a steady stream of revenue to support statewide transportation projects. The law annually adjusts the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax rate by updating the statutorily prescribed revenue target, commonly referred to as the “highway fuel cap,” which is currently based on 2016 highway fuel tax collections.
- Authorize roughly $10.37 billion in appropriations for the State’s Annual Transportation Capital Program from FY 2025 through FY 2029. Of that amount, an estimated $2.3 billion will be passed on as State aid to counties and municipalities for transportation projects.
- Provide up to $8.84 billion in bonding authority to the Transportation Trust Fund Authority over the five-year period (approximately $1.76 billion annually);
- Provide roughly $1.5 billion in pay-as-you-go funding for transportation projects Grow the $2 billion maximum annual capital program amount by 3% per year in years three, four, and five of the reauthorization, which coincides with the end of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. This incremental revenue growth will be split evenly among NJ DOT, NJ TRANSIT, county governments, and municipal governments, providing greater investment at the county and local level and relieving the pressure on local property taxpayers to fund infrastructure investments.
- Bolster NJ TRANSIT by providing an additional $91.75 million over the last three years of the program to augment the $767 million the agency currently receives annually from the TTF to fund new capital projects. By year five, NJ TRANSIT will receive over $813 million annually for capital projects.
- Establish an annual electric vehicle fee of $250 (with increases of $10 per year in each of the remaining four years), which will ensure that all motorists using the roads share in the responsibility to maintain their conditions.
- Delay the annual tax rate adjustment for sales of gasoline and diesel motor fuel by three months, from October 1 to January 1, so that any rate changes will coincide with the start of the new year.