New Jersey TTF Renewed Through 2029

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on March 26 reported via social media: “Today I signed legislation investing billions into our transportation infrastructure for the next five years. This critical funding will help upgrade our roads and bridges, create thousands of good-paying union jobs, and help commuters across NJ get to where they need to go.” (Photograph Courtesy of Gov. Murphy via social media platform X, formerly Twitter)

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation renewing the state’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) for five more years (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2029). It will invest billions to modernize and maintain infrastructure and provide additional capital funding for New Jersey Transit (NJT).

The New Jersey TTF was established by the state 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, according to the Governor’s office, which noted that reauthorization has primarily been implemented by the Murphy administration, “with the largest capital program ever executed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) occurring in Fiscal Year 2021 (FY 2021).”

The Governor’s office reported that the new law (A-4011 / S-2931), signed March 26, will:

• 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,” the Governor’s office said.
• Authorize approximately $10.37 billion in appropriations for the state’s Annual Transportation Capital Program from FY 2025-29. 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. According to the Governor’s office, this incremental revenue growth will be split evenly among NJDOT, NJT, 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 NJT 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, NJT will receive more than $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.

“Whether it’s trying to get home to their families after a long day or shipping critical goods to keep our economy humming, our residents and our businesses depend on the strength of our transportation system to get where they need to go,” Governor Phil Murphy said. “This legislation will ensure we deliver for them by enabling us to rebuild and maintain our entire transportation system, while creating thousands of good-paying jobs in the years to come and easing the burden of property taxes by offsetting these costs for local governments.”

“New Jerseyans depend on safe and reliable public transportation to get to work and school, and the TTF is a critical part of our state’s efforts to ensure our infrastructure is safe and accessible for everyone,” commented Congressman Frank Pallone, a Democrat representing New Jersey’s 6th District. “Today’s [March 26] announcement is a win-win for residents, workers, businesses, tourists, and anyone else who uses our state’s roads or rails. I’m always grateful to our hardworking union members, who keep our public transportation running smoothly.”

“We appreciate the legislature taking action to renew the TTF, which is vital to maintaining and improving our state’s transportation infrastructure,” said NJDOT Acting Commissioner Fran O’Connor, who took over for former NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, who recently became the Governor’s Chief of Staff. “In addition to funding projects on Interstate and State highways, TTF funding profoundly impacts our local communities at the county and municipal levels. This bill increases funding for NJDOT’s Local Aid programs so even more critical infrastructure projects can get done at the local level.”

“Renewing the TTF is great news for New Jersey,” said Michael E. Hellstrom, Vice President and Eastern Regional Manager of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), which participated at the signing ceremony. “It ensures we have a stable source of funding to maintain, repair and modernize our transportation infrastructure. It also demonstrates that our elected officials are willing to do the work to keep our infrastructure safe and efficient, our economy strong, and construction workers working. On behalf of LIUNA’s 25,000 members in New Jersey, we are grateful to Governor Murphy, Senate President Scutari, Speaker Coughlin and the bill’s sponsors for their leadership in passing this important piece of legislation.”