13:1B-15.122. Powers of trust

The New Jersey Natural Lands Trust shall have the power:

(a) To sue and be sued in its own name, but the trustees shall be held harmless for acts performed in good faith;

(b) To adopt a seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(c) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;

(d) To maintain an office or offices at such a place or places within the State as it may designate;

(e) To appoint such officers, who need not be members of the trust, in addition to a secretary and a treasurer, as the trust shall deem advisable, and to employ such other employees and agents as may be necessary or desirable in its judgment, to fix their compensation, and to promote and discharge such officers, employees and agents, all without regard to the provisions of Title 11, Civil Service, of the Revised Statutes;

(f) To acquire in the name of the trust, hold and dispose of real or personal property in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties under this act;

(g) To apply for and accept any grant of money from the federal government, which might be or may become available for programs in furtherance of its statutory goals, and to subscribe to and comply with any rule or regulation made by the federal government with respect to the application of such a grant, and to enter into and perform any contract or agreement with respect to the application of such a grant;

(h) To make, enter into and perform all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties, the maintenance of its property and the execution of its powers under this act. No contract on behalf of the trust shall be entered into for the doing of any work, or for the hiring of equipment or vehicles, where the sum to be expended exceeds the sum of $7,500.00, unless the trust first publicly advertises for bids therefor, and awards the contract to the lowest responsible bidder; but advertising is not required where the contract to be entered into is one for furnishing or performing services of a professional nature, where there is only one source for the product or service being procured, or for the supplying of any product or the rendering of any service by a public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities, and tariffs and schedules of the charges, made, charged, or exacted by the public utility for such products to be supplied or services to be rendered, are filed with the board. This section does not prevent the trust from having any work done by its own employees, nor does it apply to repairs, or to the furnishing of materials, supplies or labor, or the hiring of equipment or vehicles, when the safety or protection of its or other public property or the public convenience requires, or the exigency of the circumstances will not admit of such advertisement. In such case the trust shall, by resolution passed by the affirmative vote of a majority of its members, declare the exigency or emergency to exist, and set forth in the resolution the nature thereof and the approximate amount to be expended;

(i) To do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted in this act;

(j) To hold and use all lands in said trust for educational and research purposes.

L. 1968, c. 425, s. 4, eff. Jan. 23, 1969. Amended by L. 1973, c. 64, s. 3, eff. March 22, 1973; L. 1986, c. 178, s. 3, eff. Dec. 9, 1986.