13:8C-4. "Garden State Preservation Trust"

4. a. There is hereby established in but not of the Department of the Treasury a public body corporate and politic, with corporate succession, to be known as the "Garden State Preservation Trust." For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the trust is hereby allocated within the Department of the Treasury, but notwithstanding that allocation, the trust shall be independent of any supervision or control by that department or by any board or officer thereof. The trust is hereby constituted as an instrumentality of the State, exercising public and essential governmental functions, no part of whose revenues shall accrue to the benefit of any individual, and the exercise by the trust of the powers conferred by this act shall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the State.

b. The trust shall consist of nine voting members as follows: the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of State, and the State Treasurer, who shall be members ex officio; and five public members, one of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, two of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and of those two so appointed no more than one shall be from the same political party, and two of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and of those two so appointed no more than one shall be from the same political party. The public member appointed by the Governor shall serve a term of five years. Each public member appointed by the President of the Senate shall serve a term of five years, except of those first appointed, one shall serve a term of three years and the other a term of two years. Each public member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly shall serve a term of five years, except of those first appointed, one shall serve a term of three years and the other a term of two years.

No person holding elective public office shall be eligible to be a member of the trust.

c. Each public member shall hold office for the term of the member's appointment and until the member's successor shall have been appointed and qualified. A public member shall be eligible for reappointment. Any vacancy in a public membership occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but for the unexpired term only.

d. Any public member may be removed from office by the appointing authority, for cause, after a public hearing, and may be suspended by the appointing authority pending the completion of the hearing. All members before entering upon their duties shall take and subscribe an oath to perform the duties of their office faithfully, impartially and justly to the best of their ability. A record of each oath shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State.

e. The first chairperson of the trust shall be the public member first appointed by the Governor. At the first meeting of the trust held in each subsequent year, the members shall elect one of the public members to serve as chairperson of the trust in a manner that ensures that the chair rotates annually among at least one of the appointees of the President of the Senate, at least one of the appointees of the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the appointee of the Governor.

f. The trust shall not be deemed to be constituted and shall not take action or adopt motions or resolutions until all five authorized public members shall have been appointed and qualified in the manner provided in this section. The members shall annually elect one of the public members as vice chairperson. The members shall elect a secretary and a treasurer, who need not be members, and the same person may be elected to serve as both secretary and treasurer. The powers of the trust shall be vested in the members thereof in office from time to time and five members of the trust shall constitute a quorum at any meeting thereof. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions adopted by the trust at any meeting thereof by the affirmative vote of a majority of the full membership of the trust. No vacancy in the membership of the trust shall impair the right of a quorum of the members to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the trust. The trust shall in all respects comply with the provisions of the "Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.).

g. Each public member of the trust shall receive compensation in the amount of $150 per day for each day that the public member attends a meeting of the trust, unless otherwise prohibited by law. Ex officio members of the trust shall serve without compensation. All members shall be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no member shall be deemed to have forfeited nor shall the member forfeit the member's office or employment or any benefits or emoluments thereof by reason of the member's acceptance of the office of ex officio member of the trust or the member's services therein.

h. Each ex officio member may designate an employee of the member's department or agency to represent the member at meetings of the trust. All designees may lawfully vote and otherwise act on behalf of the member for whom they constitute the designee. The designation shall be in writing delivered to the trust and shall continue in effect until revoked or amended in writing delivered to the trust.

i. A true copy of the minutes of every meeting of the trust shall be delivered forthwith by and under the certification of the secretary thereof to the Governor. No action taken at the meeting by the trust shall have force or effect until 15 days after the copy of the minutes shall have been so delivered, unless during this 15-day period the Governor shall approve in writing the minutes or any part thereof, in which case the action shall become effective upon approval. If, within that 15-day period, the Governor returns a copy of the minutes with the Governor's veto of any action taken by the trust or any member thereof at the meeting, the action shall be null and void and of no effect. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last day of the 15-day period shall be a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, then the 15-day period shall be deemed extended to the next following business day. The powers conferred in this subsection upon the Governor shall be exercised with due regard for the rights of the holders of bonds, notes or other obligations of the trust at any time outstanding, and nothing in, or done pursuant to, this subsection shall in any way limit, restrict or alter the obligation or powers of the trust or any representative or officer of the trust to carry out and perform in every detail each and every covenant, agreement or contract at any time made or entered into by or on behalf of the trust with respect to its bonds, notes or other obligations or for the benefit, protection or security of the holders thereof.

j. The trust shall continue in existence until dissolved by act of the Legislature. However, any dissolution of this trust shall be on condition that the trust has no debts, contractual duties or obligations outstanding, or that provision has been made for the payment, discharge or retirement of these debts, contractual duties or obligations. Upon any dissolution of the trust, all property, rights, funds and assets thereof shall pass to and become vested in the State.

L.1999,c.152,s.4.