5:12-160 Purpose of authority.

12. The purposes of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority shall be:

a. to maintain public confidence in the casino gaming industry as a unique tool of urban redevelopment for the city of Atlantic City and to directly facilitate the redevelopment of existing blighted areas and to address the pressing social and economic needs of the residents of the city of Atlantic City and the State of New Jersey by providing eligible projects in which licensees shall invest;

b. to provide licensees with an effective method of encouraging new capital investment in Atlantic City which investment capital would not otherwise be attracted by major casino-hotel convention complexes or by normal market conditions and which will not supplant capital, either public or private, that would otherwise be invested in the city of Atlantic City or in the jurisdiction in which the investment is to be made and which will have the effect of benefiting the public at large and increasing opportunities and choices of those of low and moderate income in particular;

c. to provide, further and promote tourist industries in New Jersey and especially Atlantic county, by providing financial assistance for the planning, acquisition, construction, improvement, maintenance and operation of facilities for the recreation and entertainment of the public which may include an arts center, cultural center, historic site or landmark, or sports center;

d. to provide loans and other financial assistance for the planning, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, demolition, rehabilitation, conversion, repair or alteration of buildings or facilities to provide decent, safe and sanitary dwelling units for persons of low, moderate, median range, and middle income in need of housing, and to provide mortgage financing for such units;

e. to assist in the financing of structures, franchises, equipment and facilities for operation of, expansion of and the development of public transportation or for terminal purposes, including but not limited to development and improvement of port terminal structures, facilities and equipment for public use;

f. to provide loans and other financial assistance for the construction, reconstruction, demolition, rehabilitation, conversion, repair or alteration of convention halls in Atlantic county and the State of New Jersey, including but not limited to office facilities, commercial facilities, community service facilities, parking facilities, hotel facilities and other facilities for the accommodation and entertainment of tourists and visitors;

g. to make loans and assist in the financing of the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair or acquisition of infrastructure projects, including but not limited to sewage disposal facilities, water facilities, solid waste disposal facilities, roads, highways and bridges;

h. to assist in financing buildings, structures and other property to increase opportunities in manufacturing, industrial, commercial, recreational, retail and service enterprises in the State so as to induce and to accelerate opportunity for employment in these enterprises, particularly of unemployed and underemployed residents of the jurisdiction in which the investment is to be made; to provide loans and other financial assistance for the planning, developing or preservation of new and existing small businesses as well as the planning, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, conversion or alteration of the facilities that house these enterprises, particularly those which provide services or employment to unemployed or underemployed residents of the State; and to provide loans and other financial assistance to provide employment training and retraining, particularly for unemployed and underemployed residents of the State;

i. to cooperate with and assist local governmental units in financing any eligible project;

j. to encourage investment in, or financing of, any plan, project, facility, or program which directly serves pressing social and economic needs of the residents of the jurisdiction or region in which the investment is to be made, including but not limited to supermarkets, commercial establishments, day care centers, parks and community service centers, and any other plan, project, facility or program which best serves the interest of the public in accordance with section 25 of this 1984 amendatory and supplementary act;

k. to encourage investment in, or financing of, projects which are made as part of a comprehensive plan to improve blighted or redevelopment areas or are targeted to benefit low through middle income residents of the jurisdiction or region in which the investments are to be made;

l. to make loans for those eligible projects according to the projected allocated amounts to be available;

m. to establish and exercise authority over the Atlantic City Tourism District pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2011, c.18 (C.5:12-218 et al.); and

n. any combination of the foregoing.

L.1984, c.218, s.12; amended 2011, c.18, s.3.