A 4761

[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 4761
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� KENYATTA STEWART
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman� AL ABDELAZIZ
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman� CLINTON CALABRESE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator� BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator� ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Walker, Assemblywoman Haider, Assemblymen
Schaer, Sampson, Assemblywoman Speight, Assemblyman Singh, Assemblywomen
Carter, Brennan, Assemblyman Wainstein, Assemblywoman Donlon and Senator
Timberlake
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes funding for on-demand micro transit
service under Senior Citizen and Disabled Resident Transportation Assistance
Program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As reported by the Assembly Transportation and
Independent Authorities Committee on June 1, 2026, with amendments.
��
An Act concerning on-demand micro transit service
funding and amending P.L.1983, c.578.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
����� 1.�� Section
3 of P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-27) is amended to read as follows:�
����� 3.�� As
used in [this act] P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.):�
����� [a.] �Accessible�
means a service that can be used by all individuals, including those who cannot
negotiate steps or who can negotiate steps with great difficulty.
����� �Board�
means the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Transit Corporation.
����� �Corporation�
means the New Jersey Transit Corporation.
����� [b.� �Board� means Board of Directors of the New
Jersey Transit Corporation.
����� c.] 1[�Disabled resident� means any individual who, by
reason of illness, injury, age, congenital malfunction, or other permanent or
temporary incapacity or disability, is unable without special facilities or
special planning on design to utilize mass transportation facilities and
services as effectively as persons who are not so affected.]1
����� �Eligible
counties� means counties submitting a proposal meeting the program guidelines.
����� [d.] �Geographic
region� means one of the following regions of the State:� the southern region
encompassing the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May,
Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem; the central region encompassing the counties
of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean 1,1 and Somerset; and the northern region
encompassing those counties remaining in the State.
����� �New
Jersey Special Services Citizen Advisory Committee� means a committee
representing advocacy groups from senior citizens and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1 and other interested parties appointed by the 1President
and Chief1 Executive 1[Director] Officer1 of 1the1 New Jersey Transit 1Corporation1.
����� [e.� �Accessible� means a service that can be used by
all individuals including those who cannot negotiate steps or who can negotiate
steps with great difficulty.
����� f.��� �Disabled�
means any individual who, by reason of illness, injury, age, congenital
malfunction, or other permanent or temporary incapacity or disability, is
unable without special facilities or special planning on design to utilize mass
transportation facilities and services as effectively as persons who are not so
affected.
����� g.�� �Geographic
region� means one of the following regions of the State: the southern region
encompassing the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May,
Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem;� the central region encompassing the
counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Somerset; and the
northern region encompassing those counties remaining in the State.]
��� �On-demand
micro transit� means 1[publicly-available, technology-enabled,]1 shared 1public1 transportation 1services1 provided by means of a motor vehicle to individuals selecting a
pick-up and drop-off location by telephone or through a 1[mobile] software1 application, and which transportation is
provided at a time selected by the individual or as soon as possible after the
individual selects pick-up and drop-off locations for such transportation.
����� 1�People with disabilities� means individuals who, by
reason of illness, injury, age, congenital malfunction, or other permanent or
temporary incapacity or disability, are unable without special facilities or
special planning on design to utilize mass transportation facilities and
services as effectively as persons who are not so affected.
����� �Software application� means technology that enables
a county to provide on-demand micro transit service.� �Software application�
shall not include a digital network as that term is defined in section 2 of
P.L.2017, c.26 (C.39:5H-2).1
(cf:�
P.L.1983, c.578, s.3)
����� 2.�� Section
2 of P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-26) is amended to read as follows:�
����� 2.�� The
Legislature finds and declares that many senior citizens and 1[disabled residents]
people with disabilities1 in the State require assistance in meeting their
need for available and accessible transportation so that they may obtain the
necessities of life, including, but not limited to, employment,
post-secondary education, social and recreational activities, shopping and
medical service; and that the voters of this State recognized the need for such
assistance when, in 1981, they approved an amendment [of] to the
State Constitution [which provides] providing that State revenues derived from
the taxation of gambling establishments in Atlantic City may be used, in
addition to the purposes for which they were originally dedicated, for
additional or expanded transportation services or benefits to senior citizens
and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1.
����� The
Legislature further finds and declares that it is appropriate that the New
Jersey Transit Corporation, in conjunction with its advisory bodies,
representatives or associations of counties, and other interested parties,
develop a plan for transportation assistance to senior citizens and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1; that the instrumentalities of local government,
particularly the counties of this State, should play a major role in
facilitating the provision of that transportation assistance; and that the New
Jersey Transit Corporation in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of
Transportation�s Office of Coordination, as well as the counties, should
coordinate the assistance with existing transportation services, including,
but not limited to, those services funded by any other State agency, at
the local level and coordinate inter-county transportation services.
(cf:�
P.L.1983, c.578, s.2)
����� 3.�� Section
4 of P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-28) is amended to read as follows:�
����� 4.�� a.�
The board shall establish and administer a program to be known as �The Senior
Citizen and Disabled Resident Transportation Assistance Program� for the
following purposes:�
����� (1) [To] to
assist counties to develop and provide accessible feeder transportation service
to accessible fixed-route transportation services where such services are
available, including, but not limited to, on-demand micro transit service,
and accessible local transit service to senior citizens and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1, which services may include, but shall
not be limited to, door-to-door service, fixed route service, local fare
subsidy, on-demand micro transit service, and user-side subsidy, which
may include, but not be limited to, private ride or taxi fare
subsidy; and to coordinate the activities of the various participants in this
program in providing the services to be rendered at the county level and
between counties; and
����� (2) [To] to
enable the corporation to develop, provide, and maintain capital
improvements that afford accessibility to fixed route and other transit
services in order to make rail cars, rail stations, bus shelters, and
other bus equipment accessible to senior citizens and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1; to render technical information and assistance to
counties eligible for assistance under [this act] P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.); and to
coordinate the program within and among counties.
����� b.�� In
the State fiscal year beginning July 1 following the effective date of
P.L.2009, c.261, and in each fiscal year thereafter, there shall be
appropriated to the corporation from the revenues deposited in the Casino
Revenue Fund, established pursuant to section 145 of P.L.1977, c.110
(C.5:12-145), a sum equal to 8.5 percent of the revenues deposited in
the fund during the preceding fiscal year, as determined by the State
Treasurer, to effectuate the purposes and provisions of P.L.1983, c.578
(C.27:25-25 et seq.).
����� Notwithstanding
the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, for [the] State Fiscal
Years 2022, 2023, and 2024, appropriations to the corporation from the revenues
deposited in the Casino Revenue Fund or the Property Tax Relief Fund, as
appropriate, shall be given priority to ensure that the corporation receives an
amount equal to 8.5 percent of the sum of the revenues deposited in the Casino
Revenue Fund during the preceding fiscal year, adding back any reductions in
revenues during the preceding fiscal year that directly resulted from the
temporary credit allowable under section 1 of P.L.2021, c.314 or the temporary
deduction allowable under section 3 of the P.L.2021, c.314, as determined by
the State Treasurer, to effectuate the purposes and provisions of P.L.1983,
c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.).
(cf:�
P.L.2021, c.314, s.6)
����� 4.�� Section
5 of P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-29) is amended to read as follows:�
����� 5.�� The
corporation, in conjunction with the New Jersey Transit Special Services
Citizen Advisory Committee, appropriate advisory committees of the corporation
and with representatives or associations of counties in this State and other
interested parties, as determined by the board, shall develop program
guidelines to implement the program.� The guidelines shall set implementation
criteria and shall be adopted by the board at a public meeting.� Commencing on
the first anniversary of the effective date of [this act] P.L.1983,
c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.), the corporation shall annually conduct at least
one public hearing in each geographic region in order to gather information
from interested parties as to the efficacy of the program.� The corporation
shall submit an annual report to the Legislature by October 1 of each year
covering the period of the previous State fiscal year.�� The report shall cover
the status of this program including any recommendations concerning the general
improvement of mass transit for [the] senior citizens and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1.
����� 1The guidelines shall specify that any driver
providing on-demand micro transit service through an on-demand micro transit
program that receives funding through �The Senior Citizen and Disabled Resident
Transportation Assistance Program,� established pursuant to section 4 of
P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-28), and is operated by a county, whether directly or
indirectly through contract or subcontract, is required to receive a federal
Internal Revenue Service W-2 form.1
(cf:�
P.L.1983, c.578, s.5)
����� 5.�� Section
7 of P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-31) is amended to read as follows:�
����� 7.�� a.�
[Moneys] Monies under this program shall be allocated
by the corporation in the following manner:�
����� (1) 85
[%] percent shall be available to be allocated
to eligible counties for the purposes specified under paragraph (1) of
subsection a. of section 4 of [this act.] P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-28); and
����� (2) 15
[%] percent shall be available for use by the
corporation for the purposes specified under paragraph (2) of subsection a. of
section 4 of [this act] P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-28) and for the
general administration of the program, but no more than 10 [%] percent
of the total [moneys] monies allocated under this program shall be
used for the general administration of the program.
����� b.�� The
amount of money [which] that each eligible county may receive shall
be based upon the number of persons resident in that county of 60 years of age
or older expressed as a percentage of the whole number of persons resident in
this State of 60 years or older, as provided by the U.S. [Bureau of the] Census Bureau.� As similar data become
available for 1[the disabled resident population] people with disabilities1, such data shall be used in conjunction with the
senior citizen data to determine the county allocation formula.� No eligible
county shall receive less than [$150,000.00] $150,000 during a fiscal year under this
program [, except that
during].� However,
during the first fiscal year,
no county shall receive less than [$50,000.00] $50,000 nor more than [$150,000.00] $150,000.
����� c.�� The
governing body of an eligible county, or a group or groups designated as an
applicant or as applicants by the county after a public hearing in which senior
citizens and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1 shall have the opportunity to comment on the
appropriateness of such designation, may [make application] apply to the board for [moneys] monies
available under subsection b. of this section.� The application shall be in the
form of a proposal to the board for transportation assistance and shall specify
the degree to which the proposal meets the purposes of the program under
paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 4 of [this act] P.L.1983,
c.578 (C.27:25-28) and the implementation criteria under the program
guidelines and the proposal shall have been considered at a public hearing.�
The board shall allocate [moneys] monies based upon a review of the merits of
the proposals in meeting the purposes of the program, and the implementation
criteria, under the program guidelines.� The governing body of an eligible
county shall schedule a public hearing annually for interested parties to
provide the governing body with any facts, materials, or recommendations that
would be of assistance regarding the efficacy of the program established under
paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 4 of [this act] P.L.1983,
c.578 (C.27:25-28).
(cf:�
P.L.2009, c.261, s.2)
����� 6.�� Section 8 of P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-32)
is amended to read as follows:�
����� 8.�� a.�
The board shall promulgate, in accordance with the �Administrative Procedure
Act,� P.L.1968, c. 410 (C. 54:14B-1 et seq.), [such] rules and
regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of 1[this act] P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.)1.
����� b.�� The
corporation shall be entitled to call upon the assistance, or contract for
services, of any State department, board, bureau, commission 1,1
or agency as may be necessary to implement the
provisions of [this act] P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.).
����� c.�� Notice
of any public hearing required to be held pursuant to [this act] P.L.1983,
c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.) shall be published at least 30 days prior to the
date in at least two newspapers circulating in the specific geographic area in
which the meeting is to be held.� Notice of any hearing shall also be
transmitted, at least 30 days in advance thereof, to every municipal clerk
within the specified geographic area where the meeting will be held.
����� d.�� All
public hearings held pursuant to [this act] P.L.1983, c.578 (C.27:25-25 et seq.) shall
be held at locations [which] that are accessible to senior citizens and [the] 1[disabled residents] people with disabilities1.
(cf:�
P.L.1983, c.578, s.8)
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.