New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL › Chapter 49 - PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS RULES › Subchapter 2 - DEFINITIONS › Section 17:49-2.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, as used in this chapter, shall
				  have the following meanings, unless the context indicates otherwise.
"Approval letter" means the letter sent by the State
				  Treasurer authorizing a public entity who has submitted a project for approval
				  to proceed forward with final agreement with a private entity.
"Authority" means the New Jersey Economic Development
				  Authority established pursuant to
				  section
				  4 of P.L. 1974, c. 80 (N.J.S.A.
				  34:1B-4).
"Availability payment" means fixed payments to a private
				  entity by a public entity in return for the design, construction, long-term
				  operation and maintenance, and financing of the project. Availability payments
				  shall only be permitted where a State or county college or university or State
				  governmental entity is an applicant.
"Building project" means the construction, reconstruction,
				  repair, alteration, improvement, or extension of any public building,
				  structure, or facility constructed or acquired by a State government entity to
				  house State government functions, including any infrastructure or facility used
				  or to be used by the public or in support of a public purpose or
				  activity.
"Bundling" means the use of a solicitation for multiple
				  projects in one single contract, through a public-private partnership project
				  delivery method, the result of which restricts competition. A project shall
				  include only one project focus, operations, financing plan, and financial
				  structure in order to seek project approval. Bundling is not permitted across
				  multiple applicants.
"Charter school" means an entity established pursuant to
				  N.J.S.A. 18A:36A-1et seq.
"Design-build contractor" means the entity that is
				  contractually responsible for the performance of construction of a project as a
				  member of a design-build team.
"Design-build team" means a contractually created combination
				  of entities formed to undertake a construction project to be advanced using a
				  design-build methodology, including design professionals responsible for the
				  design and construction companies responsible for the construction, of such a
				  project.
"Full financial and administrative responsibility" means
				  control of all financial and operational requirements.
"Highway or transportation project" means the construction,
				  reconstruction, repair, alteration, improvement, or extension of public
				  expressways, freeways, and parkways, including bridges, tunnels, overpasses,
				  underpasses, interchanges, rest areas, express bus roadways, bus pullouts and
				  turnarounds, and park and ride facilities, including any infrastructure or
				  facility used, or to be used, by the public, or in support of a public purpose
				  or activity, provided that the project shall include an expenditure of at least
				  $ 100 million in public funds or any expenditure in solely private funds.At no
				  time shall morethan eight State highway projects be in process.
"Local government unit" means a county, a municipality, or
				  any board, commission, committee, authority, or agency thereof that is subject
				  to the provisions of the Local Public Contracts Law, P.L. 1971, c. 198
				  (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1et seq.), including a housing authority or redevelopment
				  agency created or continued under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, P.L.
				  1992, c. 79 (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1et seq.). A local government unit shall not
				  include a public entity that has entered into a contract with a private firm or
				  a public authority pursuant to the New Jersey Wastewater Treatment
				  Public-Private Contracting Act, P.L. 1995, c. 216 (N.J.S.A. 58:27-19et seq.),
				  for the provision of wastewater treatment services.
"No-Build" means the decision to not proceed with a project
				  or procurement.
"Office of Public Finance" means the Office of Public Finance
				  within the Department of the Treasury.
"Private entity" means a natural person, corporation, limited
				  liability company, partnership, joint venture, or other private business entity
				  that assumes full financial and administrative responsibility for the
				  construction, reconstruction, repair, alteration, improvement, extension,
				  operation, and/or maintenance of a building, structure, facility, or other
				  structure, including a highway, for the benefit of the local government unit,
				  school district, State governmental entity, or State or county collegeor
				  university. A private entity, or its majority shareholder or parent company,
				  shall meet at least the minimum qualification standards in existing statutes
				  and rules issued by the relevant public entity involved in a project, and shall
				  have participated in a lead role in at least two public-private projects or
				  complex lease or lease back arrangements or other complex transactions, of at
				  least $ 10 million in size, or $ 100 million in the case of highway or
				  transportation projects, unless otherwise expressly stated in a public entity's
				  solicitation, to be considered qualified to participate in a public-private
				  partnership agreement.
1. Where the public entity is a school district, the private
				  entity shall have a clearly articulated commitment to public education
				  demonstrated by either a record of collaboration with elementary or secondary
				  public or private schools in this State, or any other state, over the last two
				  years or, alternatively, the private entity may demonstrate a clear commitment
				  to public education through its charter, mission statement, or application for
				  approval as a non-profit corporation, foundation, bylaws, or other organizing
				  document.
2. Where a highway or transportation element is considered,
				  regardless of the type of public entity involved, a private entity shall also
				  be pre-qualified by the Department of Transportation.
"Project" means:
1. For a local government unit, the development,
				  construction, reconstruction, repair, alteration, improvement, extension,
				  operation, and maintenance, or any combination thereof, of any building, local
				  or county road, vertical structure, or facility constructed or acquired by a
				  local government unit to operate local government functions, including any
				  infrastructure or facility used, or to be used, by the public, or in support of
				  a public purpose or activity, including fixtures, furnishings, and equipment,
				  as well as any site acquisition, provided that, with respect to a project, a
				  qualifying project shall include an expenditure of at least $ 10 million in
				  public funds, or any expenditure in solely private funds, and provided that the
				  project is financed in whole by the private entity and the local unit retains
				  full ownership of the land upon which the project is located.
2. For a school district, the planning, acquisition,
				  demolition, construction, improvement, alteration, modernization, renovation,
				  reconstruction, and/or capital maintenance of all or any part of a school
				  facility, infrastructure, or any other personal property necessary for, or
				  ancillary to, any school facility, and shall include fixtures, furnishings, and
				  equipment, and shall also include, but is not limited to, site acquisition,
				  site development, the services of design professionals, such as engineers and
				  architects, construction management, legal services, financing costs, and
				  administrative costs, and expenses incurred in connection with the project,
				  where used by the public or in support of a public purpose or activity,
				  provided the private entity assumes full financial and administrative
				  responsibility for a project of, or for the benefit of, the school district,
				  and provided that the project is financed in whole by the private entity. An
				  investment of real estate by a school district, provided that ownership is
				  retained by a school district, shall not violate the provisions of this
				  chapter.
3. For a State government entity, the construction,
				  reconstruction, repair, alteration, improvement, extension, and/or operation
				  and maintenance of any public building, structure, or facility constructed or
				  acquired by a State government entity to house State government functions,
				  including any infrastructure or facility used, or to be used, by the public or
				  in support of a public purpose or activity, and including any fixtures,
				  furnishings, and equipment, provided that the private entity may assume full
				  financial and administrative responsibility for the construction,
				  reconstruction, repair, alteration, improvement, extension, operation, and
				  maintenance of a building or highway of, or for the benefit of, the State
				  government entity, and provided that the building or highway project is
				  financed in whole or in part by the private entity and the State government
				  entity retains full ownership of the land upon which the project is
				  located.
4. For a State or county college or university, the on-campus
				  or off-campus design, build, maintenance, financing, construction,
				  reconstruction, repair, alteration, improvement, extension, management, and/or
				  operation of a building, structure, or facility of, or for the benefit of, the
				  State or county college or university, including any fixtures, furnishings, and
				  equipment, provided that the private entity may assume full financial and
				  administrative responsibility for the construction, reconstruction, repair,
				  alteration, improvement, extension, management, or operation of a building,
				  structure, or facility, of, or for, the benefit of the State or county college
				  or university and, provided that the project is financed in whole or in part by
				  the private entity and that the State or a State or county college or
				  university, as applicable, retains full ownership of the land upon which the
				  project is completed.
"Public building, road, structure, infrastructure, or
				  facility" means any site building, road, structure, infrastructure, or facility
				  used or to be used by a local government unit, including a housing authority or
				  redevelopment agency created or continued under the Local Redevelopment and
				  Housing Law, P.L. 1992, c. 79 (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1et seq.), to house a local
				  government function or functions, including any infrastructure or facility used
				  or to be used by the public, or in support of a public purpose or
				  activity.
"Public-private partnership advisor" means an expert retained
				  by the Office of Public Finance for purposes of assisting the State Treasurer's
				  review of a project by completing a financial and technical review of a
				  proposed public-private partnership project.
"Public-private partnership agreement" means an agreement
				  entered into by a local government unit, a school district, State governmental
				  entity, or a State or county college or university and a private entity for the
				  purpose of permitting a private entity to assume full financial and
				  administrative responsibility for the development, construction,
				  reconstruction, repair, alteration, improvement, extension, operation, and
				  maintenance of a project of, or for the benefit of, the local government unit,
				  school district, or State governmental entity or a State or county college or
				  university.
"Public-private partnership program" means the public-private
				  partnership procurement model as authorized by
				  P.L.
				  2018, c. 90.
"School district" means, consistent with the definition in
				  N.J.S.A. 18A:7G-3, a local or regional school district established pursuant to
				  Chapter 8 or Chapter 13 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, a county
				  special services school district established pursuant to article 8 of Chapter
				  46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, a county vocational school district
				  established pursuant to article 3 of Chapter 54 of Title 18A of the New Jersey
				  Statutes, a district under full State intervention pursuant to N.J.S.A.
				  18A:7A-34et seq., and a charter school established pursuant to N.J.S.A.
				  18A:36A-1et seq., that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner
				  of Education and the Chief Executive Officer of the Schools Development
				  Authority, that a new school facility is necessary due to overcrowding, or the
				  existing school facility is in need of replacement.
"State government entity" means the State or any department,
				  agency, commission, or authority thereof subject to the public contracting
				  provisions of P.L. 1954, c. 48 (N.J.S.A. 52:34-6et seq.), including the South
				  Jersey Port Corporation created pursuant to "The South Jersey Port Corporation
				  Act," P.L. 1968, c. 60 (N.J.S.A. 12:11A-1et seq.), and New Jersey Transit.
				  State government entity shall not include any State institution of higher
				  education.
"State or county college or university" means an institution
				  of higher education organized pursuant to Chapter 64 or Chapter 64A of Title
				  18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology,
				  established pursuant to Chapter 64E of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes,
				  Rowan University, established pursuant to Chapter 64M of Title 18A of the New
				  Jersey Statutes, Montclair State University, established pursuant to Chapter
				  64N of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, as well as Rutgers, the State
				  University, established pursuant to Chapter 65 of Title 18A of the New Jersey
				  Statutes.
"Stipend" means the payment of a private entity for work
				  product submitted in response to a public-private partnership proposal released
				  by a local government unit or State government entity, where the cost of the
				  development of a proposal is significant and there is a substantial opportunity
				  for innovation on the part of the local government unit or State government
				  entity. All work product in this instance shall then be jointly owned,
				  including the technologies, techniques, methods, processes, ideas, and
				  information contained in the proposal, project design, and project financial
				  plan, by the local government unit or State governmental entity.
"Tax Exempt Bond" means a bond issued by a municipal, county,
				  State government, or other entity or political subdivision, including an
				  independent authority, whose interest payments are not subject to Federal,
				  State, or local income tax.
"Unsolicited proposal process" means the process required for
				  consideration of an unsolicited proposal by a local government unit, school
				  district, State entity, or State or county college or university, including the
				  procedures for providing notice of receipt of an unsolicited proposal,
				  solicitation of additional competitive proposals from qualified entities,
				  evaluation and ranking of all proposals received, including the unsolicited
				  proposal, public hearing regarding the proposed project, and determination of
				  the selected proposal.