New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 19 - OTHER AGENCIES › NEW JERSEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY › Chapter 31H - URBAN TRANSIT HUB TAX CREDIT PROGRAM › Subchapter 1 - URBAN TRANSIT HUB TAX CREDIT PROGRAM › Section 19:31H-1.15 - Approval process

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) All
				  completed applications for eligibility in the program shall be presented to the
				  Board for approval or denial.
(b)
				  When the members act to approve or deny a request, the minutes of the public
				  meeting at which such determination occurs are submitted to the
				  Governor.
(c) The Board's action
				  shall be effective 10 working days after the Governor's receipt of the minutes,
				  provided no veto has been issued.
(d) An applicant may challenge the Board's
				  action by submitting in writing to the Authority, within 20 calendar days from
				  the date of the Board's action, an explanation as to how the applicant has met
				  the program criteria. Such challenges are not contested cases subject to the
				  requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, 52:14B-1 et seq., and the
				  Uniform Administrative Procedure Rules, N.J.A.C. 1:1.
(e) Challenges that are timely submitted in
				  accordance with (d) above shall be handled by the Authority as follows:
1. The chief executive officer shall
				  designate an employee of the Authority to serve as a hearing officer for the
				  challenge and to make a recommendation on the merits of the challenge to the
				  Board. The hearing officer shall perform a review of the written record and may
				  require an in-person hearing. The hearing officer shall have sole discretion to
				  determine if an in-person hearing is necessary to reach an informed decision on
				  the challenge. In the case of an application submitted in response to a
				  competitive solicitation, the Authority shall not consider any new evidence or
				  information about the project, but must consider only evidence or information
				  submitted as of the solicitation submission deadline. In the case of an
				  application submitted other than in response to a competitive solicitation, the
				  Authority may consider new evidence or information that would demonstrate that
				  the applicant meets all of the application criteria.
2. Following completion of the record review
				  and/or in-person hearing, as applicable, the hearing officer shall issue a
				  written report to the Board containing his or her finding(s) and
				  recommendation(s) on the merits of the challenge. The hearing officer's report
				  shall be advisory in nature. The chief executive officer, or equivalent
				  officer, of the Authority may also include a recommendation to the written
				  report of the hearing officer. The applicant shall receive a copy of the
				  written report of the hearing officer and shall have the opportunity to file
				  written comments and exceptions to the hearing officer's report within a
				  reasonable amount of time from receipt of such report.
3. The Board shall consider the hearing
				  officer's report, the recommendation of the chief executive officer, or
				  equivalent officer, if any, and any written comments and exceptions timely
				  submitted by the applicant. Based on that review, the Board shall issue a final
				  decision on the challenge. Such decision shall become effective 10 working days
				  after the Governor's receipt of the minutes of the public meeting at which such
				  decision occurs, provided no veto has been issued. The applicant shall have the
				  opportunity to attend the public meeting at which the Board considers its
				  challenge.
4. Final decisions
				  rendered by the Board shall be appealable to the Superior Court, Appellate
				  Division, in accordance with the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New
				  Jersey.