34:1B-281 Redevelopment agreement.
13. a. Following approval of an application by the board, but prior to the start of any remediation or clean up at the site of the redevelopment project, except activities disclosed at the time of approval, the authority shall enter into a redevelopment agreement with the developer. The chief executive officer of the authority shall negotiate the terms and conditions of the redevelopment agreement on behalf of the State.
b. The redevelopment agreement shall specify the amount of the tax credit to be awarded to the developer, the date on which the developer shall complete the remediation, and the projected project remediation cost. The redevelopment agreement shall require the developer to submit progress reports to the authority and to the department every six months pursuant to section 15 of P.L.2020, c.156 (C.34:1B-283).
c. The authority shall not enter into a redevelopment agreement with a developer unless:
(1) the redevelopment project complies with standards established by the authority in accordance with the green building manual prepared by the Commissioner of Community Affairs pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2007, c.132 (C.52:27D-130.6), regarding the use of renewable energy, energy-efficient technology, and non-renewable resources to reduce environmental degradation and encourage long-term cost reduction;
(2) the redevelopment project complies with the authority's affirmative action requirements, adopted pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1979, c.303 (C.34:1B-5.4); and
(3) the developer pays each worker employed to perform remediation work, construction work, or building services work at the redevelopment project not less than the prevailing wage rate in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (6) of subsection b. of section 12 of P.L.2020, c.156 (C.34:1B-280) for the worker's craft or trade, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.).
d. The authority shall not enter into a redevelopment agreement unless the developer demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Department of Environmental Protection, that the developer did not discharge a hazardous substance at the brownfield site proposed to be in the redevelopment agreement, is not in any way responsible for the hazardous substance, and is not a corporate successor to the discharger or to any person in any way responsible for the hazardous substance or to anyone liable for cleanup and removal costs pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1976, c.141 (C.58:10-23.11g).
e. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the authority shall not enter into a redevelopment agreement for a redevelopment project that includes at least one retail establishment that will have more than 10 employees, or at least one distribution center that will have more than 20 employees, unless the redevelopment agreement includes a precondition that any business that serves as the owner or operator of the retail establishment or distribution center enters into a labor harmony agreement with a labor organization or cooperating labor organizations which represent retail or distribution center employees in the State.
(2) A labor harmony agreement shall be required only if the State has a proprietary interest in the redevelopment project and shall remain in effect for as long as the State acts as a market participant in the redevelopment project. The authority may enter into a redevelopment agreement with a developer without the labor harmony agreement required under paragraph (1) of this subsection only if the authority determines that the redevelopment project would not be feasible if a labor harmony agreement is required. The authority shall support the determination by a written finding, which provides the specific basis for the determination.
(3) As used in this subsection, "labor harmony agreement" means an agreement between a business that serves as the owner or operator of a retail establishment or distribution center and one or more labor organizations, which requires, for the duration of the agreement: that any participating labor organization and its members agree to refrain from picketing, work stoppages, boycotts, or other economic interference against the business; and that the business agrees to maintain a neutral posture with respect to efforts of any participating labor organization to represent employees at an establishment or other unit in the retail establishment or distribution center, agrees to permit the labor organization to have access to the employees, and agrees to guarantee to the labor organization the right to obtain recognition as the exclusive collective bargaining representatives of the employees in an establishment or unit at the retail establishment or distribution center by demonstrating to the New Jersey State Board of Mediation, Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement, or a mutually agreed-upon, neutral, third-party, that a majority of workers in the unit have shown their preference for the labor organization to be their representative by signing authorization cards indicating that preference. The labor organization or organizations shall be from a list of labor organizations that have requested to be on the list and that the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development has determined represent substantial numbers of retail or distribution center employees in the State.
f. The redevelopment agreement shall provide that issuance of a tax credit under the program shall be conditioned upon the subrogation to the department of all rights of the developer to recover remediation costs from any other person who discharges a hazardous substance or is in any way responsible, pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1976, c.141 (C.58:10-23.11g), for a hazardous substance that was discharged at the brownfield site.
g. A developer may seek a revision to the redevelopment agreement if the developer cannot complete the remediation on or before the date set forth in the redevelopment agreement. A developer's ability to change the date on which the developer shall complete the remediation shall be subject to the availability of tax credits in the year of the revised date of completion.
h. A developer shall submit to the authority satisfactory evidence of the actual remediation costs, as certified by a certified public accountant, and a Licensed Site Remediation Professional for costs under the jurisdiction of the "Site Remediation Reform Act," sections 1 through 29 of P.L.2009, c.60 (C.58:10C-1 et seq.), and as applicable, other appropriate licensed or certified professional for costs that are not under the jurisdiction of the "Site Remediation Reform Act," evidence of completion of the remediation as demonstrated by a Response Action Outcome where the remediation is subject to the "Site Remediation Reform Act," a certification from the appropriate licensed or certified professional for other remedial activities, and a certification that all information provided by the developer to the authority is true, including information contained in the application, the redevelopment agreement, any amendment to the redevelopment agreement, and any other information submitted by the developer to the authority pursuant to sections 9 through 19 of P.L.2020, c.156 (C.34:1B-277 through C.34:1B-287). The developer, or an authorized agent of the developer, shall certify under the penalty of perjury that the information provided pursuant to this subsection is true.
i. The redevelopment agreement shall include a provision allowing the authority to recapture the tax credits for any year in which the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, or the Department of the Treasury that advises the authority that the developer is not in substantial good standing with the respective department, nor has the developer entered into an agreement with the respective department that includes a practical corrective action plan for the developer. The redevelopment agreement shall also include a provision allowing the authority to recapture the tax credits for any year in which the developer fails to confirm that each contractor or subcontractor performing work at the redevelopment project: (1) is registered as required by "The Public Works Contractor Registration Act," P.L.1999, c.238 (C.34:11-56.48 et seq.); (2) has not been debarred by Department of Labor and Workforce Development from engaging in or bidding on Public Works Contracts in New Jersey, and (3) possesses a tax clearance certificate issued by the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury. The redevelopment agreement shall also require a developer to engage in on-site consultations with the Division of Workplace Safety and Health in the Department of Health.
L.2020, c.156, s.13; amended 2021, c.160, s.7.