New Jersey Gov. Murphy renews state’s Transportation Trust Fund for five years

On March 26, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation to renew the state’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) for five more years, which will invest billions to modernize and maintain New Jersey’s statewide transportation infrastructure while providing additional capital funding for New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit). 

“New Jersey sits at the heart of one of the busiest stretches of commerce in the entire world,” Murphy said. “Whether it’s trying to get home to their families after a long day or shipping critical goods to keep our economy humming, our residents and our businesses depend on the strength of our transportation system to get where they need to go. This legislation will ensure we deliver for them by enabling us to rebuild and maintain our entire transportation system while creating thousands of good-paying jobs in the years to come and easing the burden of property taxes by offsetting these costs for local governments.”  

“The reauthorization of the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund is foundational to the continued investment in our transportation infrastructure,” said Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, chief of staff to Gov. Murphy and former New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) commissioner. “Transportation keeps our communities moving and our economy strong. I remember the impact it had on our brothers and sisters in labor when the previous administration could not reach a deal in time and projects all over the state were forced to halt or shut down. With this in mind, we were determined – and now proud – to reach a good agreement months ahead of time to ensure that this critical work will continue without interruption.”  

The New Jersey TTF was established by the Legislature in 1984 and has since been reauthorized seven times. The last reauthorization in 2016, under the previous administration, occurred after the previous authorization had expired, halting projects until a new agreement could be reached. That reauthorization has primarily been implemented by the Murphy Administration, with the largest capital program ever executed by NJDOT occurring in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 

During the course of the five-year renewal, the TTF will:  

• Establish a five-year program, beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2029, to ensure a steady stream of revenue to support statewide transportation projects. The law annually adjusts the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax rate by updating the statutorily prescribed revenue target, commonly referred to as the “highway fuel cap,” which is currently based on 2016 highway fuel tax collections. 
• Authorize roughly $10.4 billion in appropriations for the state’s Annual Transportation Capital Program from FY 2025 through FY 2029. Of that amount, an estimated $2.3 billion will be passed on as state aid to counties and municipalities for transportation projects. 
• Provide up to $8.84 billion in bonding authority to the Transportation Trust Fund Authority during the five-year period (approximately $1.76 billion annually). 
• Provide roughly $1.5 billion in pay-as-you-go funding for transportation projects, grow the $2 billion maximum annual capital program amount by three percent per year in years three, four and five of the reauthorization, which coincides with the end of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding. The incremental revenue growth will be split evenly among NJDOT, NJ Transit, county governments and municipal governments, providing greater investment at the county and local level and relieving the pressure on local property taxpayers to fund infrastructure investments. 
• Bolster NJ Transit by providing an additional $91.8 million during the last three years of the program to augment the $767 million the agency currently receives annually from the TTF to fund new capital projects. By year five, NJ Transit will receive more than $813 million annually for capital projects. 
• Establish an annual electric vehicle fee of $250 (with increases of $10 per year in each of the remaining four years), which will ensure that all motorists using the roads share in the responsibility to maintain their conditions. 

“We appreciate the Legislature taking action to renew the TTF, which is vital to maintaining and improving our state’s transportation infrastructure,” said NJDOT Acting Commissioner Fran O’Connor. “In addition to funding projects on Interstate and State highways, TTF funding profoundly impacts our local communities at the county and municipal levels. This bill increases funding for NJDOT’s Local Aid programs so even more critical infrastructure projects can get done at the local level.”