Redevelopment reform bill

TRENTON — Legislation aimed at enhancing protections and oversight for public investments in private redevelopment projects in New Jersey may soon become law, but some environmentalists say the current bill doesn’t go far enough. The Legislature approved the measure (A-2650/S-1769) in late June, and Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign it. Known as the “EnCap reform bill” — a reference to the failed multimillion-dollar development plan to build a golf course and housing on four Meadowlands landfills — it requires businesses getting more than $50 million in public aid for private redevelopment projects to file annual, independently audited financial statements with the state treasurer and each entity from which it secured financing. It also requires businesses to spend at least $1 for every $5 received in public funds and pay for a performance bond — the amount of which would be tied to the project costs attributable to the publicly funded improvements. Businesses also would only be able to get 90 percent of the total approved public funds at first, and the rest after the project is completed.