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32:8-3. Powers of commission
32:8-3. For the effectuation of its authorized purposes, the commission is hereby granted the following powers as limited and supplemented by P.L.1994, c.176 (C.32:8-3.5 et seq.) and P.L.1994, c.177 (C.32:8-3.8 et seq.):
(a) To have perpetual succession.
(b) To sue and be sued.
(c) To adopt and use an official seal.
(d) To elect a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer and appoint an engineer. The secretary, treasurer, and engineer need not be members of the commission.
(e) To adopt suitable by-laws for the management of its affairs.
(f) To appoint such other officers, agents and employees as it may require for the performance of its duties.
(g) To determine the qualifications and duties of its appointees, and to fix their compensation, except that the commission shall not employ directly or as an independent contractor a member of the commission for a period of two years after the expiration of the term of office of that member.
(h) To enter into contracts.
(i) To acquire, own, hire, use, operate, and dispose of personal property.
(j) To acquire, own, use, lease, operate, and dispose of real property and interest in real property, and to make improvements thereon.
(k) To grant the use of, by franchise, lease, and otherwise, and to make and collect charges for the use of, any property or facility owned or controlled by it.
(l) To borrow money upon its bonds or other obligations, either with or without security.
(m) To exercise the power of eminent domain.
(n) To determine the exact location, system, and character of, and all other matters in connection with, any and all improvements or facilities which it may be authorized to own, construct, establish, effectuate, maintain, operate or control.
(o) In addition to the foregoing powers, to exercise the powers, duties, authority and jurisdiction heretofore conferred and imposed upon the aforesaid commissions, hereby constituted a joint commission by reciprocal legislation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey, with respect to the acquisition of toll bridges over the Delaware River, the management, operation and maintenance of such bridges, and the location, acquisition, construction, administration, operation and maintenance of additional bridge communications over the Delaware River at any location north of the boundary line between Bucks county and Philadelphia county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as extended across the Delaware River to the New Jersey shore of said river. The powers granted in this paragraph shall be in addition to those powers granted by paragraph (a) of Article X of this agreement.
(p) To exercise all other powers, not inconsistent with the Constitutions of the States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey or of the United States, which may be reasonably necessary or incidental to the effectuation of its authorized purposes or to the exercise of any of the powers granted to the commission by this agreement or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, except the power to levy taxes or assessments for benefits; and generally to exercise, in connection with its property and affairs and in connection with property under its control, any and all powers which might be exercised by a natural person or a private corporation in connection with similar property and affairs.
(q) To acquire, construct, rehabilitate, improve, maintain, lease as lessor or as lessee, repair and operate port and terminal facilities as hereinafter defined within the district, including the dredging of ship channels and turning basins and the filling and grading of land therefor.
(r) To provide from time to time for the issuance of its bonds or other obligations for any one or more of its corporate purposes; all bonds and other obligations hereafter issued by the commission shall have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments.
(s) To fix, charge, and collect fees, rentals, tolls and other charges for the use of any of its port and terminal facilities so as to provide funds at least sufficient, with other funds available for such purposes (1) to pay the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating such port and terminal facilities, including the administrative expenses of the commission chargeable thereto, (2) to pay the bonds or other obligations issued on account of such facilities and the interest thereon as the same become due and payable, and (3) to provide reserves for such purposes, and to pledge such funds, over and above such costs of maintenance, repair and operation, to the payment of such bonds or other obligations and the interest thereon.
(t) To petition the Interstate Commerce Commission, any public service or public utilities commission, or any other Federal, State or local authority, whether administrative, judicial or legislative, for the adoption and execution of any physical improvement, change in method, rate of transportation, system of handling freight, warehousing, docking, lightering or transfer of freight, which, in the opinion of the commission, may be designed to improve or facilitate the movement or handling of commerce within the district or improve the terminal or transportation facilities therein.
As used in this agreement the term ~port and terminal facilities~ shall mean and shall include, without intending thereby to limit the definition of such term, any one or more of the following or any combination thereof:
(1) every kind of terminal or storage structure or facility now in use or hereafter designed for use in the handling, storage, loading or unloading of freight or passengers at steamship, railroad or motor terminals or airports, and every kind of transportation facility now in use or hereafter designed for use in connection therewith; and
(2) all real and personal property and all works, buildings, structures, equipment, machinery, appliances and appurtenances necessary or convenient for the proper construction, equipment, maintenance and operation of such facility or facilities or any one or more of them.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement or any provision of law, State or Federal, to the contrary, the commission may combine for financing purposes any port and terminal facility or facilities constructed or acquired by it under the provisions of this agreement with any bridge or bridges heretofore or hereafter constructed or acquired by the commission, subject to any limitations contained in any trust indenture securing bonds of the commission at the time outstanding.
The powers herein granted to the commission with reference to port and terminal facilities shall supersede the right to exercise any such powers within the district, as defined in paragraph (e) of Article I of this agreement, by any other body which has been heretofore created by compact or agreement between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey.
Nothing contained in any other of the provisions of this compact or agreement shall be deemed or construed to amend, modify or repeal any of the powers, rights or duties conferred by, or limitations or restrictions expressed in, Article X of this compact or agreement, or any of the provisions of said Article X relating to a bridge to be constructed, operated and maintained by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission or the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, acting alone or in conjunction with each other.
Notwithstanding the above, each state reserves the right to provide by law for the exercise of a veto power by the Governor of that state over any action of any commissioner from that state at any time within 10 days (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays in the particular state excepted) after receipt at the Governor@s office of a certified copy of the minutes of the meeting at which such vote was taken. Each state may provide by law for the manner of delivery of such minutes, and for notification of the action thereon.
Amended 1952,c.333,ss.1(2),2-5; 1994,c.173,s.3.
32:8-3.1. Supplemental compact to have force of statute upon its signature
Upon its signature on behalf of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the supplemental compact or agreement hereinabove set forth shall become binding, and shall have the force and effect of a statute of the State of New Jersey, and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission shall thereupon become vested with all the powers, rights, and privileges, and be subject to the duties and obligations contained therein, as though the same were specifically authorized and imposed by statute, and the State of New Jersey shall be bound by all of the obligations assumed by it under such supplemental compact or agreement, and the Governor shall transmit an original signed copy thereof to the Secretary of State for filing in his office.
L.1952, c. 333, p. 1070, s. 2.
32:8-3.2. Consent and approval of Congress
The Governor is hereby authorized to apply, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, to the Congress of the United States for its consent and approval to such supplemental compact or agreement.
L.1952, c. 333, p. 1071, s. 3.
32:8-3.3. Partial invalidity
If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
L.1952, c. 333, p. 1071, s. 4.
32:8-3.4. Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately; but the Governor shall not enter into the supplemental compact or agreement hereinabove set forth on behalf of the State of New Jersey until passage by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of a substantially similar act, embodying the supplemental compact or agreement between the two States.
L.1952, c. 333, p. 1071, s. 5.
32:8-3.5. Findings, declarations
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission was created by this State and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with the consent of Congress, to provide an efficient means of carrying out the planning, construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of certain Delaware River crossings.
b. The State and the Commonwealth rely upon the commission to competently execute the duties and powers delegated to it as well as to carefully manage the not inconsiderable financial means available to the commission.
c. Notwithstanding the delegation of power to the commission, it is incumbent upon the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to ensure that the commission executes its powers in a manner which ensures fairness to prospective employees. In addition, it is appropriate for the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to include certain fundamental governmental policies, such as equal employment opportunity, in the commission@s enabling laws.
d. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the public to supplement or limit the powers of the commission, as the case may be, to ensure that commission employment practices are in accordance with the public policies of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
L.1994,c.176,s.1.
32:8-3.6 Equal opportunity employment; awarding of contracts.
2. a. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission shall formulate and abide by an affirmative action program of equal opportunity whereby it will provide equal employment opportunity to members of minority groups qualified in all employment categories, including persons with disabilities, in accordance with the provisions of the ~Law Against Discrimination,~ P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1) and the ~Pennsylvania Human Relations Act,~ number 222 of the laws of Pennsylvania of 1955, except in the case of the mentally disabled, if it can be clearly shown that such disability would prevent such person from performing a particular job.
b. Contracts and subcontracts to be awarded by the commission in connection with the construction, renovation or reconstruction of any structure or facility owned or used by the commission shall contain appropriate provisions by which contractors and subcontractors or their assignees agree to afford an equal employment opportunity to all prospective employees and to all actual employees to be employed by the contractor or subcontractor in accordance with an affirmative action program consonant with the provisions of the ~Law Against Discrimination,~ P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1) and the ~Pennsylvania Human Relations Act,~ number 222 of the laws of Pennsylvania of 1955.
L.1994,c.176,s.2; amended 2003, c.180, s.27.
32:8-3.7. Hiring practice policy
3. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, in the exercise of its authority to appoint officers, agents and employees, shall adopt a policy of open and competitive hiring practices. The policy shall provide, at a minimum, that:
a. Job application forms shall be available at all commission facilities; and
b. All open positions shall be advertised in at least two newspapers published in New Jersey and two newspapers published in Pennsylvania.
L.1994,c.176,s.3.
32:8-3.8. Findings, declarations
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission was created by this State and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with the consent of Congress, to provide an efficient means of carrying out the planning, construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of certain Delaware River crossings .
b. The State and the Commonwealth rely upon the commission to competently execute the duties and powers delegated to it as well as carefully managing the not inconsiderable financial means available to the commission.
c. Notwithstanding the delegation of power to the commission, it is incumbent upon the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to ensure that the commission carries out its duties in a manner which ensures prudent use of toll payer monies.
d. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the public to supplement or limit the powers of the commission, as the case may be, to require the commission to competitively bid contracts in accordance with the public policies of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
L.1994,c.177,s.1.
32:8-3.9. Operating rules, procedures; competitive purchasing
2. a. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, in the exercise of its authority to make and enter into contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers, shall adopt standing operating rules and procedures requiring that, except as hereinafter provided, no contract on behalf of the commission shall be entered into for the doing of any work, or for the hiring of equipment or vehicles, where the sum to be expended exceeds $10,000 unless the commission shall first publicly advertise for bids therefor, and requiring that the commission award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder; provided, however, that such advertising shall not be required where the contract to be entered into is one for the furnishing or performing services of a professional nature or for the supplying of any product or the rendering of any service by a public utility subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utility Commissioners of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Board of Public Utilities of this State and tariffs and schedules of the charges, made, charged, or exacted by the public utility for any such products to be supplied or services to be rendered are filed with the appropriate boards.
This subsection shall not prevent the commission from having any work done by its own employees, nor shall it apply to repairs, or to the furnishing of materials, supplies or labor, or the hiring of equipment or vehicles, when the safety or protection of its or other public property or the public convenience require, or the exigency of the commission@s service will not admit of such advertisement. In such case the commission shall, by resolution, passed by the affirmative vote of a majority of its members, declare the exigency or emergency to exist, and set forth in the resolution the nature thereof and the approximate amount to be so expended.
b. The commission may annually adjust the threshold amount in direct proportion to the rise or fall of the consumer price index for all urban consumers in the New York City and Philadelphia areas as reported by the United States Department of Labor.
L.1994,c.177,s.2.
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