WHEREAS, the Task Force was directed (1) to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing procedures involved in the siting of billboards on public and private property, and the degree of involvement that State and local government agencies have in the siting and approval process, (2) to catalog the existing policies and practices in place for all State departments, agencies and independent authorities regarding the sale, lease, development and erection of billboards in the State, (3) to make recommendations concerning how the process and procedures should be altered in order to insure the integrity of the siting decisions and associated contracts; and (4) to evaluate the feasibility of reducing new billboard construction in New Jersey; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 59 imposed a 120-day moratorium on the approval of any permit application, contract, sale or lease for billboards on State-owned property or property of any State department, agency or independent authority; and

WHEREAS, the Task Force has completed its mission in a timely and exemplary fashion, and has transmitted its report containing recommendations for legislative and policy changes designed to achieve the goals of Executive Order No. 59, namely that higher, uniform standards be followed by State agencies in dealing with the billboard industry, and that local communities must be provided the opportunity for meaningful input regarding all billboards sited in their municipalities; and

WHEREAS, it will take time to convert these recommendations into proposed legislation and to achieve their enactment; and

WHEREAS, there remains a compelling need to continue the suspension of the siting and construction of new billboards on State property until the new legislative framework is put in place;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES E. McGREEVEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

1. The moratorium on the approval of any permit application or contract for the design, construction or erection of any new billboards on State-owned property or property owned by any State department, agency or independent authority established by Executive Order No. 59 is hereby continued until the current legislative session of the New Jersey Legislature is completed, so that the Legislature has an opportunity to enact appropriate legislation.
   
2. The New Jersey Department of Transportation and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are hereby directed to make recommendations on increasing the number of billboard-free roadways in scenic locations.
   
3. This Order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 29th day
of August in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand
and Three, and of the Independence of the United States,
the Two Hundred and Twenty-Eighth.

James E. McGreevey
Governor

[seal]