WHEREAS, New Jersey has a diverse and active air transportation system,
consisting of 3 commercial air carrier airports, 45 public use general aviation
airports, 77 special and restricted use airports and 361 heliports; and
WHEREAS, the public use general aviation airports are a critical part
of New Jersey's multimodal transportation and economic infrastructure,
serving corporate, business, recreational and flight training activity;
and
WHEREAS, New Jersey is home to over 15,000 FAA licensed aviators and
4,000 permanently based general aviation aircraft, 90% of which are based
at 32 "core" general aviation airports in New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, the general aviation industry in New Jersey helps generate
nearly $4.6 billion in economic activity annually and provides the state's
workforce with approximately 70,000 jobs related to all aspects of civil
aviation; and
WHEREAS, New Jersey's general aviation transportation infrastructure
is critical for the continued support and growth of New Jersey-based corporate
headquarters and plays a key role in the retention and attraction of major
businesses and industrial firms to the state; and
WHEREAS, New Jersey has seen a decline in the number of its public use
general aviation airports in the past few decades, shrinking from 82 in
1950 to only 45 such facilities in 2003; and
WHEREAS, the most recent public use general aviation airport built in
New Jersey was in 1983 and since then 13 such facilities have closed;
and
WHEREAS, New Jersey's system of public use general aviation airports
is unique in that more than half of these airports are privately owned,
as opposed to publicly owned, and are thus particularly vulnerable to
sale to developers, closure and conversion to more profitable non-aviation
uses; and
WHEREAS, the continued long-term loss of public use general aviation
airports is the biggest single threat to the future viability of New Jersey's
overall aviation system; and
WHEREAS, New Jersey is committed to both arresting the decline of its
existing general aviation airport infrastructure and preserving and rehabilitating
its core airport system, consistent with the principles of "Fix-it-First"
and "Smart Growth";
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:
- There is hereby established a General Aviation Review Commission ("Commission")
to examine and evaluate the current status and future prospects of New
Jersey's general aviation airport system.
- The Commission shall be within the Department of Transportation and
consist of seventeen (17) members whom shall include the following:
- Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, or his designee;
- Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, or
his designee;
- Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, or her designee;
- State Treasurer, or his designee;
- Director of the State Planning Commission, or his designee;
- Twelve (12) public members, to be appointed by the Governor,
nine (9) of whom shall include the following: a representative of
the League of Municipalities, a member of the New Jersey Aviation
Association, a licensed commercial pilot, a licensed recreational
pilot, a regional transportation official, a person with knowledge
of aviation security, an owner/manager of a general aviation airport,
a flight school owner or faculty member, a person with expertise
in land use matters. The remaining three (3) public members shall
have a general interest and/or expertise in aviation matters.
- The Governor shall appoint the Chair of the Commission from among
its members. The Commission shall organize as soon as may be practicable
after the appointment of its members. The members shall appoint a secretary,
who need not be a member of the Commission.
- It shall be the charge and duty of the Commission to accomplish the
following:
- Inventory the state's existing public use general aviation airport
facilities and identify the role each facility plays vis-à-vis its
location within the state and the demands of its users;
- Consider solutions and alternatives for the preservation of the
existing public use general aviation airports, including but not
limited to the public acquisition of privately owned airports and/or
the purchase of airport development rights; and
- Develop recommendations and strategies for the preservation and
rehabilitation of existing public use general aviation airports,
consistent with the principles of "Fix-it-First" and "Smart Growth".
- The Commission shall meet at the call of the Chair. The Commission
is authorized to call to its assistance and avail itself of the resources
of any State department, board, bureau, commission or agency, to carry
out its responsibilities under this Order. Each department, board, bureau,
commission or agency is hereby required to cooperate with the Commission
and furnish it with such information, personnel and assistance as is
necessary to accomplish the purpose of this Order.
- The Commission shall issue a final report to the Governor containing
its findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for
legislation that it deems appropriate, not later than one year after
the Commission organizes. The work of the Commission shall be concluded
upon completion of the report to the Governor and shall be dissolved
thirty days from the date of that report.
- Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation and at
the pleasure of the Governor.
- This Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 24th day
of October in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand
and Three, and of the Independence of the United States,
the Two Hundred and Twenty-Eighth.
/s/ James E. McGreevey
Governor
[seal]
Attest:
/s/ Michael R. DeCotiis
Chief Counsel to the Governor