There shall be annually appropriated a sum which shall be apportioned among municipalities which qualify for State aid under the provisions of this act for the purpose of enabling such municipalities to maintain and upgrade municipal services and to offset local property taxes. In addition to any amount so apportioned there shall be added to the amount to be paid and distributed to any qualifying municipality which is entitled to State aid pursuant to this act such amount as may be necessary so that the amount to which such municipality is entitled to receive in any year shall not be less than the amount which such municipality received in the preceding year pursuant to this act or, in the first year of this act’s operations. P.L.1976, c. 12, provided, however, that from the moneys appropriated to fund this act, payments shall first be apportioned so that each municipality which received payments in 1977 pursuant to P.L.1977, c. 38, receives the same amount which it received in 1977 pursuant to P.L.1977, c. 38, even if after such payments are made insufficient funds remain for increased distributions to municipalities which already are qualifying municipalities or for new distributions to municipalities which become qualifying municipalities; and further provided that each municipality in the first year it qualifies for said State aid payments shall receive payments pursuant to this act before any municipalities which had received such State aid in the preceding year pursuant to this act or P.L.1977, c. 38 shall receive any payments in excess of the payments received in the preceding year. Any provision herein to the contrary notwithstanding, a municipality which has received State aid pursuant to P.L.1971, c. 64 as supplemented but which is no longer a qualifying municipality pursuant to this act shall receive, in any year in which it has qualified bonds outstanding pursuant to P.L.1976, c. 38 (C. 40A:3-1 et seq.) and which were issued prior to the effective date of this act, the amount which it received in 1977 pursuant to P.L.1977, c. 38.

L.1978, c. 14, s. 2, eff. March 30, 1978.