22. a. There is established in the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank a special fund to be known as the Transportation Loan Origination Fee Fund.

The Transportation Loan Origination Fee Fund shall be credited with:

(1) moneys deposited into the fund as loan origination fees received by the trust and paid by loan applicants for transportation projects, aviation projects, and marine projects financed under the New Jersey Transportation Infrastructure Financing Program; and

(2) any interest paid on the amounts of the transportation loan origination fees.

b. Moneys in the Transportation Loan Origination Fee Fund shall be drawn and used by the trust to reimburse the trust and then the Department of Transportation for administrative and operating expenses incurred in administering the New Jersey Transportation Infrastructure Financing Program, except that the total amount expended by the trust for administrative and operating expenses in any fiscal year shall not exceed $8,000,000. The monies in the Transportation Loan Origination Fee Fund shall also be available for application by the trust for loans to local government units for the cost of transportation projects, aviation projects, and marine projects. Amounts in excess of the funds drawn by the Department of Transportation from the Transportation Loan Origination Fee Fund during any given fiscal year shall be carried forward into the following fiscal year and held on deposit in the fund.

c. As used in this section, “transportation loan origination fee” means the fee charged by the trust in connection with engineering and environmental services provided by the Department of Transportation to a project sponsor pursuant to such project sponsor’s participation in the New Jersey Transportation Financing Program. A project sponsor may finance any portion of the transportation loan origination fee through the trust through a transportation loan by the trust to such project sponsor.

L.2016, c.56, s.22; amended 2019, c.194, s.3; 2019, c.516, s.5; 2021, c.74, s.6.