A 1517 — Establishes NJ Native Seed Commission to develop plan to increase production and use of native seeds in State.

A1517 1R [First Reprint] ASSEMBLY, No.

Assemblyman CLINTON CALABRESE District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)  Assemblywoman   ANNETTE  QUIJANO  District SYNOPSIS20     (Union) Establishes  NJCo-Sponsored Nativeby: Seed Commission to develop plan to increase production and use of native seeds in State.

Assemblywomen Donlon, Swain and Assemblyman Tully   CURRENT  VERSION  OF  TEXTSYNOPSIS      IntroducedEstablishes PendingNJ TechnicalNative ReviewSeed byCommission Legislativeto Counsel.develop plan to increase production and use of native seeds in State.

  CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT      As reported by the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on June 15, 2026, with amendments.

       1.    a.a.  There is established in the Department of Agriculture the New Jersey Native Seed Commission.  The purpose of the commission shall be to develop a plan to:

 There     is(1)   establishedincrease in the Departmentproduction of Agriculturenative theseeds Newin Jersey Native Seed Commission.  The purpose of the commissionState; shall be to develop a plan to:

     (1) (2)   increase the productionuse of native seeds in public land management, roadside landscaping, reforestation, habitat restoration, and other projects as determined by the State;commission;

and      (2) (3)   increaseensure thethat use of native seeds inare publiccommercially landavailable management,in roadsidethe landscaping,State reforestation,at habitata restoration,reasonable cost and otherin projectsadequate assupply.  determined     byb.  theThe commission;commission shall consist of 1[9] 111 members as follows:

and      (3) (1)   ensurethe thatSecretary nativeof seedsAgriculture, are commercially available in the StateCommissioner atof aEnvironmental reasonableProtection, cost and inthe adequateCommissioner supply. of     Transportation, b.   who The commission shall consistserve ofex 9officio, membersor astheir follows:respective designees;

1[and]1      (1) (2)   The Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissionerfollowing ofpublic Environmentalmembers, Protection,appointed andby the CommissionerGovernor: of Transportation, who shall serve ex officio, or their respective designees;

and      (2)  the following public members, appointed by the Governor:

     (d) (d)   one member with experience or expertise in highway engineering and roadside landscaping;       (e)   one member of the academic community with expertise in native plants and native seeds;

and      (f)   one member representing an environmental education and conservation advocacy organization in the State.State1;

     c.   (3)   Allone appointmentspublic to the commission shall be made no later than 90 days after the effective date of this act.  Each member shallwith serveexpertise for the duration of the commission, and vacancies shall be filled in the samehorticulture mannerindustry, asappointed theby original appointments.  The members of the commissionSenate shallPresident; serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

and      d.   (4)   Theone commission shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its public members and shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members, as well as a secretary who need not be a member ofwith theexpertise commission. in A majority of the membershiphorticulture ofindustry, theappointed commissionby shall constitute a quorum for the transactionSpeaker of commission business.  The commission may meet and hold hearings at the placeGeneral orAssembly1. places the commission designates.

     c.  All appointments to the commission shall be made no later than 90 days after the effective date of this act.  Each member shall serve for the duration of the commission, and vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.  The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

     d.  The commission shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its public members and shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members, as well as a secretary who need not be a member of the commission.  A majority of the membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of commission business.  The commission may meet and hold hearings at the place or places the commission designates.

     e.   e.  No later than one year after its organization, the commission shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, a final report detailing the commission’s plan to increase the production and use of native seeds in the State, including any recommendations for legislative or regulatory action that are necessary to effectuate the plan.      1The f.     The commission shall expire 30 days after submission of its final report pursuantprepared toby subsectionthe e.commission shall include:

of this section.       g.   (1) As an usedassessment inof thisthe section,current “nativeand seed”projected meansdemand afor germinatingnative seed,seeds orby otherState plantagencies, partlocal usedgovernments, tononprofit propagateorganizations, aand plant,private thatentities; originates from a plant species that is indigenous to New Jersey.         2.    This act shall take effect immediately.

       (2) STATEMENT an  assessment     of Thisthe billcurrent wouldcapacity establishof the New Jersey Nativegrowers, Seednurseries, Commissionand inseed suppliers to meet the Departmentdemand offor Agriculture.native seeds;

     The(3) purpose an analysis of the commissioncosts wouldand bebenefits, toincluding developinstallation acosts, planmaintenance to:costs, lifecycle costs, environmental benefits, and anticipated long-term savings, associated with the use of native seeds in public environmental projects, including those for:

(1)     increase(a)  theland productionmanagement; of native seeds in the State;

(2)     increase(b)  the use of native seeds in public land management, roadside landscaping,rights-of-way; reforestation, habitat restoration, and other projects as determined by the commission;

and (3) ensure that native seeds are commercially available in the State at a reasonable cost and in adequate supply.       The(c)  commissionroadside wouldlandscaping; consist of 9 members, including the Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, and the Commissioner of Transportation, each of whom would serve ex officio, or their respective designees, and other stakeholders and experts.  The commission would be required to submit its plan to the Governor and the Legislature no later than one year after its organization.       The commission would expire 30 days after submission of its plan under the bill.

     (d)  reforestation;

     (e)  habitat restoration;

     (f  stormwater management;

and      (g)  any other public projects that the commission deems amenable to the use of native seeds;

     (4)  an evaluation of the regulatory, logistical, technical, and market barriers to increasing the production, commercial availability, and use of native seeds in New Jersey;

     (5)  recommendations concerning funding mechanisms, procurement standards, market development strategies, and other actions necessary to increase the availability and use of native seeds in New Jersey, including recommendations concerning seed sourcing, regional suitability, species diversity, contamination prevention, and the use of substitute seed materials when a native seed is unavailable;

and      (6)  the identification of no fewer than three pilot project opportunities for the use of native seeds on lands owned or managed by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Protection, or other public entities, including a description of the anticipated operational, environmental, and maintenance considerations associated with each pilot project, which considerations shall include, but not be limited to, impacts on roadside vegetation management, pollinator habitat development, erosion control, stormwater management, and infrastructure resilience.1      f.  1If the commission’s final report includes recommendations for regulatory or administrative action, the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation, shall, within 180 days of receipt of the commission’s final report, submit a follow-up report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), evaluating those recommendations.  The evaluation shall, at a minimum, identify any:

     (1)  regulatory or administrative action already taken in response to the commission’s report;

     (2)   rule or regulation proposed in response to the commission’s report;

and      (3)  further actions the State may take in response to the commission’s report.

     g.1  The commission shall expire 30 days after submission of its final report pursuant to subsection e.

of this section.       1[g.] h.1 As used in this section, “native seed” means a germinating seed, or other plant part used to propagate a plant, that originates from a plant species that is indigenous to New Jersey.

       2.    This act shall take effect immediately.