Bi-State Rail Bill Killed In Jersey

Proposal for Transit Area Will Be Offered Again

TRENTON, N.J. — Legislation to establish a New York-New Jersey transit district died tonight in an Assembly committee after being completely rewritten.

Thus it finally became clear that there will be no bi-state action to solve the serious commuter rail transit problem for many months. The New Jersey Legislature will not meet again until Jan. 13, while the New York Legislature will convene on Jan, 7.

The transit legislation was approved by the New York lawmakers last March and signed by Governor Harriman in April.

It was subsequently adopted by the New Jersey Senate. The measure was then buried in an Assembly committee here, primarily because of widespread local opposition to it in northern New Jersey.

Rewritten today to meet some of these objections, the bill was immediately brought to the floor of the lower house and moved to second reading. A lack of votes to assure its passage, however, caused it to be pigeonholed as its predecessor had been. But it is expected to be reintroduced at the January session.

The new bill would set up a New York-New Jersey transit district under a ten-member bi-state agency. It would provide that five of the members be chosen by each of the two Governors involved, with the advice and consent of their respective Senates.

It would direct the district to draw up by July 1, 1960, an interim plan to integrate and operate all commuter rail facilities in the metropolitan area, and offer a permanent plan by July 1, 1964.

The bill would leave to the Legislatures of the two states the problem of financing possible deficits. Expressly barred would be any tax on real or personal property to underwrite deficits.

The bill would in no way obligate the Port of New York Authority to participate financially or otherwise in the task assigned to the transit district. But it would empower the district to negotiate with the Port Authority for assistance that might be needed.

The new legislation would set up an advisory council composed of one representative from each of the thirteen counties that would be involved in the transit consolidation program. These would be chosen by governing bodies of their respective counties.

The original transit district legislation would have established a thirty-two-member bi-state agency with members chosen at the county level or on the basis of population. It would not have prevented the taxation of real property to underwrite rail deficits.

The substitute bill was drawn after two public hearings at which considerable opposition to the original measure was voiced. The main objections were the manner of choosing the membership and failure to ban any further property taxes.

Assemblymen J. Edward Crabiel of Milltown and Martin Kesselhaut of Newark, Democrats and chairmen of the two committees that conducted the public hearings, were the sponsors of the new bill.

They said tonight that the interim plan would be expected to set up an integrated commuter rail system but not involve the district in the actual acquisition of properties or in the actual operation of consolidated facilities.

Like the earlier measure, the new proposal would become effective only if and when the New Jersey Senate and the New York Legislature adopted identical legislation.

The Assembly action was followed by a few day’s statements by the Lehigh Valley and Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroads that they would seek abandonment of most of their passenger services because of seriously declining revenues.