N.J. Admin. Code § 19:9-5.10

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 19:9-5.10 - Sponsorship program

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish a program for the sponsorship of the Authority's operational activities or other highway-related services or programs, in return for the Authority's public acknowledgment of that sponsorship. In establishing this program, the Authority recognizes a distinction between signing intended as advertising and signing intended as a sponsorship acknowledgment. Any monetary contributions received through this program shall be used solely for highway purposes.

(b) The scope of the program is as follows:

1. In return for a sponsor's donation of a service, product, or monetary contribution to support the operational activities or other highway-related services or programs of the Authority, each sponsor may receive an acknowledgment sign placed, at the Authority's discretion, in a service area along the Roadway and/or some other acknowledgment on Authority equipment, materials, or vehicles that will publicly recognize each sponsorship activity, consistent with the provisions of this section. Authority operational activities or other highway-related services or programs may include, but are not limited to, snow removal, litter removal, vehicles, and equipment, landscaping, maintenance, and highway beautification.

2. This program is not applicable to:

i. Other Authority programs that recognize or identify private entities through highway signing under the Authority's Supplemental Sign Policy;

ii. Any agreement relating to naming rights or any lease or license involving the Arts Center or any other real property owned by the Authority;

iii. Any specific message displayed or disseminated on a traffic control device, such as a highway travel times; or

iv. Any agreement relating to naming rights or any lease or license involving any service area on the Roadway.

3. Notwithstanding (a)2 above, elements contained within the service area, such as benches, flower beds, or tree beds may be eligible for sponsorship in the discretion of the Authority.

(c) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Acknowledgment plaque" means a plaque that is intended only to inform the traveling public that a highway-related service, product, or monetary contribution has been sponsored by a person, firm, or entity. Acknowledgment plaques are installed only in the same sign assembly below a primary sign that provides the road user specific information on accessing the service being sponsored. Consistent with the MUTCD, a plaque legend is displayed on a separate substrate from that of the sign below which it is mounted.

" Acknowledgment sign" means a sign that is intended to inform the traveling public that a highway-related service, product, or monetary contribution has been sponsored by a person, firm, or entity and which meets all design and placement guidelines for acknowledgment signs as established pursuant to the provisions of the MUTCD and all sign design principles provided in the Federal Standard Highway Signs and Markings Book.

"Advertising sign" means a sign that is intended to promote commercial products or services through the use of slogans and information and informs the public on where to obtain the products or services.

"Highway" means the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike; their shoulders and sidewalks; the airspace above and below the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike; areas for drainage, utilities, landscaping, berms, and fencing along the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike; and any highway project as defined in section 4 of P.L. 1948, c. 454 (N.J.S.A. 27:23-4).

"Legend" means all word messages, logos, pictographs, and symbol and arrow designs that are intended to convey specific meanings. The border, if any, on a sign is not considered to be a part of the legend.

"Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices" or "MUTCD" means the 2009 edition of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, as amended and supplemented, issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The MUTCD is available at: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/.

"Sponsor" means a person or persons, firm, or entity that has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Authority pursuant to the provisions of this section.

"Sponsorship agreement" means an agreement between the Authority and a person, firm, or entity to be acknowledged for a highway-related service, product, or monetary contribution provided.

"Sponsorship program" means a program administered by the Authority that complies with pertinent Federal laws, rules, regulations, and orders, and allows a person, firm, or entity to sponsor Authority operational activities or other highway-related services or programs through the provision of a highway-related service, product, or monetary contribution.

(d) Sponsorship criteria is as follows:

1. Sponsors shall comply with any State or Federal laws prohibiting discrimination because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, or sex including, but not limited to, New Jersey's "Law Against Discrimination," P.L. 1945, c. 169 (N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.).

2. The Authority shall not accept the sponsorship of a person or entity engaged in:

i. The sale of unlawful or illegal goods, services, or activities;

ii. The sale of tobacco or tobacco-related products;

iii. The sale of alcoholic beverages;

iv. The sale of obscene material as defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:34-3; or

v. Activity that is not in the best business interest of the Authority or is not in the best interest of the public, as determined by the Authority.

3. Sponsors determined by the Authority to fall within one or more of the categories set forth in (d)2 above shall not be considered further for sponsorship under the provisions of this section and shall be advised, in writing, of that determination.

(e) Requirements and specifications for acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall be as follows.

1. Acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques may be installed only in service areas and only as independent sign assemblies.

2. All acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall be appropriately sized commensurate with the legibility needs of the service area user and shall be installed only in the location in the service area determined by the Authority, in its sole discretion.

3. Acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall not be installed or located so as to be visible to the mainline Roadway user.

4. All acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall be fabricated and printed at the sole cost of the sponsor and shall be permitted in the size, shape, and form agreed upon in the sponsorship agreement.

5. All acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall be maintained at the sole cost of the sponsor.

6. All acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall comply with the applicable provisions of the MUTCD.

7. All acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall remain in place only for the duration of the sponsorship agreement.

8. Acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall not display any directional information.

9. Acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall not display telephone numbers, Internet addresses, or other legends designed for the purpose of contacting the sponsoring entity or to obtain information on the sponsorship program, such as, but not limited to, how to become a sponsor at an available site.

10. Acknowledgment signs and acknowledgment plaques shall only take the form of static, non-changeable, non-electronic legends.

11. Acknowledgment sign messages shall not be interspersed, combined, or alternated with other official traffic control messages, either in the same display space, by adjacency in the same assembly, or by adjacency of multiple assemblies.

12. Only post-mounted installations of acknowledgment signs are allowed. Acknowledgment signs shall not be overhead installations.

13. When a graphic logo is used to represent the sponsor, instead of a word legend using the Federal Highway Administration Standard Alphabets (as found in the MUTCD), the logo or image shall be the principal trademarked official logo that represents the corporate name of the sponsor. Secondary logos or representations, even if trademarked, copyrighted, or otherwise protected, are classified as promotional advertising and shall not be allowed.

14. An alternative business name or image whose sole or primary purpose appears to circumvent the provisions of the MUTCD is classified as promotional advertising rather than an acknowledgment of a sponsoring entity of a highway-related service and shall not be allowed on any traffic control device or its supports. Representations of products or services owned or offered by the sponsor shall not be allowed. Representations of personalities, mascots, or similar characters that are likely to be identified with the sponsor shall not be allowed.

15. No acknowledgment sign or acknowledgment plaque that includes displays mimicking advertising shall be allowed. A brief jurisdiction-wide slogan may be displayed on an acknowledgment sign. The slogan displayed shall be a program name, such as "ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY." Slogans for companion, supplementary, or other programs unrelated to the service being sponsored shall not be displayed on any acknowledgment sign.

(f) Sponsorship agreements shall be as follows:

1. Sponsorship agreements shall be for any duration, provided that they are economically sustainable, and provide a net benefit to the public.

2. Sponsorship agreements shall include provisions for maintenance and removal of acknowledgment signs or other acknowledgment on equipment, materials, or vehicles after the sponsorship agreement expires or the sponsor withdraws.

3. Sponsorship agreements shall identify the specific Authority operational activities or other highway-related services or programs supported by the highway-related service, product, or monetary payment of the sponsor.

4. Sponsorship agreements shall authorize the Authority to access any books, documents, papers, or records that are pertinent to the sponsorship agreement for the purpose of audit and examination, for the term of the sponsorship agreement and for a period of seven years after expiration or termination of the sponsorship agreement.

5. The Authority shall terminate a sponsorship agreement if it determines that the agreement, acknowledgment sign, or plaque, or other *acknowledgment* on equipment, materials, or vehicles presents a safety concern, interferes with the free and safe flow of traffic or pedestrians, or is not in the public interest.

6. A sponsorship agreement shall be subject to approval by the Federal Highway Administration and shall be consistent with Federal and State laws.

N.J. Admin. Code § 19:9-5.10

Adopted by 49 N.J.R. 3236(b), effective 9/18/2017