Bill Text: NJ A1225 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs State Agriculture Development Committee to identify farmland ineligible for county farmland preservation programs, notify owners of State requirements, and invite applications for farmland preservation under State program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee [A1225 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1225-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Directs State Agriculture Development Committee to identify farmland ineligible for county farmland preservation programs, notify owners of State requirements, and invite applications for farmland preservation under State program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning farmland preservation and supplementing P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-11 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Within two years after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the State Agriculture Development Committee shall survey and identify, for each county, all farmland that satisfies the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), in the county that does not meet the minimum acreage requirement for eligibility for farmland preservation as established by the county in which the farmland is located.
b. Upon completion of the survey, the committee shall:
(1) notify the owner of the farmland identified in the survey, in writing, of the minimum eligibility criteria for preserving land for farmland preservation purposes, other than income requirements, established by the committee pursuant to N.J.A.C.2:76-6.20; and
(2) invite the owner of the farmland to apply to the committee to preserve the land for farmland preservation purposes through the sale of a development easement or fee simple title pursuant to the "Agricultural Retention and Development Act," P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-11 et seq.), the "Garden State Preservation Trust Act," P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et seq.), or the "Preserve New Jersey Act," P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.).
c. For the purposes of this section and the owner's application, if the income requirements to qualify for differential property taxation pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), are satisfied by the farm, the committee shall not apply any income requirements established pursuant to N.J.A.C.2:76-6.20 to the application.
d. The committee may complete the survey and identification process for each county in the order it determines appropriate, provided that all farmland in a county is identified and all owners of the farmland have been notified pursuant to this section before the committee initiates a survey in a subsequent county.
e. The committee shall approve applications for the preservation of farmland submitted pursuant to this section in the order they are submitted consistent with the priority system established by the committee for the preservation of farmland, to the extent that funding is available and the farm meets eligibility criteria for farmland preservation purposes.
f. No later than one year after the date upon which the committee has completed the survey for each county in the State, the committee shall report to the Governor, and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature:
(1) the number of properties in each county, that are eligible for differential property taxation pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.),in the county that do not meet the minimum standard for farmland preservation set by the county in which the farm is located; and
(2) the number of applications for farmland preservation received for farmland identified in the survey and the status of each application.
g. As used in this section, "farmland," "farmland preservation," and "farmland preservation purposes" mean the same as the terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC), within two years after the effective date of the bill, to survey and identify for each county, the farms eligible for differential property taxation pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) (i.e., farmland assessment) in the county that do not meet the minimum acreage requirement for eligibility for farmland preservation as established by the county in which the farm is located. The bill further requires the SADC, upon completing the survey to:
(1) notify the owner of the farmland, in writing, of the minimum eligibility criteria for preserving land for farmland preservation purposes, other than income requirements, established by the committee pursuant to N.J.A.C.2:76-6.20; and
(2) invite the owner of the farmland to apply to the SADC to preserve the land for farmland preservation purposes.
The bill also provides that for the purposes of the bill and the owner's application, if the income requirements to qualify for farmland assessment are satisfied by the farm, the SADC would not apply any income requirements established pursuant to the regulations to the application.
The bill provides that the SADC may complete the survey and identification process for each county in the order it determines appropriate, provided that all farmland in a county is identified and all owners of the farmland have been notified pursuant to the bill before the committee initiates a survey in a subsequent county.
The bill provides that the SADC would approve applications in the order they are submitted, consistent with the priority system established by the SADC for the preservation of farmland, to the extent that funding is available and the farm meets eligibility criteria for farmland preservation purposes.
Finally, the bill requires the SADC to report to the Governor and the Legislature, no later than one year after the date upon which the SADC has completed the survey for each county in the State:
(1) the number of properties in each county that are eligible for farmland assessment in the county that do not meet the minimum standard for farmland preservation set by the county in which the farm is located; and
(2) the number of applications for farmland preservation received for farmland identified in the survey and the status of each application.
This bill seeks to balance the needs of owners of smaller farms who wish to preserve their farms and the State's interest in preserving more farmland acreage.
A number of county agriculture development boards have developed minimum acreage requirements to qualify for farmland preservation under the county program. The county acreage requirements may limit the ability of a farmer with a small farm to qualify for farmland preservation under a local program. The SADC offers a program in which a small farm may qualify for farmland preservation, but includes income requirements that are higher than those established for eligibility for farmland assessment. Thus, the owner of a small farm may be ineligible for preservation funding under the State program as well.
This bill addresses this problem by directing the SADC to identify those small farms ineligible due to size for farmland preservation in each county, and requires the SADC to accept applications for farmland preservation from the owners of small farms excluded from a county program as long as the farm is eligible for differential property taxation pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.).
