Bill Text: NJ A144 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Exempts certain water quality management structures, funded by certain federal and State grants, from real property taxation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee [A144 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A144-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Exempts certain water quality management structures, funded by certain federal and State grants, from real property taxation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act exempting certain water quality management structures from real property taxation and supplementing Title 54 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Board of appeals" means the construction board of appeals established under section 9 of P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-127), having jurisdiction in the municipality in which the property is located.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury.
"Enforcing agency" means the enforcing agency in any municipality provided for under the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) and rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
"Water quality management structure" means a physical structure designed and installed using, in whole or in part, federal grant money from the Natural Resource Conservation Service in the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, or the State Agriculture Development Committee, and for the purposes of improving water quality.
2. A water quality management structure installed after the effective date of this act and certified by the enforcing agency shall be exempt from taxation under chapter 4 of Title 54 of the Revised Statutes. The owner of real property with a certified water quality management structure may have exempted annually from the assessed valuation of the real property a sum equal to the remainder of the assessed valuation of the real property with the water quality management structure included, minus the assessed valuation of the real property without the water quality management structure.
3. The enforcing agency shall certify that a water quality management structure is exempt from taxation pursuant to this act when the water quality management structure was designed, constructed, and financed in accordance with this act and any rules or regulations adopted by the director pursuant thereto. The enforcing agency may at any time inquire into the right of a claimant to the exemption, and for that purpose may require the filing of a new application or the submission of any proof necessary to determine the right of the claimant to the continuation of the exemption. The enforcing agency shall have the authority to make an inspection of the premises which are the subject of the claim for exemption under this act.
4. a. A claimant shall submit a written application made on a form and in a manner prescribed by the director. The form shall be made available to claimants by the enforcing agency.
b. The enforcing agency shall issue a certification when it determines that a water quality management structure is exempt from taxation pursuant to this act. The certificate shall contain information identifying the water quality management structure and its cost, and shall conform to any other requirements prescribed by the director. The certificate shall be provided to the claimant, a copy shall be retained on file by the enforcing agency, and a copy shall be sent to the assessor of the taxing district in which the property is located. The exemption from taxation for the water quality management structure shall become effective for the tax year following the year in which certification was granted.
5. The enforcing agency, after giving notice to the holder of a water quality management structure certificate, may revoke the certificate under the following circumstances:
a. the certificate was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation;
b. the claimant for tax exemption has failed substantially to proceed with the construction, reconstruction, installation, or acquisition of a water quality management structure;
c. the water quality management structure to which the certificate relates has ceased to be used for the primary purpose by which it was constructed and is being used for a different primary purpose;
d. the claimant for tax exemption has so departed from the equipment, design, and construction previously certified by the enforcing agency that, in the opinion of the enforcing agency, the water quality management structure is not suitable and reasonably adequate for the purposes initially intended.
6. a. A person aggrieved by an action of the enforcing agency may seek review before the board of appeals.
b. A person aggrieved by any action of the assessor or of the county tax board may seek a review of such action in the State Tax Court by filing a complaint in the Tax Court, pursuant to rules of court.
7. The director shall adopt,
pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et
seq.), rules and regulations necessary for the proper certification of a tax
exemption pursuant to this act, the form of a certificate to be issued,
standards with respect to the technical sufficiency of a water quality
management system to qualify for the exemption, and any other matter related to
the exemption.
8. This act shall be effective on the first day of the taxable year next following the date of enactment, except that the director may take any advance administrative actions necessary for the implementation of the act.
STATEMENT
This bill would exempt from real property taxation certain water quality management structures funded, in whole or in part, by certain federal and State grants. The bill defines "water quality management structure" as a physical structure designed and installed using a grant from the United States Conservation Service in the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, or the State Agriculture Development Committee for purposes of improving water quality. Any water quality management structure that qualifies under the bill would be exempt from property taxation under chapter 4 of Title 54. The owner of real property with a certified water quality management structure would have exempted annually from the assessed valuation of the real property a sum equal to the remainder of the assessed valuation of the real property with the water quality management structure included, minus the assessed valuation of the real property without the water quality management structure.
The enforcing agency in any municipality would make the decision to grant a certification that the structures qualify after receiving a written application. The enforcing agency may inquire into the right of a claimant to the exemption and may require the filing of a new application or the submission of any proof necessary to determine the continuation of the exemption. The enforcing agency would also have the authority to make an inspection of the premises. The exemption for the water quality management structure would begin the tax year following the year in which certification was granted.
The enforcing agency may revoke the certificate if: the certificate was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation; the claimant fails to proceed with the construction, reconstruction, installation, or acquisition of a water quality management structure; the water quality management structure to which the certificate relates is being used for a different primary purpose; or the claimant has so departed from the equipment, design, and construction previously certified by the enforcing agency that, the water quality management structure is not suitable the purposes initially intended.
The bill also requires the
Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to adopt
rules and regulations
necessary for certification of the water quality management systems, including the technical sufficiency of a water quality management system to qualify for an exemption, for the implementation of the act.
