Bill Text: NJ A3090 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Revises certain provisions of farmland assessment law.*
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-02-21 - Substituted by S589 (SCS/4R) [A3090 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A3090-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Revises certain provisions of farmland assessment law, and includes annual automatic inflation adjustment.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning farmland assessment, amending and supplementing P.L.1964, c.48, amending P.L.1999, c.278, and repealing section 1 of P.L.1968, c.455 (C.54:4-23.13a).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. (New section) The State Board of Agriculture shall develop, and adopt as rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), guidelines describing common agricultural and horticultural practices, which may be used by municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials to assist them in determining whether land may be deemed to be in agricultural use, horticultural use, or actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.). The guidelines shall be advisory, and need not be exhaustive or comprehensive in terms of applicability, nor specifically tailored, to each and every possible agricultural or horticultural practice or use. The Director of the Division of Taxation shall distribute these guidelines to all municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials, by including them, to the maximum extent possible, with other information on real property taxation regularly distributed by the division to such individuals.
b. The Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, shall annually offer, free of charge, a six-hour continuing education course to municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials on the guidelines developed and adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this subsection and other issues concerning the valuation, assessment and taxation of land pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48.
c. The State Board of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Environmental Protection shall consult with the New Jersey Forestry Association and the New Jersey Division of the Society of American Foresters on any issues pertaining to woodland management or forest stewardship and P.L.1964, c.48.
2. Section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [b.] d. of this section, land, five acres in area, shall be deemed to be actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use when the amount of the gross sales of agricultural or horticultural products produced thereon, any payments received under a soil conservation program, fees received for breeding, raising or grazing any livestock, income imputed to cropland pastured and permanent pasture land used for grazing in the amount determined by the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee created pursuant to section 20 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.20), and fees received for boarding, rehabilitating or training any livestock where the land under the boarding, rehabilitating or training facilities is contiguous to land which otherwise qualifies for valuation, assessment and taxation under this act, have averaged at least [$500.00] $1,000 per year during the two-year period immediately preceding the tax year in issue, or there is clear evidence of anticipated yearly gross sales and such payments amounting to at least [$500.00] $1,000 within a reasonable period of time, or such amount as may be established by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, or by the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee, pursuant to this section. In the case of woodland subject to a woodland management plan pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3), the amount shall be at least $500, or such amount as may be established by the Director of the Division of Taxation, or by the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee, pursuant to this section.
The Director of the Division of Taxation shall annually adjust the minimum gross sales, payments, fees, and imputed income requirements of this section for the first five acres in direct proportion to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the New York City area as reported by the United States Department of Labor. In addition, every three years, the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee shall review the minimum gross sales, payments, fees, and imputed income requirements of this section for the first five acres, and may, by rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), raise the amounts of those minimums to such levels as the committee determines appropriate. Any increase made to the minimum gross sales, payments, fees, and imputed income requirements for the first five acres as authorized pursuant to this section shall not be enforced until the third tax year following adoption of the increase.
In addition, where the land is more than five acres in area, it shall be deemed to be actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use when the amount of the gross sales of agricultural or horticultural products produced on the area above five acres, any payments received under a soil conservation program, fees received for breeding, raising or grazing any livestock, income imputed to cropland pastured and permanent pasture land used for grazing in the amount determined by the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee created pursuant to section 20 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.20), and fees received for boarding, rehabilitating or training any livestock where the land under the boarding, rehabilitating or training facilities is contiguous to land which otherwise qualifies for valuation, assessment and taxation under this act, have averaged at least $5.00 per acre per year during the two-year period immediately preceding the tax year in issue, or there is clear evidence of anticipated yearly gross sales and such payments amounting to an average of at least $5.00 per year within a reasonable period of time; except in the case of woodland and wetland, where the minimum requirement shall be an average of $0.50 per acre on the area above five acres.
As used in this section, "livestock" shall not include dogs.
For the purposes of this section, the presence of an intervening public thoroughfare shall not preclude a finding of contiguity.
b. Land previously qualified as actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use under the act; but failing to meet the additional requirement on acreage above five acres , or failing to meet any increase in the minimum amount of gross sales, payments and fees received, and imputed income established pursuant to subsection a. of this section, shall not be subject to the roll-back tax because of such disqualification, but shall be treated as land for which an annual application has not been submitted provided that the land remains in agricultural or horticultural use.
c. In determining the eligibility of land for valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), the assessor of the taxing district in which the land is located shall, upon request by the owner of the land, exempt the owner from the income requirements of this section if the owner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the assessor that the failure to meet the income requirements was due to an injury, illness or death of the person responsible for performing the activities which produce the income necessary to meet the income eligibility requirement of this section. The request of the owner shall be accompanied by a certificate of a physician stating that the person was physically incapacitated or by a certified copy of the death certificate, as the case may be. The assessor may only grant an exemption once for a particular illness, injury or death.
[b.] d. The gross sales, payments, imputed income, and fees received pursuant to the requirements of this section shall not apply to land that (1) is the subject of a forest stewardship plan approved by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2009, c.256 (C.13:1L-31) which is fully implemented, and (2) otherwise qualifies under the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), for valuation, assessment and taxation as land in agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3).
(cf: P.L.2009, c.256, s.14)
3. Section 14 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.14) is amended to read as follows:
14. a. Application for valuation, assessment and taxation of land in agricultural or horticultural use under this act shall be on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury and approved by the State Board of Agriculture, and provided for the use of claimants by the governing bodies of the respective taxing districts. The form of application shall provide for the reporting of information pertinent to the provisions of Article VIII, Section 1, paragraph 1(b) of the Constitution, as amended, and this act. The form shall include a plain language recitation and explanation of the guidelines describing agricultural and horticultural practices developed and adopted pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) that may be used by municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials to assist them in determining whether land may be deemed to be in agricultural use, horticultural use, or actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.). The applicant shall include with the form of application, in a manner prescribed by the director, proofs of sales of agricultural or horticultural products, and of any other payments, fees, or income received from the agricultural or horticultural use of the land, in the prior year, or clear evidence of anticipated gross sales, payments, fees, or other income, amounting to $1,000 for the first five acres, or in the case of woodland subject to a woodland management plan pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3) amounting to $500 for the first five acres, or in either case amounting to such sums as may be established by the Director of the Division of Taxation or the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee pursuant to subsection a. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5).
In the case of land that is the subject of a forest stewardship plan approved by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2009, c.256 (C.13:1L-31) which is fully implemented, and otherwise qualifies under the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), for valuation, assessment and taxation as land in agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3), no proofs required pursuant to this subsection of gross sales, payments, imputed income, or fees need be included with the form or otherwise submitted.
b. A certification by the landowner that the facts set forth in the application are true may be prescribed by the director to be in lieu of a sworn statement to that effect. Statements so certified shall be considered as if made under oath and subject to the same penalties as provided by law for perjury.
In addition, for a gross and intentional misrepresentation on the application, the landowner shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000. Any such civil penalty may be imposed and collected by the municipality, the county, or the State, with costs, in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" in connection with this subsection. One-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or county shall be dedicated and used by the municipality or county in administering and enforcing the provisions of the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) in the municipality or county. The remaining one-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or county shall be paid by the municipality or county to the State, and together with any civil penalties so collected directly by the State, shall be dedicated and used by the Department of Agriculture and the Division of Taxation in administering and enforcing the provisions of P.L.1964, c.48.
c. Any landowner, except those who have submitted a woodland management plan or a forest stewardship plan pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3), who is an applicant for valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) for lands not previously qualified under the act shall submit with the application a map of land use classes and soil groups that conforms with standards established by the Division of Taxation in consultation with the [Secretary] State Board of Agriculture.
d. For any landowner whose farm management unit is less than 10 acres in size, the landowner shall submit with the application form a narrative describing the agricultural or horticultural uses on the farm management unit, the number of acres that will be actively devoted to those uses, and a sketch of the location on the farm management unit of those uses. For the purposes of this subsection, "farm management unit" means a parcel or parcels of land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, together with agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures and facilities, producing agricultural or horticultural products, and operated as a single enterprise.
e. The director, after consultation with the State Board of Agriculture, shall include with each application a letter or other document explaining any changes to the law, rules, regulations, and guidelines on the valuation, assessment and taxation of land pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) that have occurred in the prior tax year and which shall be newly in effect in the tax year for which the application is being submitted.
f. The director shall devise a form for the extension of filing time for the valuation application, which form shall include the name and address of the applicant, the reason for the extension, and a space for the approval or rejection of the assessor.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.256, s.15)
4. Section 20 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.20) is amended to read as follows:
20. There is hereby created a State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee, the members of which shall be the Director of the Division of Taxation; the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Rutgers, The State University; and the Secretary of Agriculture. The committee shall meet from time to time on the call of the Secretary of Agriculture and annually determine and publish a range of values for each of the several classifications of land in agricultural and horticultural use in the various areas of the State. The primary objective of the committee shall be the determination of the ranges in fair value of such land based upon its productive capabilities when devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses. In making these annual determinations of value, the committee shall consider available evidence of agricultural or horticultural capability derived from the soil survey at Rutgers, The State University, the National Co-operative Soil Survey, and such other evidence of value of land devoted exclusively to agricultural or horticultural uses as it may in its judgment deem pertinent. On or before October 1 of each year, the committee shall make these ranges of fair value available to the assessing authority in each of the taxing districts in which land in agricultural and horticultural use is located.
The committee shall also conduct the periodic review of the minimum gross sales, payments, fees, and imputed income requirements in order for land which is actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use to be eligible for valuation, assessment and taxation under the provisions of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), as prescribed by section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5).
Within one year after the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and every five years thereafter, the committee, in consultation with recognized Statewide tax assessor and tax administrator organizations, shall review the application form or forms for valuation, assessment and taxation of land in agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), and provide any recommendations the committee may have thereon to the Director of the Division of Taxation.
(cf: P.L.1964, c.48, s.20)
5. Section 1 of P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. All tax assessor certificates issued prior to the effective date of P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b et al.) shall expire five years following that effective date and shall be renewed in accordance with the procedure established in this section. All tax assessor certificates issued on or after the effective date of P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b et al.) shall expire five years after the issuance of the certificate and shall be renewed in accordance with the procedure established in this section.
(1) All tax assessor certificates shall be renewed upon application, payment of the required renewal fee, and verification that the applicant has met continuing education requirements, as set forth in paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) of this subsection. After the initial expiration of any tax assessor certificates following the effective date of P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b et al.), each renewal period shall thereafter be for a period of three years. The renewal date shall be 30 days prior to the expiration date of the tax assessor certificate.
(2) Prior to the first renewal date of a tax assessor certificate pursuant to P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b et al.) every applicant for renewal shall, on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation, furnish proof of having earned a total of at least 50 continuing education credit hours over the prior five-year period. Thereafter, prior to each succeeding renewal date of a tax assessor certificate, every applicant for renewal shall, on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation, furnish proof of having earned a total of at least 30 continuing education credit hours over the prior three-year period. For the purposes of this section, one continuing education credit hour means 50 minutes of classroom or lecture time. After verifying that the applicant has fulfilled the continuing education requirement and after receiving a fee of not less than $50 paid by the applicant to the order of the Treasurer of the State of New Jersey, the Director of the Division of Taxation shall renew the tax assessor certificate. The Director of the Division of Taxation shall determine, by regulation, the circumstances under which an extension of time to complete the requirements for continuing education may be granted by the director.
(3) Commencing January 1, 2017, for any tax assessor of a municipality in which one or more Class 3B (Farm Qualified) properties subject to valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) are located, or for any county assessor, prior to every renewal date of a tax assessor certificate issued to that tax assessor pursuant to P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b et al.), the applicant for renewal shall, on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation, furnish proof of having taken, at least once in the prior three years, the six-hour continuing education course concerning certain aspects of farmland assessment required to be offered, free of charge, by the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. There is established within the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury the Tax Assessor Continuing Education Eligibility Board. The board shall consist of six members and be comprised as follows: the Director of the Division of Taxation or his designee, the President of the Association of Municipal Assessors, and the President of the New Jersey Association of County Tax Board Commissioners and County Tax Administrators shall be permanent members. The Director of the Division of Taxation and the President of the Association of Municipal Assessors shall each appoint an additional member who shall serve for a term of two years. The Director of Government Services at Rutgers University shall serve ex officio. Any vacancy in the membership of the board shall be filled for the unexpired term in the manner provided by the original appointment. The first meeting of the board shall be held at the call of the Director of the Division of Taxation, and thereafter the board shall meet annually and shall hold at least one additional meeting within each 12-month period. The board shall establish the curriculum areas and the number of hours in each curriculum area that an assessor shall complete in order to renew certification.
c. When the holder of a tax assessor certificate has allowed the certificate to lapse by failing to renew the certificate, a new application and certificate shall be required. If application is made within six months of the expiration of the certificate, then application may be made in the same manner as a renewal, but with an additional late renewal fee of $50.
d. The Director of the Division of Taxation, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt such regulations as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
(cf: P.L.1999, c.278, s.1)
6. Section 1 of P.L.1968, c.455 (C.54:4-23.13a) is repealed.
7. This act shall take effect immediately, except that it shall be applicable to tax years commencing with tax year 2014.
STATEMENT
This bill makes various revisions to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964."
The bill raises from $500 to $1,000 the minimum gross sales and payments standard for typical agricultural or horticultural lands to qualify for farmland assessment on the first five acres of land. This change would not apply to woodland managed under a woodland management plan, which would continue as under current law to qualify for farmland assessment with minimum gross sales and payments of $500, nor to land subject to a forest stewardship plan, which under current law has no minimum income qualifying standard for farmland assessment. The bill would also provide that income imputed to land used for grazing would be income imputed to cropland pastured as well as permanent pasture land used for grazing.
However, the bill requires the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to annually adjust the minimum gross sales, payments, fees, and imputed income requirements for the first five acres, as established by this bill, in direct proportion to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the New York City area as reported by the United States Department of Labor. In addition, the bill requires the State Farmland Evaluation Advisory Committee (SFEAC) to review, every three years, the minimum gross sales, payments, fees, and imputed income requirements for the first five acres, and authorizes that committee to adopt regulations to raise the amount of those minimums to levels the SFEAC determines appropriate after completing each such review.
The bill also amends current law to provide that the farmland assessment application form would: (1) have to be approved by the State Board of Agriculture; (2) include a plain language recitation and explanation of the guidelines describing common agricultural and horticultural practices which are to be developed and adopted pursuant to the bill; and (3) have to be submitted with proofs of sales of agricultural or horticultural products, and of any other payments, fees, or income received from the agricultural or horticultural use of the land, in the prior year, or clear evidence of anticipated gross sales, payments, fees, or other income, amounting to the minimum sum of $1,000 for standard farmland, $500 for managed woodland, or in either case such sums as may be established by (1) the Director of the Division of Taxation through the automatic inflation adjuster described above, or (2) the SFEAC as provided in the bill.
The bill requires the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to include with each farmland assessment application a letter or other document explaining any changes to the law, rules, regulations, and guidelines on farmland assessment that have occurred in the prior tax year and which would be newly in effect in the tax year for which the application is being submitted. The bill would require a landowner whose farm management unit is less than 10 acres in size to submit a narrative and a sketch relating to the agricultural or horticultural uses on the farm management unit, including information on the number of acres that will be actively devoted to such uses. The SFEAC would be required every five years to generally review the farmland assessment application form and to make recommendations thereon to the Director of the Division of Taxation.
The bill establishes a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for a gross and intentional misrepresentation on an application, provides that such penalties collected by a municipality or county be divided equally between the municipality or county and the State, and dedicates the penalty revenue collected to administering and enforcing the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964."
Because this bill establishes new and more stringent standards to qualify for farmland assessment, landowners who previously met the farmland assessment standards under the current law but cannot or do not meet the new standards will not be required to pay the roll-back tax at the time of that disqualification provided they do not abandon the agricultural or horticultural use. However, because at that point the property would no longer be farmland assessed under the new standards, the landowner will then, and thereafter, be required to pay the full property taxes on the land just as any other property taxpayer who does not own farmland must do.
The bill requires the State Board of Agriculture to develop and adopt advisory guidelines describing common agricultural and horticultural practices which are to be distributed to, and which may be used by, municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials to assist them in determining whether land may be deemed to be in agricultural use, horticultural use, or actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964." The bill would require the Division of Taxation, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, to annually provide a six-hour, free of charge, continuing education course, to municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials explaining the guidelines.
The bill provides that starting January 1, 2017, for any tax assessor of a municipality in which one or more Class 3B (Farm Qualified) properties (that is, properties that are farmland assessed) are located, or for any county assessor, the tax assessor, as a condition of relicensing, must provide proof of having taken, at least once in the prior three years, the six-hour continuing education course concerning certain aspects of farmland assessment required under the bill to be offered, free of charge, by the Division of Taxation, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture.
The bill further requires the State Board of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Environmental Protection to consult with the New Jersey Forestry Association and the New Jersey Division of the Society of American Foresters on any issues pertaining to woodland management or forest stewardship, and farmland assessment.
The bill is applicable to tax years commencing with tax year 2014.
Lastly, the bill repeals section 1 of P.L.1968, c.455 (C.54:4-23.13a) concerning the timely submittal of certain farmland assessment applications, because it is no longer applicable.
