New Jersey-2012-A3160-Introduced

An Act concerning tax levy apportionment in certain school districts, and supplementing Title 13A of the New Jersey Statutes and amending P.L.1991, c.431.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) a. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.18A:13-23 and N.J.S.18A:13-23.3 to the contrary, in the case of a school district that was merged with a non-operating district pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of P.L.2009, c.78 (C.18A:8-44), subject to subsections b., c., and d. of this section, the amounts to be raised for annual or special appropriations may be apportioned among the constituent municipalities upon the basis of:

(1) the constituent municipality that constituted the non-operating district prior to the merger being apportioned an amount equal to the actual cost per pupil, as calculated pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-19, multiplied by the number of pupils who reside in the constituent municipality and are enrolled in the new district; and

(2) the constituent municipality that did not constitute the non-operating district prior to the merger being apportioned the balance of the amount to be raised for the annual or special appropriations.

b. In the case of a school district in which the Commissioner of Education has determined that the annual or special appropriations for the new district would be apportioned among the constituent municipalities of the new district in a manner consistent with subsection a. of N.J.S.18A:13-23, the annual or special appropriations shall be apportioned among the constituent municipalities pursuant to subsection a. of this section if, for either constituent municipality, it yields an apportionment of the appropriations to be raised that, when divided by the total appropriations to be raised, is greater than .10 plus or less than .10 minus the result expressed as a decimal of the apportionment obtained pursuant to subsection a. of N.J.S.18A:13-23 divided by the total appropriations to be raised.

c. In the case of a constituent municipality constituting a non-operating school prior to the merger that has entered into a financial agreement pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-4) prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the annual or special appropriations shall be apportioned among the constituent municipalities pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

d. Upon application from a school district that was merged with a non-operating district pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2009, c.78 (C.18A:8-44), the commissioner may require that the constituent municipalities apportion the amounts to be raised for the annual or special appropriations pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

2. (New section) In the case of a school district that was merged with a non-operating district pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of P.L.2009, c.78 (C.18A:8-44) in which the commissioner has determined that the amounts to be raised for the annual or special appropriations will be apportioned in a manner consistent with the provisions of subsection a. of N.J.S.18A:13-23, the commissioner, upon application from the school district, may adjust the apportionment in proportion to the relative change in enrollment between the constituent municipalities.

3. Section 4 of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-4) is amended to read as follows:

4. [The] a. Subject to the restrictions of subsection b. of this section, the governing body of a municipality which has adopted a redevelopment plan pursuant to the "Local Redevelopment and Housing Law," P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-11 et al.) may enter into a financial agreement with an urban renewal entity for the undertaking of a project set forth in a redevelopment plan adopted by the governing body pursuant to the "Local Redevelopment and Housing Law," P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-1 et al.) or a project necessary, useful, or convenient for the relocation of residents displaced or to be displaced by the redevelopment of all or any part of one or more redevelopment areas, or a low and moderate income housing project. The financial agreement shall include, but not be limited to, those provisions set forth in sections 8, 9, 10 and 11 of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-8 through 40A:20-11), and shall be subject to review and approval as required by section 8 of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-8) prior to execution . The municipality which enters into the agreement shall retain all necessary authority and control for the redevelopment of the redevelopment area set forth in the plan, and the undertaking of a project by an urban renewal entity pursuant to that plan and P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.) shall be deemed a delegation of the powers of the municipality to undertake the project, which delegation shall be limited by the terms of the agreement and the provisions of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.).

b. The governing body of a municipality that constituted a non-operating district that was merged with another district pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of P.L.2009, c.78 (C.18A:8-44) shall not enter into a financial arrangement pursuant to subsection a. of this section on or after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

c. An urban renewal entity pursuant to an agreement may undertake a project, and when so authorized by the financial agreement, acquire by purchase or lease for not less than the term of the tax exemption, plan, develop, construct, alter, maintain or operate housing, senior citizen housing, business, industrial, commercial, administrative, community, health, recreational, educational, cultural, or welfare projects, or any combination of two or more of these types of improvement in a single project . The conditions of use, ownership, management and control of the improvements in a project shall be regulated by this act and the terms of the financial agreement.

(cf: P.L.1992, c.79, s.55)

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

Under P.L.2009, c.78, the Commissioner of Education was required to eliminate certain non-operating districts by merging the non-operating district with the school district to which the non-operating district sent its students. The commissioner was also required to establish a tax levy apportionment methodology for the constituent municipalities of the merged district that was the least fiscally disruptive. Consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.18A:13-23, the commissioner selected apportionment methods for each merged district based on equalized property valuation, total enrollment, or some combination of the two.

This bill adds a fourth apportionment methodology, in which the municipality that constituted the non-operating district prior to the merger would raise a tax levy equal to the merged district's actual cost per pupil multiplied by the number of student who reside in that municipality and enroll in the district's schools; the other constituent municipality would raise the balance of the tax levy.

The new apportionment methodology would be applied in any case in which: 1) the commissioner determined that the merged district would apportion the tax levy based on equalized valuations and shifting to the new methodology would change the share of the tax levy that a municipality would be required to raise by more than 10 percentage points, and 2) the municipality constituting the non-operating district prior to the merger has, prior to the effective date of the bill, entered into a long-term tax exemption agreement. Additionally, the commissioner, upon receiving an application from the merged district, may apply the new apportionment methodology to the merged district.

Additionally, upon receiving an application from a merged district, the commissioner may adjust the apportionment methodology previous applied to account for the relative change in enrollment between the two constituent municipalities.

The bill stipulates that the municipal governing body of the constituent municipality that constituted a non-operating district prior to the merger may not enter into long-term tax exemption agreement on or after the bill's effective date.