New Jersey-2024-A4875-Introduced

An Act concerning farmland assessment, supplementing Title 54 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.2013, c.43.

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

1. (New section) a. There is established, in the Department of Agriculture, the Farmland Assessment Review Commission, the purpose of which shall be to regularly review, and to recommend and facilitate the regular and appropriate updating of, the State's farmland assessment program, as well as the rules and regulations adopted for the program's purposes, in order to promote and ensure, on a Statewide basis, across all local jurisdictions and regardless of implementing agency, office, or official, the consistent, accurate, reliable, and uniform application and enforcement of, and ongoing site compliance with, existing farmland assessment program requirements, as necessary to ensure the continued fair and equitable Statewide allocation and distribution of program benefits to and among all sites, and only those sites, that continue to satisfy the eligibility requirements therefor, consistent with the requirements of Article VIII, Section I, paragraph 1(b) of the State Constitution, as amended, and the provisions of the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented.

b. The commission shall have the duty to:

(1) evaluate and delineate the reasons why, as of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), more than 37,000 properties are subject to farmland assessment in New Jersey; annually identify the current number, size, and location of all properties that are subject to farmland assessment in the State, as well as the total amount of farmland-assessed land, by acreage and percentage of all lands, lying within the jurisdictions of each county and municipality in the State; determine the rate at which the total number of farmland-assessed sites has increased, on a year-over-year basis, and by county and municipality, since the farmland assessment program's inception, and the rate at which such total number of farmland-assessed sites is expected to continue to increase, on a year-over-year basis, and by county and municipality, in future years of program operation; evaluate whether, and the extent to which, it would be feasible and beneficial for the State to impose conditions or restrictions that are designed to limit either the total value of benefits being annually allocated to farmland-assessed properties or the total number of properties annually entitled to receive such benefits, or to limit, by number or size, the types of properties that may be deemed newly eligible for farmland assessment benefits in each upcoming tax year; and, to the extent that the commission deems it feasible and appropriate to impose any such limits on total farmland assessment participation rates or benefits levels, or both, develop recommendations regarding the appropriate conditions or restrictions to be imposed for such purposes;

(2) evaluate whether, and the extent to which, there is a need to establish, or to continue using, a dedicated source of State funding to facilitate the annual undertaking of local on-site inspections at all farmland-assessed sites in the State, as necessary to confirm each site's ongoing eligibility for continued program benefits, and whether, and the extent to which, it would be possible to cover the costs of such local on-site inspections by requiring the owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites to annually pay a mandatory inspection fee to be dedicated and used for such purposes; and, to the extent that such fee-based inspection system is deemed to be feasible and appropriate, develop recommendations designed to facilitate the establishment and the effective and efficient operation of such system in New Jersey, including, but not limited to, recommendations as to whether such system would be most effectively operated and administered by the State government, by local governments, or by both the State and local governments acting in coordination, recommendations regarding the minimum and maximum fee amounts to be imposed on farmland-assessed sites to ensure and facilitate the annual collection and dedication of funding sufficient to cover the requisite costs of all such on-site inspections, and recommendations as to whether, and the extent to which, the fee requirements imposed on site owners or operators, for the purposes of such fee-based funding system, should vary by municipality, or based on site size, site-related income, or other site-related factors, as necessary to ensure ongoing fairness and equitability in association with the Statewide implementation of such fee-based funding system;

(3) evaluate whether, and the extent to which, the continuance, from one tax year to the next, of tax benefits previously allocated to a farmland-assessed site, as authorized pursuant to section 15 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.15) and section 1 of P.L.1971, c.400 (C.54:4-23.15a), is currently conditioned or is otherwise dependent upon the site owner or operator's submission of site-related farm product sales data, and whether, and the extent to which, farmland assessment benefits authorized to be continued in an upcoming tax year may differ, in level or amount, from the benefits previously allocated to a farmland-assessed site, based on, and commensurate with, the site's most recently reported farm product sales data; and, to the extent the commission deems it to be appropriate and necessary, develop recommendations for actions that could be undertaken, or for new or revised laws, rules, regulations, procedures, protocols, and standards that could be implemented, by the Governor, by the Legislature, by the Department of Agriculture or the State Board of Agriculture, by local government units or local tax assessors, or by other relevant actors or entities, to facilitate and ensure greater levels of fairness and equitability in association with the year-to-year continuance of previously authorized farmland assessment benefits in the State, including, but not limited to, recommendations regarding the need for, and the feasibility and benefits of adopting, new or revised Statewide procedures that would expressly condition the continuance of benefits upon continued site eligibility therefor, and that would further require the amount of any such continued benefits to reflect, and to be commensurate with, each such eligible site's most recently reported farm product sales data;

(4) evaluate whether, and the extent to which, it would be feasible and beneficial for the State to establish new, means-tested farmland assessment eligibility requirements, and, if such action is deemed to be feasible and appropriate, develop recommendations to facilitate the implementation of such requirements, including, but not limited to, recommendations regarding the maximum amount of annual household income, or the maximum amount of annual farm income, which a site owner or operator should be authorized to claim before being deemed ineligible for farmland assessment benefits in any given year, recommendations regarding whether, and the extent to which, it would be feasible and beneficial for the State to provide for farmland assessment benefits to vary by site-related income bracket, and, if such income-based variation is deemed to be feasible and appropriate, recommendations regarding the manner in which benefits should be variably allocated, to site owners or operators in each eligible income bracket below the maximum income eligibility cap recommended pursuant to this paragraph, as necessary to ensure the fair and equitable allocation of annually available program benefits to each farmland-assessed site, commensurate with annual site-related income;

(5) review the standards and guidelines adopted pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2013, c.43 (C.54:4-23.3d), or pursuant to any other law, rule, or regulation, which are used to facilitate farmland assessment eligibility determinations in the State; evaluate whether, and the extent to which, it would be feasible and beneficial for the State to require such standards and guidelines to be updated on an annual or other regular basis; and, if such regular updating is deemed to be feasible and appropriate, develop recommendations regarding the preferred rate at which such updates should be made and setting forth simplified and clarified language and new or revised eligibility test criteria to be incorporated into the updated standards and guidelines, as necessary to facilitate and maximize consistency and Statewide uniformity in program eligibility determinations, and fairness and equitability in the valuation of program benefits annually allocated to eligible sites. In developing initial recommendations for language changes pursuant to this paragraph, the commission shall include, at a minimum, suggestions designed to facilitate the implementation and use, pursuant to such standards and guidelines, of clearer and more concise definitions regarding what it means for a site to be: (a) "devoted to the production for sale of plants and animals useful to man," as necessary for the site to be deemed "in agricultural use," pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3); (b) "devoted to the production for sale of fruits of all kinds" or "devoted to and meeting the requirements and qualifications for payments or other compensation pursuant to a soil conservation program under an agreement with an agency of the Federal Government," as necessary for the site to be deemed "in horticultural use," pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.4); and (c) "actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use," as necessary for the site to be deemed annually eligible for farmland assessment benefits, pursuant to sections 2, 5, 6, 7, and 11 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.2, C.54:4-23.5, C.54:4-23.6, C.54:4-23.7, and C.54:4-23.11);

(6) evaluate whether, and the extent to which, the implementation of the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et seq.), the State's Green Acres, Blue Acres, and historic preservation programs, established pursuant to the "Garden State Preservation Trust Act," P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et seq.) and the "Preserve New Jersey Act," P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.), the State's forest stewardship plans and program, established pursuant to P.L.2009, c.256 (C.13:1L-29 et seq.), and any other plans, programs, or laws relating to the acquisition, preservation, stewardship, management, or maintenance of open spaces, green spaces, historic spaces, forested or woodland spaces, or other non-farmland spaces in the State, whether implemented or administered by the State, by individual counties or municipalities therein, or cooperatively, by both State and local government officials, are functioning, in practice, in a manner that serves to reduce, hinder, or otherwise restrict the fair, equitable, and uniform Statewide application and enforcement of farmland assessment program requirements, or the fair and equitable allocation and distribution of farmland assessment program benefits on a Statewide basis; and develop recommendations regarding the actions that could be undertaken by the Governor, by the Legislature, by the Department of Agriculture or the State Board of Agriculture, by local government units or local tax assessors, or by other relevant actors or entities, and the other available means and methods that could be utilized in the State, to: (a) reduce, eliminate, or prevent any such negative effects on the farmland assessment program which have resulted, or which may result, from the implementation of any such plans, laws, or programs relating to the preservation, stewardship, management, or ongoing use of open spaces, green spaces, historic spaces, or other non-farmland spaces in the State; and (b) otherwise ensure that such plans, laws, and programs are implemented and are subject to enforcement, in future years, in a manner that is fully consistent with the provisions and intent of the "Farmland Assessment Act," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), including all farmland assessment eligibility and benefits valuation requirements established pursuant thereto, and in a manner that does not serve to prevent, hinder, or otherwise impede fairness, equitability, or uniformity in association with the Statewide application and enforcement of farmland assessment program requirements, the Statewide allocation and distribution of farmland assessment benefits, or the Statewide achievement of farmland assessment goals;

(7) evaluate the ongoing impacts of inflation on the farmland assessment program; and develop recommendations to facilitate the appropriate modification of the program's income-based requirements, farm product sales requirements, and other relevant requirements, including those requirements that are necessary to establish initial eligibility for farmland assessment benefits, pursuant to subsection a. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5), and those requirements that are necessary to establish ongoing eligibility for the continued receipt of such benefits in each future tax year, as provided by section 15 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.15) and section 1 of P.L.1971, c.400 (C.54:4-23.15a), in order to mitigate any negative inflationary impacts on the program and its participants and to ensure the continued fair and equitable allocation of tax benefits thereunder, notwithstanding any existing or changing inflationary influences; and

(8) whenever, and to the extent that, the State's farmland assessment laws, rules, regulations, protocols, standards, or procedures provide for, require, or necessitate the annual or other review of farm or farmer income, of farm product sales receipts, or of other documentation, including, but not limited to, attestations or other signature-based statements, certifying that land is devoted to use as farmland in accordance with the definitions developed pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection: (a) conduct a timely and independent review, assessment, and audit of all such documentation submitted for each farmland-assessed property in the State; and (b) develop and submit, to the Department of Agriculture, the State Agriculture Development Committee, and the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, on an annual or more frequent basis, a list identifying any and all such properties, including the address and the name of the owner and operator thereof, for which requisite documentation, in this regard, is deemed by the commission to be missing, to be materially incomplete, to be untimely submitted, or to contain any materially false, fraudulent, or deceptive information relevant to farmland assessment determinations. Any such person or parcel of property which is identified on a commission list, developed pursuant to this paragraph, shall be deemed subject to the loss of the farmland assessment privilege, shall be required to repay, within 90 days after written notice thereof and an opportunity for a hearing on the matter, any farmland assessment benefits already allocated or awarded thereto for the tax year in which the requisite documentation is deemed by the commission to be insufficient, and shall be deemed automatically ineligible for farmland assessment benefits in any future tax year. Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph to the contrary, the commission shall be authorized to approve a waiver of the loss of privilege impacting a property, pursuant to this paragraph, whenever and provided that the commission determines, upon petition thereto, that such property has been transferred to a new owner or operator and, moreover, that none of the property's current owners or operators, following such transfer, are identified on any commission list developed pursuant to this paragraph.

c. The commission shall consist of nine members, including the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio, and seven public members to be appointed as follows:

(1) one resident of the State who is employed by, or who otherwise operates under the authority and supervision of, the Department of Agriculture and has extensive expertise in, and is responsible for overseeing, or is otherwise actively involved in, the practical, day-to-day implementation of, and the effectuation of the department's role and duties under, the "Farmland Assessment Act," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, to be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture;

(2) one resident of the State who is employed by, or who otherwise operates under the authority and supervision of, the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury and has extensive expertise in, and is responsible for overseeing or is otherwise actively involved in, the practical, day-to-day implementation of, and the effectuation of the division's role and duties under, the "Farmland Assessment Act," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, to be appointed by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury;

(3) five residents of the State who represent the geographic and ethnic diversity thereof and have real-world knowledge and an experiential understanding regarding the ways in which farmland assessment procedures and requirements are applied in practice, in New Jersey, and the real-world impacts thereof on relevant sites and site owners and operators in the State, with one such resident each to be appointed, respectively, by the Governor, the Senate President, the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Senate Minority Leader, and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. Of the State residents appointed pursuant to this subparagraph: (a) one shall be the owner or operator of a farmland-assessed site, or shall represent the interests of owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, located in the northern region of the State; (b) one shall be the owner or operator of a farmland-assessed site, or shall represent the interests of owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, located in the central region of the State; (c) one shall be the owner or operator of a farmland-assessed site, or shall represent the interests of owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, located in the southern region of the State; (d) one shall be the owner or operator of a farmland-assessed site, or shall represent the interests of owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, located in urban, low-income, or overburdened communities in any region of the State; and (e) one shall be employed as a local tax assessor or other relevant local tax official and shall be directly responsible for overseeing, or for otherwise actively engaging in, on-site farmland assessment-related eligibility determinations, compliance inspections, or benefits valuations at relevant sites within the local taxing district.

d. Appointed members of the commission shall serve for terms of four years or until the date on which they are terminated from the position of employment which made them a candidate for membership on the commission, provided that such termination date occurs before the end of the ordinary four-year term prescribed by this subsection, except that, of the members first appointed to the commission, three shall serve for terms of four years, two shall serve for terms of three years, and two shall serve for terms of two years. Each appointed member shall hold office for the term of the appointment, as provided in this subsection, and until a successor is appointed and qualified. Any vacancies in the commission membership shall be filled in the same manner as provided for the original appointment, and appointed members shall be eligible for reappointment to the commission following the conclusion of their terms.

e. The commission shall organize as soon as practicable, upon the call of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, following the appointment of a majority of its members. At its organizational meeting, the commission shall elect a chairperson from among its members, as well as a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.

f. The commission shall meet regularly, either as the commission members may collectively determine or upon the call of the chair, but, in no case shall the commission meet less than once per year.

g. The Department of Agriculture shall provide stenographic, clerical, and other administrative assistance and professional staff as the commission requires to carry out its purpose and duties. The commission shall also be authorized to call to its assistance, and to avail itself of the services of, the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as the commission may require, and as may be available, for its purposes.

h. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel or other reasonable expenses incurred in the course of the members' duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

i. (1) One year after its organizational meeting pursuant to subsection e. of this section, and annually thereafter, the commission shall prepare and submit, to the Governor, the State Board of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, a written report describing the activities undertaken, setting forth any new findings and recommendations developed thereby during the preceding year, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, and providing any supplemental data and guidance or advice as may be deemed, by the commission, to be necessary to facilitate the timely and effective implementation of commission-recommended changes to the farmland assessment program, upon the Legislature's approval thereof pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(2) Upon receipt of each commission report, prepared and submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Legislature, acting through the standing authority of the Senate Economic Growth Committee and the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development, and Agriculture Committee, or their successor committees, shall review the recommendations set forth in each such report and shall, as deemed thereby to be necessary and appropriate, adopt legislation to implement, or to authorize the implementation of, either those commission-recommended changes to the State's farmland assessment program, or those commission-recommended changes to other relevant open space, green space, historic space, and similar non-farmland preservation programs, or both, of which the Legislature approves. Any recommendations that are included in a commission report, but which have not yet been incorporated into, or otherwise expressly addressed in, legislation adopted pursuant to this paragraph shall be deemed to be unapproved for implementation at the present time; however, nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to prohibit the Legislature from approving and adopting any such previously unapproved recommendations, at a later time, through its enactment of new legislation pursuant to, and as provided by, this paragraph.

2. Section 1 of P.L.2013, c.43 (C.54:4-23.3d) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. (1) The State Board of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture shall [develop], within one year after the date of enactment of P.L.2013, c.43 (C.54:4-23.3d et al.), develop initial guidelines describing generally accepted 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] such officials in determining whether land may be deemed to be in agricultural use, in 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.). Whenever a report submitted by the Farmland Assessment Review Commission, pursuant to subsection i. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), includes a recommendation, developed pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection b. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), advocating for the annual or other regular review of, or for the incorporation of specific updates to, the guidelines developed pursuant to this section, the State Agriculture Development Committee and Department of Agriculture shall cooperatively develop and implement relevant rules, regulations, procedures, and protocols, as necessary and appropriate to facilitate the regular and ongoing review thereby of such guidelines, at the intervals recommended by the commission and approved by the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection i. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or to facilitate the timely revision and updating thereby of such guidelines and the incorporation, therein, of commission-recommended definitional or language changes, or other substantive revisions or updates, as approved by the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection i. of section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or both. The Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury shall review the guidelines initially developed or revised pursuant to this section, and, upon its approval thereof, shall adopt [them] the initial or revised guidelines, as the case may be, as rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.). The guidelines shall be advisory in nature, 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] copies of the initial and amended guidelines, which have been adopted into rule and regulation pursuant to this section, to all municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials, [by including them] and, to the maximum extent possible, shall provide such documentation together with other information on real property taxation that is regularly distributed, by the division, to such individuals.

(2) Upon the request of a municipal tax assessor, county assessor, county tax administrator, or other appropriate local official, the Division of Taxation, in consultation with the State Board of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture, shall provide advice to assist [the] a municipal tax assessor, county assessor, county tax administrator, or other appropriate local official in determining whether or not a particular parcel may qualify for valuation, assessment, and taxation, pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), based on the agricultural or horticultural activities taking place on the parcel.

b. The Division of Taxation, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, shall offer, at such time intervals as may be established by the Director of the Division of Taxation but at least biennially, and free of charge, a continuing education course to municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials on the guidelines developed, revised, and adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this section and on other issues concerning the valuation, assessment, and taxation of land pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.).

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 the impact thereof on the associated implementation of the "Farmland Assessment Act," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.).

(cf: P.L.2013, c.43, s.1)

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would establish a new Farmland Assessment Review Commission in the Department of Agriculture. The purpose of the commission would be to regularly review, and to recommend and facilitate the incorporation of appropriate substantive updates to, the State's farmland assessment program, as well as rules, regulations, procedures, protocols, standards, and guidelines adopted for program purposes, in order to promote and ensure, on a Statewide basis, across all local jurisdictions, and regardless of implementing agency, office, or official, the consistent, accurate, reliable, and uniform application and enforcement of, and ongoing site compliance with, existing farmland assessment program requirements, as necessary to ensure the continued fair and equitable Statewide allocation and distribution of farmland assessment program benefits to and among all sites, and only those sites, that continue to satisfy the eligibility requirements therefor, consistent with the requirements of Article VIII, Section I, paragraph 1(b) of the State Constitution and the provisions of the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.).

The commission would consist of nine total members, including the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, who would serve as ex officio members, and seven appointed members who are to be residents of the State, including: two residents who are departmental representatives actively engaging in, or overseeing, the operation of the State's farmland assessment program; four residents who are the owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, or who represent the interests of owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, in diverse regions of the State; and one resident who is a local tax assessor or other local official responsible for overseeing, or for actively engaging in, farmland assessment benefits eligibility determinations, compliance inspections, or benefits valuations at relevant sites within the local taxing district. Each appointed member of the commission is to be separately and respectively appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the Division of Taxation, the Governor, the Senate President, the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Senate Minority Leader, and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly.

The commission would have the duty to engage in the regular evaluation of certain eligibility-related, funding-related, and other specific requirements established under the farmland assessment program, and to develop recommendations designed to simplify and clarify program requirements, in this regard, as well as recommendations that are designed to address and mitigate various program-related funding issues, program-related impacts resulting from inflation or inflationary influences, and conflicts existing between the farmland assessment program and the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et seq.), the State's Green Acres, Blue Acres, and historic preservation programs, the State's forest stewardship plans and program, and any other plans, programs, or laws relating to the acquisition, preservation, stewardship, management, or maintenance of open spaces, green spaces, historic spaces, forested or woodland spaces, and other non-farmland spaces in the State, whether implemented or administered by the State, by individual counties or municipalities therein, or cooperatively, by both State and local government officials, as may be necessary to ensure ongoing fairness, equitability, and uniformity in the Statewide application and enforcement of farmland assessment program requirements, the Statewide allocation and distribution of farmland assessment benefits, and the Statewide achievement of farmland assessment goals.

Within one year after the commission's organizational meeting, and annually thereafter, the commission would be required to prepare and submit, to the Governor, the State Board of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, and the Legislature, a written report describing the activities undertaken, setting forth any new findings and recommendations developed thereby during the preceding year, and providing any supplemental data and guidance or advice as may be deemed, by the commission, to be necessary to facilitate the timely and effective implementation of commission-recommended changes to the farmland assessment program, upon the Legislature's approval thereof. The bill would require the Legislature, following its receipt of each annual commission report, and acting through the standing authority of the Senate Economic Growth Committee and the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development, and Agriculture Committee, or their successor committees, to review the recommendations set forth in each such report, and to develop and adopt new legislation, as necessary and appropriate to implement, or to legislatively authorize the implementation of, any commission-recommended program changes of which the Legislature approves. Any recommendations that are included in a commission report, but which have not yet been incorporated into, or otherwise expressly addressed in, legislation adopted pursuant to the bill, would be deemed to be unapproved for implementation at the present time; however, nothing in the bill's provisions would be deemed to prohibit the Legislature from approving and adopting any such previously unapproved recommendations, at a later time, through the enactment of new legislation pursuant to, and as provided by, the bill.

Whenever a commission report includes a recommendation advocating for the regular review or the specific updating of guidelines that are required to be developed, pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2013, c.43 (C.54:4-23.3d), for the purposes of the State's farmland assessment program, the bill would require the State Agriculture Development Committee and the Department of Agriculture to cooperatively develop and implement relevant rules, regulations, procedures, and protocols, as appropriate, to facilitate the regular and ongoing review thereby of such guidelines, at intervals recommended by the commission and approved by the Legislature pursuant to the bill, or to facilitate the timely revision and updating of such guidelines, as necessary to incorporate any commission-recommended definitional or language changes or other substantive revisions or updates which have been approved by the Legislature pursuant to the bill, or both.

The commission established by this bill is intended, by the sponsor, to provide a formal mechanism and means by which the State can better ensure and facilitate the ongoing review and updating of all relevant State laws, rules, regulations, procedures, protocols, standards, and guidelines which are used in, or which are or may be impacting, the State's farmland assessment program and the allocation of farmland assessment benefits thereunder. Although the sponsor agrees with the premise of keeping New Jersey lands protected from overdevelopment, it is the sponsor's hope and intention that this bill, by facilitating the ongoing commission-initiated review and legislatively approved revision of farmland assessment program requirements, will serve to improve and facilitate clarity, certainty, equitability, and uniformity, both in the Statewide application and enforcement of farmland assessment program requirements and in the allocation and distribution of farmland assessment tax benefits, thereby resulting in a greater sense of fairness, among all taxpayers, in association with the implementation of the State's farmland assessment program and the distribution of tax benefits thereunder.