Bill Text: NJ S202 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Removes appropriations for gypsy moth suppression from the municipal expenditure cap and county and municipal tax levy cap.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [S202 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S202-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Oroho
SYNOPSIS
Removes appropriations for gypsy moth suppression from the municipal expenditure cap and county and municipal tax levy cap.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning an exception to the municipal expenditure cap and county and municipal tax levy cap and amending P.L.1976, c.68 and P.L.2007, c.62.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.3) is amended to read as follows:
3. In the preparation of its budget a municipality shall limit any increase in said budget to 2.5% or the cost-of-living adjustment, whichever is less, over the previous year's final appropriations subject to the following exceptions:
a. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
b. Capital expenditures, including appropriations for current capital expenditures, whether in the capital improvement fund or as a component of a line item elsewhere in the budget, provided that any such current capital expenditure would be otherwise bondable under the requirements of N.J.S.40A:2-21 and 40A:2-22;
c. (1) An increase based upon emergency temporary appropriations made pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-20 to meet an urgent situation or event which immediately endangers the health, safety or property of the residents of the municipality, and over which the governing body had no control and for which it could not plan and emergency appropriations made pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-46. Emergency temporary appropriations and emergency appropriations shall be approved by at least two-thirds of the governing body and by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, and shall not exceed in the aggregate 3% of the previous year's final current operating appropriations.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
The approval procedure in this subsection shall not apply to appropriations adopted for a purpose referred to in subsection d. or j. below;
d. All debt service, including that of a Type I school district;
e. Upon the approval of the Local Finance Board in the Division of Local Government Services, amounts required for funding a preceding year's deficit;
f. Amounts reserved for uncollected taxes;
g. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
h. Expenditure of amounts derived from new or increased construction, housing, health or fire safety inspection or other service fees imposed by State law, rule or regulation or by local ordinance;
i. Any amount approved by any referendum;
j. Amounts required to be paid pursuant to (1) any contract with respect to use, service or provision of any project, facility or public improvement for water, sewerage, parking, senior citizen housing or any similar purpose, or payments on account of debt service therefor, between a municipality and any other municipality, county, school or other district, agency, authority, commission, instrumentality, public corporation, body corporate and politic or political subdivision of this State; (2) the provisions of article 9 of P.L.1968, c.404 (C.13:17-60 through 13:17-76) by a constituent municipality to the intermunicipal account; (3) any lease of a facility owned by a county improvement authority when the lease payment represents the proportionate amount necessary to amortize the debt incurred by the authority in providing the facility which is leased, in whole or in part; and (4) any repayments under a loan agreement entered into in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of P.L.1992, c.89;
k. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1987, c.74.)
l. Appropriations of federal, county, independent authority or State funds, or by grants from private parties or nonprofit organizations for a specific purpose, and amounts received or to be received from such sources in reimbursement for local expenditures. If a municipality provides matching funds in order to receive the federal, county, independent authority or State funds, or the grants from private parties or nonprofit organizations for a specific purpose, the amount of the match which is required by law or agreement to be provided by the municipality shall be excepted;
m. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1987, c.74.)
n. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1987, c.74.)
o. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
p. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1987, c.74.)
q. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
r. Amounts expended to fund a free public library established pursuant to the provisions of R.S.40:54-1 through 40:54-29, inclusive;
s. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
t. Amounts expended in preparing and implementing a housing element and fair share plan pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.) and any amounts received by a municipality under a regional contribution agreement pursuant to section 12 of that act;
u. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74.)
v. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
w. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74.)
x. Amounts expended to aid privately owned libraries and reading rooms, pursuant to R.S.40:54-35;
y. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
z. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
aa. Extraordinary expenses, approved by the Local Finance Board, required for the implementation of an interlocal services agreement;
bb. Any expenditure mandated as a result of a natural disaster, civil disturbance or other emergency that is specifically authorized pursuant to a declaration of an emergency by the President of the United States or by the Governor;
cc. Expenditures for the cost of services mandated by any order of court, by any federal or State statute, or by administrative rule, directive, order, or other legally binding device issued by a State agency which has identified such cost as mandated expenditures on certification to the Local Finance Board by the State agency;
dd. Expenditures of amounts actually realized in the local budget year from the sale of municipal assets in extraordinary cases and with the permission of the Local Finance Board;
ee. Any local unit which is determined to be experiencing fiscal distress pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1987, c.75 (C.52:27D-118.24 et seq.), whether or not a local unit is an "eligible municipality" as defined in section 3 of P.L.1987, c.75 (C.52:27D-118.26), and which has available surplus pursuant to the spending limitations imposed by P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.1 et seq.), may appropriate and expend an amount of that surplus approved by the director and the Local Finance Board as an exception to the spending limitation. Any determination approving the appropriation and expenditure of surplus as an exception to the spending limitations shall be based upon:
1) the local unit's revenue needs for the current local budget year and its revenue raising capacity;
2) the intended actions of the governing body of the local unit to meet the local unit's revenue needs;
3) the intended actions of the governing body of the local unit to expand its revenue generating capacity for subsequent local budget years;
4) the local unit's ability to demonstrate the source and existence of sufficient surplus as would be prudent to appropriate as an exception to the spending limitations to meet the operating expenses for the local unit's current budget year; and
5) the impact of utilization of surplus upon succeeding budgets of the local unit;
ff. Newly authorized operating appropriations for the municipal court or violation's bureau when approved by the vicinage Presiding Judge of the Municipal Court after consultation with the mayor and governing body of the municipality;
gg. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74.)
hh. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74.)
ii. Subject to the approval of the Local Finance Board, expenditures related to the cost of conducting and implementing a total property tax levy sale pursuant to section 16 of P.L.1997, c.99 (C.54:5-113.5);
jj. Amounts expended for a length of service award program pursuant to P.L.1997, c.388 (C.40A:14-183 et al.);
kk. Amounts expended to provide municipal services or reimbursement amounts to multifamily dwellings for the collection and disposal of solid waste generated by the residents of the multifamily dwellings. This subsection shall cease to be operative at the end of the first local budget year in which the municipality has fully phased in its reimbursement amount expenses;
ll. Amounts expended by a municipality under an interlocal services agreement entered into pursuant to the "Interlocal Services Act," P.L.1973, c.208 (C.40:8A-1 et seq.) entered into after the effective date of P.L.2000, c.126 (C.52:13H-21 et al.). The governing body of the municipality that will receive the service may choose to allow the amount of projected annual savings to be added to the amount of final appropriations upon which its permissible expenditures are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.2);
mm. Amounts expended under a joint contract pursuant to the "Consolidated Municipal Service Act," P.L.1952, c.72 (C.40:48B-1 et seq.) entered into after the effective date of P.L.2000, c.126 (C.52:13H-21 et al.). The governing body of each participating municipality may choose to allow the amount of projected annual savings to be added to the amount of final appropriations upon which its permissible expenditures are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.2);
nn. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74.)
oo. Amounts appropriated in the first three years after the effective date of P.L.2003, c.92 (C.18A:7F-5b et al.) for liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance and employee group insurance;
pp. Amounts appropriated in the first three years after the effective date of P.L.2003, c.92 (C.18A:7F-5b et al.) for costs of domestic security preparedness and responses to incidents and threats to domestic security;
qq. Amounts appropriated for the purpose of abating and suppressing the gypsy moth and its preliminary stages and to protect vegetation or plant life on public or private lands and premises from its harmful effects.
In the first full year when an existing appropriation or expenditure that is subject to budget limitations is made an exception to budget limitations, a municipality shall deduct from its final appropriations upon which its permissible expenditures are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.2), the amount which the municipality expended for that purpose during the last full budget year, or portion thereof, in which the purpose so excepted was funded from appropriations in the municipal budget.
In the first full year when an existing appropriation or expenditure that is not subject to budget limitations is made subject to budget limitations, a municipality shall add to its final appropriations upon which its permissible expenditures are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.2), the amount which the municipality expended for that purpose during the last full budget year, or portion thereof, in which the purpose so excepted was funded from appropriations in the municipal budget.
(cf: P.L.2004, c.74, s.3)
2. Section 4 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.4) is amended to read as follows:
4. In the preparation of its budget, a county may not increase the county tax levy to be apportioned among its constituent municipalities in excess of 2.5% or the cost-of-living adjustment, whichever is less, of the previous year's county tax levy, subject to the following exceptions:
a. The amount of revenue generated by the increase in valuations within the county, based solely on applying the preceding year's county tax rate to the apportionment valuation of new construction or improvements within the county, and such increase shall be levied in direct proportion to said valuation;
b. Capital expenditures, including appropriations for current capital expenditures, whether in the capital improvement fund or as a component of a line item elsewhere in the budget, provided that any such current capital expenditures would be otherwise bondable under the requirements of N.J.S.40A:2-21 and 40A:2-22;
c. (1) An increase based upon emergency temporary appropriations made pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-20 to meet an urgent situation or event which immediately endangers the health, safety or property of the residents of the county, and over which the governing body had no control and for which it could not plan and emergency appropriations made pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-46. Emergency temporary appropriations and emergency appropriations shall be approved by at least two-thirds of the governing body and by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, and shall not exceed in the aggregate 3% of the previous year's final current operating appropriations.
(2) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
The approval procedure in this subsection shall not apply to appropriations adopted for a purpose referred to in subsection d. or f. below;
d. All debt service;
e. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
f. Amounts required to be paid pursuant to (1) any contract with respect to use, service or provision of any project, facility or public improvement for water, sewerage, parking, senior citizen housing or any similar purpose, or payments on account of debt service therefor, between a county and any other county, municipality, school or other district, agency, authority, commission, instrumentality, public corporation, body corporate and politic or political subdivision of this State; and (2) any lease of a facility owned by a county improvement authority when the lease payment represents the proportionate amount necessary to amortize the debt incurred by the authority in providing the facility which is leased, in whole or in part;
g. That portion of the county tax levy which represents funding to participate in any federal or State aid program and amounts received or to be received from federal, State or other funds in reimbursement for local expenditures. If a county provides matching funds in order to receive the federal or State or other funds, only the amount of the match which is required by law or agreement to be provided by the county shall be excepted;
h. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1987, c.74.)
i. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
j. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
k. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
l. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74.)
m. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
n. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
o. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89.)
p. Extraordinary expenses, approved by the Local Finance Board, required for the implementation of an interlocal services agreement;
q. Any expenditure mandated as a result of a natural disaster, civil disturbance or other emergency that is specifically authorized pursuant to a declaration of an emergency by the President of the United States or by the Governor;
r. Expenditures for the cost of services mandated by any order of court, by any federal or State statute, or by administrative rule, directive, order, or other legally binding device issued by a State agency which has identified such cost as mandated expenditures on certification to the Local Finance Board by the State agency;
s. That portion of the county tax levy which represents funding to a county college in excess of the county tax levy required to fund the county college in local budget year 1992;
t. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74.)
u. Expenditures for the administration of general public assistance pursuant to P.L.1995, c.259 (C.40A:4-6.1 et al.);
v. Amounts in a separate line item of a county budget that are expended on tick-borne disease vector management activities undertaken pursuant to P.L.1997, c.52 (C.26:2P-7 et al.);
w. Amounts expended by a county under an interlocal services agreement entered into pursuant to the "Interlocal Services Act," P.L.1973, c.208 (C.40:8A-1 et seq.) entered into after the effective date of P.L.2000, c.126 (C.52:13H-21 et al.) or amounts expended under a joint contract pursuant to the "Consolidated Municipal Service Act," P.L.1952, c.72 (C.40:48B-1 et seq.) entered into after the effective date of P.L.2000, c.126 (C.52:13H-21 et al.);
x. Amounts appropriated in the first three years after the effective date of P.L.2003, c.92 (C.18A:7F-5b et al.) for liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance and employee group insurance;
y. Amounts appropriated in the first three years after the effective date of P.L.2003, c.92 (C.18A:7F-5b et al.) for costs of domestic security preparedness and responses to incidents and threats to domestic security;
z. Amounts appropriated for the purpose of abating and suppressing the gypsy moth and its preliminary stages and to protect vegetation or plant life on public or private lands and premises from its harmful effects.
In the first full year where an existing appropriation or expenditure that is subject to budget limitations is made an exception to budget limitations, a county shall deduct from its final appropriations upon which its permissible expenditures are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.2) the amount which the county expended for that purpose during the last full budget year, or portion thereof, in which the purpose so excepted was funded from appropriations in the county budget.
In the first full year where an existing appropriation or expenditure that is not subject to budget limitations is made subject to budget limitations, a county shall add to its final appropriations upon which its permissible expenditures are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.2) the amount which the county expended for that purpose during the last full budget year, or portion thereof, in which the purpose so excepted was funded from appropriations in the county budget.
(cf: P.L.2004, c.74, s.7)
3. Section 9 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.44) is amended to read as follows:
9. For the purposes of sections 9 through 13 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.44 through C.40A:4-45.47 and C.40A:4-45.3e):
"Adjusted tax levy" means an amount not greater than the amount to be raised by taxation of the previous fiscal year, less any waivers from a prior fiscal year required to be deducted by the Local Finance Board pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.46), and less all amounts appropriated in the previous fiscal year for the purpose of abating and suppressing the gypsy moth and its preliminary stages and to protect vegetation or plant life on public or private lands and premises from its harmful effects, with that result multiplied by 1.04, to which the sum of exclusions defined in subsection b. of section 10 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.45) shall be added.
"Amount to be raised by taxation" means the property tax levy set in the annual budget of a local unit.
"Local unit" means a municipality, county, fire district, or solid waste collection district, but shall not include a municipality that had a municipal purposes tax rate of $0.10 or less per $100 for the previous tax year.
"New ratables" means the product of the taxable value of any new construction or improvements times the tax rate of a local unit for its previous tax year.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.62, s.9)
4. Section 10 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.45) is amended to read as follows:
10. a. In the preparation of its budget the amount to be raised by taxation by a local unit shall not exceed the sum of new ratables, the adjusted tax levy, and the total of waivers approved pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.46); provided, however, that in the case of a county, the amount to be raised by taxation shall not exceed the amount permitted by section 4 of P.L.1976, c. 68 (C.40A:4-45.4).
b. The following exclusions shall be added to the calculation of the adjusted tax levy:
(1) increases in amounts required to be raised for (a) all debt service and (b) lease payments with county improvement authorities pursuant to leases in effect on the effective date of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-37 et al.);
(2) increases in amounts required to be raised to replace State formula aid due to a reduction in State formula aid from the previous local budget year;
(3) increases in amounts for certain pension contributions set forth in section 5 of P.L.2003, c.108 (C.40A:4-45.43) for the years set forth in that section;
(4) with respect to municipalities, any increase, greater than four percent, in the reserve for uncollected taxes that is required by law;
(5) increases in health care costs equal to that portion of the actual increase in total health care costs for the budget year that is in excess of four percent of the total health care costs in the prior year, but is not in excess of the product of the total health care costs in the prior year and the average percentage increase of the State Health Benefits Program, P.L.1961, c.49 (C.52:14-17.25 et seq.), as annually determined by the Division of Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury;
(6) amounts appropriated for the purpose of abating and suppressing the gypsy moth and its preliminary stages and to protect vegetation or plant life on public or private lands and premises from its harmful effects.
c. Notwithstanding the other provisions of [this] subsection b. of this section, when the appropriation for all debt service is less than the amount appropriated for all debt service in the prior fiscal year, the amount of the difference shall be deducted from the sum of the exclusions listed in paragraphs (1) through [(5)] (6) of this subsection. If there are no exclusions, then the amount of the difference shall reduce the adjusted tax levy by that amount. Any cancelled or unexpended appropriation for any exclusion pursuant to this subsection or waiver pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.46), also shall be deducted from the sum of the exclusions listed in paragraphs (1) through [(5)] (6) or directly reduce the adjusted tax levy if there are no exclusions.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.62, s.10)
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill is intended to remove amounts required to be appropriated for the purpose of abating and suppressing the gypsy moth and its preliminary stages and to protect vegetation or plant life on public or private lands and premises from its harmful effects from the municipal expenditure cap and the county and municipal cap on increases to the property tax levy. The gypsy moth (Porthetria dispar L.) has been declared to be a public nuisance and the protection of vegetation or plant life from its harmful effects is deemed to be a subject matter of public welfare.
