Bill Text: NJ S267 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides automatic farmland assessment for owners of permanently preserved farmland.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee [S267 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S267-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Cape May, Atlantic and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Provides automatic farmland assessment for owners of permanently preserved farmland.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning farmland assessment, and amending P.L.1964, c.48, P.L.1968, c.455, and P.L.1971, c.400.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3) is amended to read as follows:
3. Land shall be deemed to be in agricultural use when devoted to the production for sale of plants and animals useful to man, including but not limited to: forages and sod crops; grains and feed crops; dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including beef cattle, sheep, swine, horses, ponies, mules or goats, including the breeding, boarding, raising, rehabilitating, training or grazing of any or all of such animals, except that "livestock" shall not include dogs; bees and apiary products; fur animals; trees and forest products; when the land is preserved farmland; or when 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, except that land which is devoted exclusively to the production for sale of tree and forest products, other than Christmas trees, and is not appurtenant woodland, shall not be deemed to be in agricultural use unless the landowner fulfills the following additional conditions:
a. The landowner establishes and complies with the provisions of a woodland management plan for this land, prepared in accordance with policies, guidelines and practices approved by the Division of Parks and Forestry in the Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and the Dean of Cook College at Rutgers, The State University, which policies, guidelines and practices are designed to eliminate excessive and unnecessary cutting;
b. The landowner and a forester from a list of foresters approved by the Department of Environmental Protection annually attest to compliance with subsection a. of this section; and
c. The landowner annually submits an application, as prescribed in section 13 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.13), to the assessor, accompanied by a copy of the plan established pursuant to subsection a. of this section; written documentation of compliance with subsection b. of this section; a supplementary woodland data form setting forth woodland management actions taken in the pre-tax year, the type and quantity of tree and forest products sold, and the amount of income received or anticipated for same; a map of the land showing the location of the activity and the soil group classes of the land; and other pertinent information required by the Director of the Division of Taxation as part of the application for valuation, assessment and taxation, as provided in P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.). The landowner shall, at the same time, submit to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection an exact copy of the application and accompanying information submitted to the assessor pursuant to this subsection. For the purposes of this amendatory and supplementary act, "appurtenant woodland" means a wooded piece of property which is contiguous to, part of, or beneficial to a tract of land, which tract of land has a minimum area of at least five acres devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses other than the production for sale of trees and forest products, exclusive of Christmas trees, to which tract of land the woodland is supportive and subordinate.
d. For the purposes of this section, "preserved farmland" means land on which a development easement was conveyed to, or retained by, the State Agriculture Development Committee, a county agricultural development board or other county or municipal entity, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization pursuant to the provisions of section 24 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-31), section 5 of P.L.1988, c.4 (C.4:1C-31.1), section 1 of P.L.1989, c.28 (C.4:1C-38), section 1 of P.L.1999, c.180 (C.4:1C-43.1), sections 37 through 40 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-37 through C.13:8C-40), or any other State law enacted for farmland preservation purposes.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.276, s.1)
2. Section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. 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 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] $500 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] $500 within a reasonable period of time.
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 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] $5 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] $5 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] The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to preserved farmland.
b. Any land that is preserved farmland shall be deemed to be actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use.
Each municipality shall establish procedures and recordkeeping standards with the municipal tax assessor for the registration of permanently preserved farmland for the purposes of this subsection, including, but not necessarily limited to, compliance with any requirements of the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury and the automatic application of farmland assessment to the preserved farmland after its initial registration. Upon receipt of documentation of the permanent preservation of land as preserved farmland, the owner of the land shall register the land with the municipal tax assessor pursuant to the procedures established pursuant to this subsection, and the land shall be valued, assessed and taxed in accordance with P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) annually thereafter, without need for further registration or application as long as the land remains preserved farmland.
c. 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 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.
d. 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.
e. For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Livestock" shall not include dogs;
(2) The presence of an intervening public thoroughfare shall not preclude a finding of contiguity; and
(3) "Preserved farmland" means land on which a development easement was conveyed to, or retained by, the State Agriculture Development Committee, a county agricultural development board or other county or municipal entity, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization pursuant to the provisions of section 24 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-31), section 5 of P.L.1988, c.4 (C.4:1C-31.1), section 1 of P.L.1989, c.28 (C.4:1C-38), section 1 of P.L.1999, c.180 (C.4:1C-43.1), sections 37 through 40 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-37 through C.13:8C-40), or any other State law enacted for farmland preservation purposes.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.276, s.2)
3. Section 6 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.6) is amended to read as follows:
6. Land which is actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use shall be eligible for valuation, assessment and taxation as herein provided when it meets the following qualifications:
(a) It has been so devoted for at least the two successive years immediately preceding the tax year for which valuation under this act is requested;
(b) The area of such land is not less than five acres when measured in accordance with the provisions of section 11 hereof; and
(c) Application by the owner of such land for valuation hereunder is submitted on or before August 1 of the year immediately preceding the tax year, except as otherwise provided by subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5), to the assessor of the taxing district in which such land is situated on the form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury;
(d) The assessor may grant an extension of time for filing an application required by this section, which extension shall terminate no later than September 1 of the year immediately preceding the tax year, in any event where it shall appear to the satisfaction of the assessor that failure to file by August 1 was due to (1) the illness of the owner and a certificate of a physician stating that the owner was physically incapacitated and unable to file on or before August 1 and the application is filed with the assessor; or (2) the death of the owner or an immediate member of the owner's family and a certified copy of the death certificate and the application is filed with the assessor by the individual legally responsible for the estate of the owner, or the owner, as the case may be.
As used in this [act] section , "immediate family member" means a person's spouse, child, parent or sibling residing in the same household.
(cf: P.L.1987, c.418, s.1)
4. Section 7 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.7) is amended to read as follows:
7. The assessor in valuing land which qualifies as land actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use under the tests prescribed by this act, and as to which the owner thereof has made timely application , or is registered as provided pursuant to subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5), for valuation, assessment and taxation hereunder for the tax year in issue, shall consider only those indicia of value which such land has for agricultural or horticultural use. In addition to use of his personal knowledge, judgment and experience as to the value of land in agricultural or horticultural use, he shall, in arriving at the value of such land, consider available evidence of agricultural and horticultural capability derived from the soil survey data at Rutgers, The State University, the National Co-operative Soil Survey, and the recommendations of value of such land as made by any county or State-wide committee which may be established to assist the assessor.
(cf: P.L.1964, c.48, s.7)
5. Section 13 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.13) is amended to read as follows:
13. Eligibility of land for valuation, assessment and taxation under this act shall be determined for each tax year separately , except as otherwise provided by subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5) . [Application] Except as otherwise provided by that subsection, application shall be submitted by the owner to the assessor of the taxing district in which such land is situated on or before August 1 or September 1, if an extension of time has been granted by the assessor under section 6 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.6), of the year immediately preceding the tax year for which such valuation, assessment and taxation are sought. If the application is filed by delivery through the mails or a commercial courier or messenger service, compliance with the time limit for filing shall be established if there is satisfactory evidence that it was committed for delivery to the United States Postal Service or the courier or messenger service within the time allowed for filing. In the case of a courier or messenger service, the application shall be received by the tax assessor of the taxing district within three days after the statutory filing date. An application once filed with the assessor for the ensuing tax year may not be withdrawn by the applicant after August 1 or after September 1, in cases where an extension of time for filing the application has been granted by the assessor, of the pretax year.
If a change in use of the land occurs between August 1 and December 31 of the pretax year, either the assessor or the county board of taxation shall deny or nullify such application and, after examination and inquiry, shall determine the full and fair value of said land under the valuation standard applicable to other land in the taxing district and shall assess the same, according to such value. If, notwithstanding such change of use, the land is valued, assessed and taxed under the provisions of this act in the ensuing year, the assessor shall enter an assessment, as an added assessment against such land, in the "Added Assessment List" for the particular year involved in the manner prescribed in P.L.1941, c.397 (C.54:4-63.1 et seq.). The amount of the added assessment shall be in an amount equal to the difference, if any, between the assessment imposed under this act and the assessment which would have been imposed had the land been valued and assessed as other land in the taxing district. The enforcement and collection of additional taxes resulting from any additional assessments so imposed shall be as provided by said chapter. The additional assessment imposed under this section shall not affect the roll-back taxes, if any, under section 8 of [this act] P.L.1964,c.48 (C.54:4-23.8).
The application review shall include an on-site inspection of the land at least once every three years. The municipality may impose a fee for an on-site inspection of not more than $25, except that contiguous and non-contiguous parcels of land owned by the same owner would be subject to a single fee.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.276, s.5)
6. Section 1 of P.L.1968, c.455 (C.54:4-23.13a) is amended to read as follows:
1. In any municipality in which a program of revaluation of all property in the municipality has been or shall be undertaken and completed in time to be reflected in the assessments for the next succeeding tax year but not in sufficient time to permit taxpayers to make applications pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5), or prior to August 1 of the pretax year, or September 1 of the pretax year if an extension of filing time has been granted by the assessor under section 6 of P.L. 1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.6), for the valuation, assessment and taxation of their lands for the ensuing tax year on the basis of being actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use, any such application which has been or shall be filed with the assessor after August 1, and prior to December 1 of the pretax year, shall be deemed to have been timely made for the tax year next succeeding completion of the revaluation program, and any necessary allowances for the proper registration of preserved farmland, as defined pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3), shall be made, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary of P.L. 1964, c. 48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) or of any other law, and the taxes of any applicant whose lands qualify for valuation, assessment and taxation as lands actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use shall be adjusted accordingly for the tax year commencing January 1 next succeeding completion of the revaluation program and credited or debited, as the case may be, against any taxes due or to become due on such lands.
(cf: P.L.1987, c.418, s.3)
7. Section 1 of P.L.1971, c.400 (C.54:4-23.15a) is amended to read as follows:
1. [On] a. Except for preserved farmland valued, assessed and taxed pursuant to subsection b. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5), on or before July 1 the assessor shall mail to each taxpayer whose land has been valued, assessed, and taxed for the then current tax year pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964" a copy of the form prescribed to claim a continuance of valuation, assessment and taxation under such act for the succeeding tax year together with a notice that the completed form is required to be filed with the assessor on or before August 1.
The failure of any taxpayer to receive a form for claiming continuance of a farmland assessment shall not relieve him of the requirement to claim and establish his right thereto as required by law.
b. For the purposes of this section, "preserved farmland" means land on which a development easement was conveyed to, or retained by, the State Agriculture Development Committee, a county agricultural development board or other county or municipal entity, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization pursuant to the provisions of section 24 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-31), section 5 of P.L.1988, c.4 (C.4:1C-31.1), section 1 of P.L.1989, c.28 (C.4:1C-38), section 1 of P.L.1999, c.180 (C.4:1C-43.1), sections 37 through 40 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-37 through C.13:8C-40), or any other State law enacted for farmland preservation purposes.
(cf: P.L.1971, c.400, s.1)
8. This act shall take effect immediately, except that it shall be applicable to tax years commencing with the tax year immediately following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that permanently preserved farmland would be considered land actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use by virtue of its preservation status, and exempts preserved farmland from the income requirements for valuation, assessment and taxation as farmland under the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964." The bill further directs each municipality to establish procedures and recordkeeping standards with the municipal tax assessors for the registration of permanently preserved farmland so that the preserved farmland would automatically receive farmland assessment each year without application, after the initial registration of the land as preserved farmland.
The bill defines preserved farmland as land on which a development easement was conveyed to, or retained by, the State Agriculture Development Committee, a county agricultural development board or other county or municipal entity, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization pursuant to any of the various listed farmland preservation laws.
