ASSEMBLY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5277

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 20, 2025

      The Assembly State and Local Government Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 5277.

This bill would require the establishment of a public awareness campaign and a call center for certain property tax relief programs offered by the State.  The bill further requires the Stay NJ Task Force to submit an annual report to both the Governor and the Legislature concerning administration of the ANCHOR, Homestead Property Tax Reimbursement (“Senior Freeze”), and Stay NJ Property Tax Credit (“Stay NJ”) programs.

     Specifically, the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Stay NJ Task Force, would be required to undertake a public awareness campaign concerning certain property tax relief programs, including the ANCHOR program, Senior Freeze program, Stay NJ program, and various property tax exemptions and deductions provided for veterans, seniors, and disabled persons.  For each program, the public awareness campaign would provide information concerning: (1) the eligibility requirements, including those related to age, income, residency, and ownership; (2) the application process, including any documentation that is required to be included in each application and the deadlines for application submissions; (3) resources available to assist residents with applications; and (4) any other information the director may deem necessary.

     The bill would further require the Director of the Division of Taxation to establish a call center to assist individuals in navigating the division’s website and submitting applications for property tax relief through certain programs.  Call center services would be provided in English and the three most commonly spoken languages in the State besides English.  The director would also be required to submit an annual report to the Governor and Legislature concerning the activities and accomplishments of the public awareness campaign.

     Finally, the bill would require the Stay NJ Task Force to submit an annual report to the Governor and Legislature concerning the administration of benefits under the ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, and Stay NJ programs for the prior tax year.  The report would contain information on the number of applications processed and approved, the amount of payments made to eligible applicants for the prior tax year, the total costs of each program, any recommendations concerning legislative or regulatory changes to be made to each property tax relief program, any recommendations concerning system improvements that both the State and local government units should make to provide for continued streamlined application and payment of benefits for each program, and the funding required to implement such system improvements.