A5333

An Act concerning property tax relief programs, supplementing Titles 52 and 54 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.2017, c.36.

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

1. (New section) In any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for the payment of homestead property tax reimbursements is not sufficient to pay the full amount appropriated pursuant to P.L.1997, c.348 (C.54:4-8.67 et seq.), there shall be appropriated from the Property Tax Relief Fund to the Department of the Treasury such additional amounts as are necessary for that purpose.

2. (New section) In any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for the payment and distribution of Stay NJ property tax credits is not sufficient to pay and distribute the full amount required pursuant to the “Stay NJ Act,” P.L.2023, c.75 (C.54:4-8.75a et al.), there shall be appropriated from the Property Tax Relief Fund to the Department of the Treasury such amounts as are necessary for that purpose.

3. (New section) a. On or before January 1 of the year next following the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and on or before January 1 of each year thereafter, the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, a report showing the total amount of property tax credits and rebates distributed to residents of this State through the ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program, the homestead property tax reimbursement program, and the Stay NJ property tax credit program respectively, or any successor programs thereto, including, but not limited to:

(1) the total number of property tax credits, rebates, and reimbursements distributed under each program;

(2) the total dollar amount of property tax credits, rebates, and reimbursements distributed under each program;

(3) the total number of homeowners and tenants, respectively, eligible to receive a property tax credit, rebate, or reimbursement under each program;

(4) the total number of homeowners and tenants, respectively, that received a property tax credit, rebate, or reimbursement under each program; and

(5) the percentage of eligible homeowners and tenants, respectively, that received a property tax credit, rebate, or reimbursement under each program.

b. The report shall also include information regarding the distribution of property tax credits, rebates, and reimbursements to homeowners and tenants under age 65 and homeowners and renters age 65 and over and the distribution of property tax credits, rebates, and reimbursements by income brackets and by credit and rebate amounts. The report shall include an analysis of the efficacy of the ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program, homestead property tax reimbursement, and the Stay NJ property tax credit program, or any successor programs thereto in reducing the property tax burdens of eligible claimants.

4. (New section) a. There is established in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury, the Property Tax Relief Program Oversight Committee. The committee shall engage in continuous monitoring and oversight of the State’s property tax relief programs, including, but not limited to, the Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) Property Tax Relief Program, the homestead property tax reimbursement program, and the Stay NJ property tax credit program, and any other similar or successor programs.

b. The committee shall issue reports regarding the efficacy of New Jersey’s property tax relief programs in reducing the property tax burden of homeowners and renters in the State and make recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the State’s property tax relief programs and shall recommend improvements to enhance the administration of the State’s property tax relief programs by the State and local governments.

c. The committee shall issue such reports at such intervals as it deems necessary. The committee’s reports shall be submitted to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature. The committee shall make its reports available to the public electronically through the official website of the Department of the Treasury.

5. (New section) a. The Property Tax Relief Program Oversight Committee shall consist of five members. The members of the committee shall be appointed as follows:

(1) three public members appointed by the Governor;

(2) one public member who shall be appointed by the President of the Senate; and

(3) one public member who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly.

b. In appointing members of the committee, the appointing authority shall consider academic, business, and other professionals who have knowledge, expertise, and practical experience in State and local government, economic analysis, governmental finance and fiscal management, real property assessment and valuation, and tax policy practice, implementation, practice, administration, and regulation. No member shall be a nominee for, or hold, an elective office.

c. Members of the committee shall be appointed for a term of four years. Members shall serve until the appointment and qualification of their successors. Any vacancy in the membership of the committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made. Any member of the committee may be removed for cause by the appointing authority. The members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, subject to the availability of funds therefor.

d. The committee shall organize as soon as practicable after the appointment of a majority of its members, and shall select a chairperson from among its members. The members of the committee shall select a secretary who need not be a member of the committee. A majority of the membership of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of committee business. The committee may meet at the call of its chairperson at the times and in the places as it deems necessary to fulfill its duties. The committee may consult with and receive testimony from independent experts, other qualified individuals, and members of the general public.

e. The Department of the Treasury shall provide professional and clerical staff to the committee as may be necessary for the committee’s purposes. The committee shall also be entitled to call its assistance and avail itself of the services or employees of any State agency or county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purpose.

f. The committee may make use of existing studies, surveys, data and other materials in the possess of any State agency and such materials in the possession of any county, municipality, or political subdivision of the State, other than the records and files of the Director of the Division of Taxation that are deemed confidential under R.S.54:50-8.

6. Section 1 of P.L.2017, c.36 (C.52:27D-18.3) is amended to read as follows:

1. The Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall post on its Internet web page a summary of property tax data, based on information provided by the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, for the current calendar year, and for each of the immediately preceding 10 calendar years. The division shall also post on its web page a summary of local government budget data for the current calendar year, and for each of the immediately preceding 10 calendar years, except that the first calendar year such data shall be published for is calendar year 2015.

The property tax data summary shall provide the public with information about the property tax levy for the previous year in each county, municipality, fire district, and school district in the State, and shall include such other statistical information as the division determines to be useful for the public's understanding of the individual components that make up each taxpayer's property tax bill.

In each year, the data shall include, but shall not be limited to, the amount of the average residential property tax bill, the number of residential taxpayers who received a homestead credit payment, and the amount of the average homestead credit payment for each municipality in the State. The property tax data summary shall also include information about the following property tax relief programs: the ["Homestead Property Tax Credit Act,"] “ANCHOR Homestead Property Tax Credit Act,” sections 1 through 10 of P.L.1990, c.61 (C.54:4-8.57 through 54:4-8.66) and sections 3, 14 through 16, 18 and 19 of P.L.1999, c.63 (C.54:4-8.58a and C.54:4-8.66a through C.54:4-8.66e); the "Property Tax Deduction Act," P.L.1996, c.60 (C.54A:3A-15 et seq.); the homestead property tax reimbursement program, P.L.1997, c.348 (C.54:4-8.67 et al.); the disabled veterans property tax exemption, P.L.1948, c.259 (C.54:4-3.30 et seq.); the veterans property tax deduction, P.L.1963, c.171 (C.54:4-8.10 et seq.); [and] the senior and disabled property tax deduction, P.L.1963, c.172 (C.54:4-8.40 et seq.); and the “Stay NJ Act” P.L.2023, c.75 (C.54:4-8.75a et al.).

The data shall also include, but shall not be limited to, the following information:

a. total net valuation taxable,

b. State equalization table average ratio,

c. net county taxes,

d. county library levy,

e. county health services levy,

f. county open space preservation levy,

g. total county levy,

h. school property tax levy,

i. school property tax levy for consolidated, joint, and regional school districts,

j. municipal levy required for debt service of Type I school districts,

k. total school levy,

l. municipal purposes property tax levy,

m. municipal open space preservation levy,

n. municipal library levy,

o. total municipal levy,

p. the total levy used to determine the tax rate for each county, municipality, fire district, and school district; and

q. the equalized and non-equalized tax rates for each local unit.

(cf: P.L.2017, c.36, s.1)

7. This act shall take effect immediately, provided however that sections 1 and 2 shall apply to fiscal years beginning on or after the July 1 next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the State to appropriate full funding for the homestead property tax reimbursement program and the Stay NJ Property Tax Relief Program and provides for additional oversight of the State’s property tax relief programs.

The bill requires the State to appropriate additional State moneys from the Property Tax Relief Fund to the Department of the Treasury in any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for the homestead property tax reimbursement program or the Stay NJ property tax credit program is not sufficient to provide the full amount of property tax relief prescribed under these programs in accordance with current law.

The bill also requires the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to submit annual reports to the Governor and the Legislature regarding the total amount of benefits provided through the State’s property tax relief programs. The report would also include information on the distribution of property tax credits and rebates to senior citizen and non-senior citizen homeowners and tenants and by income bracket.

The bill establishes a five-member Property Tax Relief Program Oversight Committee in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury. The bill requires the committee to conduct ongoing monitoring of the State’s property tax relief programs. The bill directs the committee to issue reports regarding the efficacy of the State’s property tax relief programs in reducing the property tax burden of homeowners in the State and make recommendations to improve the administrative efficiency of the State’s property tax relief programs.

Finally, the bill amends current law to require the inclusion of data regarding the distribution of Stay NJ property tax credits to eligible claimants in each municipality as part of the annual property tax data summary prepared by the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs.