LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

ASSEMBLY, No. 5778

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: JULY 3, 2025

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Directs Garden State Preservation Trust to perform audit of State’s land preservation programs, authorizes local governments and nonprofit organizations to utilize certain constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues for administrative expenses; appropriates $150,000.

Type of Impact:

Annual State expenditure increase in first year; potential State savings thereafter.  Annual local expenditure increases and potential decreases.

Agencies Affected:

Garden State Preservation Trust; Department of Environmental Protection; Department of Agriculture; Department of Community Affairs; certain local government units.

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Year 1

Year 2 and Beyond

State Expenditure Increase

Up to $150,000

Indeterminate

Potential State Savings

Indeterminate

Indeterminate

Local Expenditure Net Impact

Indeterminate

Indeterminate

 

 

·       The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that there will be a State expenditure increase of up to $150,000 in the first year for the Garden State Preservation Trust to conduct, or cause to be conducted, an audit of the State’s land preservation programs.

 

·       The bill requires the audit to identify program inefficiencies and recommend a fund reallocation when appropriate.  The OLS finds that there may be State savings in subsequent years from program inefficiencies being addressed.

·       The OLS determines that the bill’s provisions would have an indeterminate annual impact on local expenditures.  Specifically, authorizing local entities to utilize up to three percent of the value of the development easement or fee simple title for administrative expenses would result in expenditure increases, while setting a time limit of 18 months to spend allocated funds could in certain instances result in expenditure decreases. 

 

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      This bill would direct the Garden State Preservation Trust to perform, or cause to be performed, a comprehensive audit of the programs and accounts overseen by the Garden State Preservation Trust, including the Green Acres program, the Blue Acres program, the Farmland Preservation program, and the Historic Property Preservation program. The audit would formally account for the programs overseen by the trust, identify any inefficiencies in the programs, and, when appropriate, recommend a reallocation of funds.

      The bill would also amend existing law to authorize local governments and nonprofit recipients of corporation business tax revenues which are constitutionally dedicated for farmland preservation purposes to use a certain portion of the funds for administrative expenses.

      Finally, the bill would require that any moneys that have been allocated to a local government from the Preserve New Jersey Farmland Preservation Fund, which are uncommitted within 18 months after the date on which they were allocated to the local government unit, be returned to the fund.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS concludes that there will be a State expenditure increase of up to $150,000 in the first year for the Garden State Preservation Trust to conduct, or cause to be conducted, an audit of the State’s land preservation programs.

      The bill requires the audit to identify program inefficiencies and recommend a fund reallocation when appropriate.  The OLS finds that there may be State savings in subsequent years from program inefficiencies being addressed. 

      The time limit in the bill of 18 months to spend allocated funds would reduce local expenditures in a scenario in which the local government unit was not able to able to spend the funds within 18 months, but would have later spend the funds if there was no time limit in place.  The return of unexpended amounts to the Preserve New Jersey Farmland Preservation Fund could reduce future State expenditures if future allocations are better aligned with program spending.

      The bill authorizes local entities to utilize up to three percent of the value of the development easement or fee simple title for administrative expenses, which would result in local expenditure increases. The OLS notes that as can be found in Assembly Bill No. 5861, $21.0 million is anticipated to be provided to counties and municipalities as grants for farmland acquisition.  For purposes of illustration, the OLS notes that if the maximum three percent of that amount were utilized for administrative expenses, there would be a collective expenditure increase of $630,000 across local government units.

 

Section:

Environment, Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resources

Analyst:

Anna Heckler

Assistant Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

 

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).