Bill Text: NJ A532 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Excludes contributions to volunteer first aid or rescue squads from appropriations cap and property tax levy cap for certain local units.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A532 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A532-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CHRISTIAN E. BARRANCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Excludes contributions to volunteer first aid or rescue squads from appropriations cap and property tax levy cap for certain local units.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning contributions to volunteer first aid or rescue squads in certain local unit budgets, 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 N.J.S.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 C.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 (C. (C.40:48-2.5b);
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 R.S.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 al.) 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 required to be paid by a municipality pursuant to the provisions of section 4 of P.L.2007, c.311 (C.13:1E-96.5);
rr. Amounts expended to provide direct contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad that serves the municipality.
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.2007, c.311, s.17)
2. Section 10 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.45) is amended to
read as follows:
10. a. (1) In the preparation of its budget the amount to be raised by taxation by a local unit shall not exceed, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, 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).
(2) A local unit that has not been granted approval for a waiver pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.46), may add to its adjusted tax levy in any one of the next three succeeding years, the amount of the difference between the maximum allowable amount to be raised by taxation or county purposes tax, as applicable, for the current local budget year pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection and the actual amount to be raised by taxation or county purposes tax, as applicable, for the current local budget year.
b. The following exclusions shall be added to the calculation of the adjusted tax levy:
(1) increases in amounts required to be raised by taxation for capital expenditures, including debt service as defined by law;
(2) increases in pension contributions and accrued liability for pension contributions in excess of 2.0%;
(3) 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 2.0% 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; [and]
(4) extraordinary costs incurred by a local unit directly related to a declared emergency, as defined by regulation promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education, as appropriate; and
(5) increases in direct contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad that serves the local unit equal to that portion of the actual increase in total direct contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad that serves the local unit for the budget year that is in excess of 2.0% of the total direct contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad that served the local unit in the prior budget year.
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 this subsection or directly reduce the adjusted tax levy if there are no exclusions.
(cf: P.L.2010, c.44, s.9)
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to budgets adopted by a municipality following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
The bill moves contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad outside of the budget appropriation and property tax levy caps for certain local units.
N.J.S.A.40A:4-45.3 requires that a municipality limit appropriation increases to 2.5 percent or the cost-of-living adjustment, whichever is less, over the previous year's final appropriations, but provides for certain exceptions. The bill would add contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad that serves the municipality to an existing list of allowable exceptions.
N.J.S.A.40A:4-45.45 concerns the preparation of a local unit's budget with respect to the amount to be raised by taxation. The bill would allow local units to raise funds from property taxpayers for certain contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad by making this purpose an exclusion from the property tax levy cap.
