Bill Text: NJ A5522 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Expands definition of qualifying municipality for purposes of urban aid under P.L.1978, c.14.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-09-17 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A5522 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5522-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTWAN L. MCCLELLAN
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Expands definition of qualifying municipality for purposes of urban aid under P.L.1978, c.14.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning urban aid municipalities and amending P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178) is amended to read as follows:
For the purposes of [this act] P.L.1978, c.14 (C.52:27D-178 et seq.), unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Base year" means the second year preceding the annual apportionment of State aid pursuant to this act.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs.
"Net valuation taxable" means the total value of property on which the general tax rate is computed as expressed in column 6 of the Table of Aggregates pursuant to R.S. 54:4-52 for the base year.
"Equalization ratio" means the ratio of assessed value to true value of real property as published in the Certification of Table of Equalized Valuations by the Director of the Division of Taxation for the base year pursuant to P.L. 1954, c. 86, s. 1 (C. 54:1-35.1).
"Equalized valuation" means net valuation taxable divided by the equalization ratio.
"Municipal equalized valuation per capita" means a municipality's equalized valuation divided by the population of the municipality.
"State equalized valuation per capita" means the sum of the equalized valuations of all the municipalities of the State divided by the population of the State.
"General tax rate" means the tax rate for local taxing purposes as defined in R.S. 54:4-52 and as expressed in column 7 of the Table of Aggregates for the base year.
"Equalized tax rate" means the general tax rate multiplied by the equalization ratio.
"State equalized tax rate" means the sum of the total levies on which the tax rates for all the municipalities of the State are computed divided by the sum of the equalized valuations of all the municipalities of the State for the base year.
"Population" means the official population count of the State of New Jersey for the base year as reported by the New Jersey Department of Labor, Office of Demographic and Economic Analysis.
"Ratio H" means the proportion that residential and apartment assessed valuation bears to the total assessed valuation of the real property of a municipality, as calculated by the Division of Taxation in the Treasury Department.
"Publicly financed housing" means any dwelling unit constructed and operated under any of the following Federal and State housing programs:
(a) Any dwelling unit constructed under grants or mortgage financing of the New Jersey Housing Finance Agency.
(b) Any dwelling unit constructed under the following sections of the National Housing Act (Public Law 73-479) as amended and supplemented: section 221(d)(3) as added to by the Housing Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-70) and as subsequently amended; section 236 as added to by the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-448) and as subsequently amended; section 202, Housing Act of 1959 (P.L. 86-372) and as subsequently amended; section 221-H, as added by the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (P.L.89-754) and as subsequently amended.
(c) Any dwelling unit constructed or operated under the United States Housing Act of 1937 (Public Law 75-412) and as subsequently added to and amended.
"ADC children" means the number of children between the ages of five and 17�years in the municipality enrolled in the Aid to Dependent Children Program, as made available by the Division of Public Welfare in the Department of Human Services for the base year in the publication "State of New Jersey, ADC Data Needed to Implement Public Law 89-10, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965," provided, however that the director shall use the best available data comparable to the data provided for the allocation of funds in 1975 pursuant to P.L.1975, c.68.
"Qualifying municipality" means:
(a) a municipality in which:
The number of ADC children exceeds 250, except when the municipality's population exceeds 20,000 with a density exceeding 7,000 per square mile and the municipality's equalized valuation per capita is less than the State equalized valuation per capita by $4,500.00 or more, and
There exists, in the case of a municipality with a population exceeding 15,000, publicly financed housing, and
The municipality's equalized tax rate exceeds the State equalized tax rate, or the municipality's equalized valuation per capita is less than the State equalized valuation per capita by $2,000.00 or more and its population exceeds 25,000, and
The municipality's equalized valuation per capita is less than the State equalized valuation per capita or the municipality's equalized tax rate exceeds the State equalized tax rate by $0.75 or more; or
(b) a city of the fourth class, as defined in N.J.S.40A:6-4, or a municipality with a population between 2,000 and 2,200 as of the most recent decennial census, located in a county of the sixth class, as defined in N.J.S.40A:6-1, where the city or the municipality has either the highest effective property tax rate in the county, or is within the top three percent of the most distressed municipalities in the State, as determined by the most recent Department of Community Affairs' Municipal Revitalization Index, as of the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or both.
"Distribution factor" means for each qualifying municipality the following:
NOTE: TO PRINT A SIGMA IN THE EQUATION, ASSIGN THE IN LINE 12 PITCH FONT AS FONT 01 AND ASSIGN IT TO THE APPROPRIATE CHARACTER.
DF = 0.6 ( W ) +.04 ( 26T )
(S W) (S T)
where, DF equals the Distribution Factor
W equals ADC children in the municipality
T equals P (Vs-Vm) (Rm-Rs) Z
For the purposes of computing the distribution factor, when
T has a negative value, it shall be assigned a value of zero.
P equals Population
Vs equals State Equalized Valuation Per Capita
Vm equals Municipal Equalized Valuation Per Capita
Rm equals Municipal Equalized Tax Rate
Rs equals State equalized Tax Rate
Z equals Ratio H.
(cf: P.L.1987, c.439, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the P.L.1978, c.14 definition of a "qualifying municipality" for the purpose of receiving urban aid to include a city of the fourth class, or a municipality with certain population demographics in a county of the sixth class where the city or the municipality has either the highest effective property tax rate in the county, or is within the top three percent of the most distressed municipalities in the State, as determined by the most recent Department of Community Affairs' Municipal Revitalization Index, or both. The provisions of the bill allow the City of Wildwood and the Borough of Woodbine, both in Cape May County, to qualify as urban aid municipalities under P.L.1978, c.14.
In addition to the classification for the purposes of urban aid under P.L.1978, c.14, the bill will, by effect of existing references to P.L.1978, c.14 in current law, also extend other benefits and considerations available to urban aid municipalities to the City of Wildwood and the Borough of Woodbine.
