Bill Text: NJ A5857 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Modifies calculation of payments in lieu of taxes for certain State entity redevelopment projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-06-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A5857 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A5857-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHAVONDA E. SUMTER
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
Modifies calculation of payments in lieu of taxes for certain State entity redevelopment projects.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act modifying the calculation of payments in lieu of taxes on redevelopment projects undertaken by State entity redevelopers, and amending P.L.2001, c.310.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2001, c.310 (C.40A:12A-66) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. A municipality that has designated a redevelopment area or a municipality in which a redevelopment project is undertaken by a State entity redeveloper pursuant to a State entity redevelopment agreement may provide for tax abatement within that redevelopment area and for payments in lieu of taxes in accordance with the provisions of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.) and P.L.1991, c.441 (C.40A:21-1 et seq.); provided, however, that the provisions of section 12 of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-12) establishing a minimum or maximum annual service charge and requiring staged increases in annual service charges over the term of the exemption period, and of section 13 of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-13) permitting the relinquishment of status under that act, shall not apply to redevelopment projects financed with bonds.
b. A municipality in which a redevelopment project is undertaken by a State entity redeveloper pursuant to a State entity redevelopment agreement regarding real property that is not otherwise subject to real property tax may provide for payments in lieu of taxes pursuant to a financial agreement among, as applicable, the State entity or the municipality or both, and the State entity redeveloper receiving the benefits of sections 1 through 10 of P.L.2001, c.310 (C.40A:12A-64 et seq.) without regard to the provisions of P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.).
Where a redevelopment project is constructed on State owned land, or land of an agency or instrumentality of the State, the land shall be exempt from taxation, and the actual or imputed value of the land shall be excluded from the calculation of payments in lieu of taxes. Alternatively, the State entity redeveloper shall be entitled to a credit against the payments in lieu of taxes for the amount, without interest, of the previous year's payments in lieu of taxes allocable to the actual or imputed value of the land,
c. In addition to, or in lieu of, the payments in lieu of taxes provided for in subsection a. or b. of this section, the municipality may provide by ordinance for one or more special assessments within the redevelopment area in accordance with chapter 56 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes, R.S.40:56-1 et seq., provided, however, the local improvements for which special assessments may be made may include any improvement in the redevelopment area whether or not listed at R.S.40:56-1 and environmental remediation and, provided further, that the provisions of R.S.40:56-35 shall be applied so that if any installment of a special assessment shall remain unpaid for 30 days after the time at which it shall become due, the municipality may provide, by ordinance, either that: (1) the whole assessment or balance due thereon shall become and be immediately due; or, (2) any subsequent installments which would not yet have become due except for the default shall be considered as not in default and that the lien for the installments not yet due shall continue; and provided, further, that the ordinance may require that the assessments be payable in quarterly, semi-annual, or yearly installments, with legal interest thereon, over a period of years up to but in no event exceeding the period of years for which the bonds were issued. In levying a special assessment on the lands or improvements, or both, located in the redevelopment area, the municipality may provide that the amount of the special assessment shall be a specific amount, not to exceed the cost of the improvements, plus any out-of-pocket costs or expenses incurred in connection with such improvements, including, but not limited to, architectural, engineering, financing, legal, and other professional fees, paid with respect to property located in the redevelopment area. That specific amount shall, to the extent accepted by the owner of the property benefitted, be deemed the conferred benefit, in lieu of the amount being determined by the procedures otherwise applicable to determining the actual benefit conferred on the property. Special assessments levied pursuant to an ordinance adopted under this subsection shall constitute a municipal lien under R.S.40:56-33.
d. Upon adoption, a copy of the ordinance shall be filed for public inspection in the office of the municipal clerk, and there shall be published in a newspaper, published or circulating in the municipality, a notice stating the fact and the date of adoption and the place where the ordinance is filed and a summary of the contents of the ordinance. The notice shall state that any action or proceeding of any kind or nature in any court questioning the validity or proper authorization of the ordinance or the actions authorized to be taken as set forth in the ordinance shall be commenced within 20 days after the publication of the notice. If no action or proceeding questioning the validity of the ordinance providing for tax abatement, special assessments, payments in lieu of taxes, or other actions authorized by the ordinance shall be commenced or instituted within 20 days after the publication of the notice, the county and the school district and all other municipalities within the county and all residents and taxpayers and owners of property therein shall be forever barred and foreclosed from instituting or commencing any action or proceeding in any court questioning the validity or enforceability of the ordinance or the validity or enforceability of acts authorized under the ordinance, and the ordinance and acts authorized by the ordinance shall be conclusively deemed to be valid and enforceable in accordance with their terms and tenor.
e. Notwithstanding any provision of the "Redevelopment Area Bond Financing Law," sections 1 through 10 of P.L.2001, c.310 (C.40A:12A-64 et seq.), or the "Long Term Tax Exemption Law," P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.), to the contrary, whenever proceeds of a bond are used to conduct environmental remediation, the term of any agreement securing that bond, whether a financial agreement providing a payment in lieu of taxes or a special assessment agreement providing for the payment of a special assessment, or both, may, subject to the board's review and approval pursuant to subsection g. of section 4 of P.L.2001, c.310 (C.40A:12A-67), be 35 years plus the anticipated duration of conducting environmental remediation; provided, however, that the term of any such agreement securing the bonds shall not exceed 30 years from substantial completion of the redevelopment project associated with the environmental remediation.
(cf: P.L.2018, c.97, s.13)
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be applicable to the calculation of payments in lieu of taxes for calendar year 2021 and thereafter.
STATEMENT
This bill would modify the calculation of payments in law of taxes (PILOTs) applicable to certain State entity redevelopers when a redevelopment project is undertaken on State-owned land, or on land owned by an agency or instrumentality of the State. Under that circumstance, the land shall be exempt from taxation, and the calculation of PILOTs shall exclude the actual or imputed value of the land from the calculation. Alternatively, the bill provides that the State entity redeveloper shall be entitled, as a credit against the PILOTs, to the amount of the previous year's payments in lieu of taxes, without interest, allocable to the actual or imputed value of the land.
