New Jersey-2024-A651-Introduced

An Act permitting a demonstration county to terminate its participation in the "Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program," amending and supplementing P.L.2013, c.15.

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

1. Section 4 of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-104) is amended to read as follows:

4. a. There is established a real property assessment demonstration program, which shall be open for participation therein to any county in the State, to evaluate the efficacy and functionality of a municipal system of real property assessment directed by a county tax board through the county tax administrator pursuant to a revised assessment, and assessment appeal, calendar.

A goal of the demonstration program is to demonstrate an enhanced system of municipal real property assessment as a complement to the county-based real property assessment system pilot program undertaken pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2009, c.118 (C.54:1-86 et seq.), under which the entire real property assessment function formerly performed by the municipal tax assessor, has been transferred to the county through the appointment of a county assessor and deputy county assessors. The existence of two programs under which the real property assessment function is performed using two different methods will allow the Legislature to evaluate the effectiveness of each system of real property assessment, and to determine whether the current statutory system of real property assessment function should be revised Statewide.

For the first two full tax years immediately following the enactment of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-101 et al.), no more than two counties shall participate in the demonstration program established in this section, and for the third and fourth full tax years immediately following the enactment of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-101 et al.), no more than two additional counties shall participate in the demonstration program established in this section. A county shall not institute a demonstration program pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-101 et al.) unless it meets the following criteria, and provides the required information to the Director of the Division of Taxation and to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services:

(i) the county tax board by resolution, shall certify to the Director of the Division of Taxation and to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services that the county tax board has sufficient funds available to pay all of the costs associated with the demonstration program, including the conversion to the MOD-IV system and the associated expansion of the technology infrastructure to the municipalities in the county. The county tax board shall forward the resolution to the Director of the Division of Taxation and to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services;

(ii) the county is a State-certified MOD-IV vendor, or the county has contracted with a single State-certified MOD-IV vendor to provide MOD-IV technology to all of the municipalities in the county. The county shall provide a copy of its MOD-IV certification, or a copy of a valid contract for MOD-IV services;

(iii) the members of the county's assessors' association, by not less than 2/3rds of its voting membership, have approved the implementation of the demonstration program. The county tax board shall forward the resolution to the Director of the Division of Taxation and to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services.

b. There shall be no direct appropriation of State funds used to effectuate the provisions of the demonstration program established in subsection a. of this section. The technical costs of the demonstration program shall be paid by the county board of taxation using assessment appeal filing fees collected by the county board of taxation pursuant to section 18 of P.L.1979, c.499 (C.54:3-21.3a).

c. (1) Not later than September 1 immediately preceding demonstration program implementation, and using its own funds therefor, the county tax board of each demonstration county participating in the demonstration program established in subsection a. of this section shall provide MOD-IV and CAMA software to each municipality that does not use the software, at no cost to those municipalities, and shall provide, at no cost to those municipalities, training in the use of the software to the assessors of those municipalities, and to their respective staff members. Thereafter, each municipality shall pay an annual fee per each taxable line item in the municipality to the county tax board for the MOD-IV and CAMA service.

(2) On October 1 next following the provision of software under paragraph (1) of this subsection, each demonstration county shall commence the demonstration program under a plan developed by the county tax administrator of each demonstration county, approved by the county board of taxation, and submitted to the Director of the Division of Taxation and the Director of the Division of Local Government Services not less than 60 days prior to October 1. The Director of the Division of Taxation and the Director of the Division of Local Government Services shall not propose or require any changes to a demonstration program plan submitted by a county board of taxation unless a provision of the demonstration program shall be inconsistent with State law, or the decision of any court of this State, regarding the assessment of real property unless the changes have been agreed to by a majority of the members of a demonstration county's Assessment Demonstration Program Steering Committee created pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection. The demonstration program of each demonstration county shall operate under all statutory requirements and pursuant to all statutory dates and time frames concerning the assessment of real property in the State, as those statutory dates and time frames have been amended pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-101 et al.).

(3) Each demonstration county shall establish an "Assessment Demonstration Program Steering Committee" to monitor and report on the activities within the demonstration county relative to the demonstration program. Members of the steering committee shall be the State Treasurer or his designee, the Director of the Division of Taxation or his designee, the Director of the Division of Local Government Services or his designee, a member of the County Assessor's Association of the demonstration county, and the county tax administrator of the demonstration county. Actions taken by the steering committee shall be approved by a majority of the members of the steering committee.

d. The Director of the Division of Taxation and the Director of the Division of Local Government Services shall, with the advice and the recommendations of the county tax administrator provide to the Governor and to the Legislature, not later than July 1 next following the fourth full tax year after the implementation of the demonstration program, a report detailing the experience of each demonstration county participating in the demonstration program, the successes of the program, any problems experienced under the program, and any recommendations for statutory or administrative changes to the current system of real property assessment in the State.

e. Under the demonstration program, each municipal assessor in a demonstration county shall utilize the same property assessment software as is used by the county tax board and provided to the municipalities by the county tax board pursuant to subsection c. of this section. All real property assessment functions required pursuant to State law, including the revaluation or reassessment of real property, as well as other assessment-based functions such as the development of a compliance plan, maintenance of assessments and the calculation of added assessments shall be performed using the property assessment software.

f. In accordance with the provisions of statutory law and with any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, the county board of taxation of a demonstration county shall compel the implementation of a revaluation or reassessment of real property in any municipality in the demonstration county at such time that the county board of taxation determines the need therefor. If a municipality fails to comply with a revaluation or reassessment, as appropriate, ordered by the county board of taxation in a timely manner, the county board of taxation shall cause the revaluation or reassessment, as appropriate, to be performed at the municipality's cost. The cost of a revaluation or reassessment, as appropriate, shall be directly billed to such a municipality, in addition to the apportionment valuation, through the adjustment of the county levy for that municipality pursuant to R.S.54:4-48 and R.S.54:4-49. A municipality feeling aggrieved by a decision of the county board of taxation to cause the revaluation or reassessment, as appropriate, to be performed at the municipality's cost may file an appeal of that decision of the county board of taxation to the Tax Court within 45 days of the approval by the Director of the Division of Taxation of the county tax board's order requiring the revaluation or reassessment, as appropriate.

g. The Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, and the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, shall have the authority to take any action as is deemed necessary and consistent with the intent of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-101 et al.) to implement its provisions, including but not limited to the authority to waive any provisions of statutory law and regulations that may be inconsistent with the intent or application of the provisions of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-101 et al.).

h. (1) The governing body of a demonstration county, by resolution, may terminate its participation in the demonstration program prior to the issuance of the report required to be issued to the Governor and to the Legislature pursuant to the provisions of subsection d. of this section. The termination shall take effect for the tax year immediately following the adoption of the resolution, and all of the municipalities in the county shall revert to, and follow, the requirements of law pertaining to the assessment of real property applicable to a county board of taxation that does not participate in the demonstration program.

(2) The Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, and the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, shall have the authority to take any action as is deemed necessary and consistent with the intent of this subsection to implement a county's termination of its participation in the demonstration program, including, but not limited to, the authority to waive any provisions of statutory law and regulations that may be inconsistent with the intent or application of this subsection.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.15, s.4)

2. (New section) Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, a municipality that is undergoing a revaluation shall not be included in the demonstration program for the year in which the revaluation takes effect.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would permit a county participating in the "Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program" created in P.L.2013, c.15 (C.43:1-101 et seq.), by resolution, to terminate its participation in the demonstration at any time prior to the issuance of the report required to be issued to the Governor and to the Legislature (not later than July 1 next following the fourth full tax year after the implementation of the program). The termination would take effect for the tax year immediately following the adoption of the resolution, and all of the municipalities in the county would revert to, and follow, the requirements of law pertaining to the assessment of real property that are applicable to a county board of taxation that does not participate in the demonstration program.

The bill also requires that a municipality that is undergoing a revaluation shall not be included in the demonstration program for the year in which the revaluation takes effect.