Bill Text: NJ S1184 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund Act"; appropriates $2 billion.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S1184 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S1184-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
"School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund Act"; appropriates $2 billion.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning school purpose property taxes, supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund Act."
2. a. There is established in the Department of Education a non-lapsing revolving fund entitled the "School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund," which shall be held separate and apart from all other funds of the State. All monies appropriated pursuant to this act, or annually by the Legislature, and any other monies made available for the purposes of the trust fund shall be deposited in the trust fund. The monies in the trust fund are dedicated and shall only be used for the purposes specified in section 3 of this act.
b. Monies in the School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund shall be invested and reinvested by the State Treasurer to the same extent that other trust funds that are in the custody of the State Treasurer are invested. All monies appropriated to the trust fund, all interest accumulated or income earned on monies in the trust fund, and all cash received for the trust fund from any other source, shall be deposited in the trust fund. Pending the allocation of monies in the trust fund by the Commissioner of Education for the purpose of providing grants pursuant to section 3 of this act, all monies in the trust fund shall be invested or reinvested as set forth in this subsection. The commissioner shall not allocate monies from the trust fund for grants in any amount that diminishes the long term viability of the trust fund to provide grants in perpetuity.
3. a. There is established in the Department of Education the "School Property Tax Relief Grant Program." Under the program, using funds from the School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund Account established pursuant to section 2 of this act, the department shall provide one-time grants to school districts to fund capital improvement projects, hire teachers, and absorb increases in wages and benefits for school district employees. A school district that applies for and accepts grant monies from the trust fund may choose to receive the monies as a lump sum payment in the year in which the grant is awarded or by equal payments over a period of five years. A school district that applies for and accepts grant monies from the trust fund shall not be eligible to apply for another grant under the program until five years have elapsed from the initial year in which grant monies were previously awarded, provided that the district meets the conditions set forth in section 4 of this act.
b. The department shall establish rules and procedures for school districts to apply for grants under the program. The rules and procedures established pursuant to this subsection shall include a requirement that the department provide preference to applications submitted:
(1) by a school district, or jointly by more than one school district, with a plan to reduce overall spending over the five year grant period by engaging in a good faith effort to consolidate or enter into shared services agreements, or by engaging in other cost saving measures; and
(2) by a school district that comprises a municipality that has satisfied its obligation, or has established and maintained a realistic opportunity, to provide a fair share of the region's present and prospective need for affordable housing as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction or a designee of the court, which may include the Fair Share Housing Center.
4. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a school district that applies for and accepts grant monies through the School Property Tax Relief Grant Program established pursuant to section 3 of this act, shall not adopt a budget with an increase in its adjusted tax levy for each of the next five succeeding school budget years following the school budget year in which the school district receives the grant monies. In the sixth school budget year following the school budget year in which the school district accepted grant monies through the program, the school district shall not add to its adjusted tax levy an amount calculated pursuant to the provisions of subsection e. of section 4 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-39).
5. There is appropriated $2,000,000,000 to be deposited in the School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund from the General Fund and, to the extent permitted by federal law, from funds received by the State under the federal "American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act," Pub.L.117-2, including, but not limited to, funds allocated to the State under the federal "Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund," or any other federal funding provided to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the "School Property Tax Relief Trust Fund," which will be held separate and apart from all other funds of the State. The bill provides for a $2 billion appropriation to be deposited in the trust fund from the General Fund and, to the extent permitted by federal law, from funds received by the State under the federal "American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act," including, but not limited to, funds allocated to the State under the federal "Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund," or any other federal funding provided to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Monies in the trust fund will be invested and reinvested by the State Treasurer to the same extent that other trust funds that are in the custody of the State Treasurer are invested. All monies appropriated to the trust fund, all interest accumulated or income earned on monies in the trust fund, and all cash received for the trust fund from any other source, will be deposited in the trust fund. Pending the allocation of monies in the trust fund by the Commissioner of Education for the purpose of providing grants pursuant the provisions of the bill, all monies in the trust fund will be invested or reinvested. The commissioner is prohibited from allocating monies from the trust fund for grants in any amount that diminishes the long term viability of the trust fund to provide grants in perpetuity.
The bill also establishes in the Department of Education the "School Property Tax Relief Grant Program." Under the program, the department, using funds from the trust fund, will provide a one-time grant to a school district for the school district to fund capital improvement projects, hire teachers, and absorb increases in wages and benefits for school district employees. The department will establish rules and procedures for school districts to apply for grants under the program. A school district that is awarded a grant from the trust fund may choose to receive the grant as a lump sum payment in the year in which the grant is awarded or by equal payments over a period of five years. A school district that is awarded a grant from would not be eligible to apply for another grant until five years have elapsed from the year in which an award was previously granted.
The department will establish rules and procedures for school districts to apply for grants under the program. The rules and procedures will include a requirement to provide preference to applications submitted:
(1) by a school district, or jointly by more than one school district, with a plan to reduce overall spending over the five year grant period by engaging in a good faith effort to consolidate or enter into shared services agreements or other cost saving measures; and
(2) by a school district that comprises a municipality that has satisfied its obligation, or has established and maintained a realistic opportunity, to provide a fair share of the region's present and prospective need for affordable housing as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction or a designee of the court, which may include the Fair Share Housing Center.
Finally, the bill provides that a school district that applies for and accepts grant monies through the grant program is prohibited from adopting a budget with an increase in its adjusted tax levy for the next five succeeding school budget years following the school budget year in which the school district receives the grant monies. In the sixth school budget year following the school budget year in which the school district accepted grant monies through the program, the school district is prohibited from adding to its adjusted tax levy an amount calculated pursuant to the provisions of subsection e. of section 4 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-39). This provision of law refers to the practice commonly referred to as "cap banking." In other words, the bill provides that school districts that receive grant monies under the grant program will not be permitted to use the "cap banking" provision of law in the sixth school budget year following the school budget year in which the school district received grant monies under the program.
