New Jersey-2012-S2074-Introduced

An Act concerning special occasion events conducted on preserved farmland that promote agricultural tourism and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. a. Notwithstanding any other law, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, to the contrary, a special occasion event may be conducted on preserved farmland provided that:

(1) the income generated from all special occasion events conducted for the calendar year together account for less than 50% of the annual gross income of the preserved farmland;

(2) the special occasion event conducted on the preserved farmland advances the agricultural or horticultural output of the preserved farm and promotes agricultural tourism; and

(3) the special occasion event is conducted on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or federal or State holiday, except that a special occasion event may be conducted on any other day of the week with the approval of the State Agriculture Development Committee. The committee may delegate its authority in that regard to a county agriculture development board.

b. Each county agriculture development board, as part of its annual inspections of preserved farms, shall monitor and confirm compliance with the provisions of this act.

c. An owner or operator of preserved farmland engaged in conducting special occasion events shall annually certify to the county agriculture development board that the special occasion events together account for less than 50% of the annual gross income of the preserved farmland during each calendar year. A county agriculture development board shall forward the certification of annual gross income to the State Agriculture Development Committee.

d. An owner or operator of preserved farmland who violates subsection c. of this section, or who submits false information or a false certification pursuant to subsection c. of this section, shall be liable to a civil penalty of $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for any subsequent offense, to be collected in a civil action commenced by the State Agriculture Development Committee.

Any penalty imposed pursuant to this subsection may be collected, with costs, in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" in connection with this act.

e. As used in this section:

"Agricultural tourism" means affordable, recreational, and educational activities, events and opportunities to learn about the production of food, agricultural and horticultural products and the State's farming heritage while helping to encourage the preservation of agricultural lands. "Agricultural tourism" may include, but need not be limited to, activities, events and opportunities such as agricultural fairs, corn mazes, farm festivals, farm markets, hayrides, horseback riding, pick-your-own operations, school tours, special occasion events, and winery tours.

"Preserved farmland" means land on which a development easement was conveyed to, or retained by, the State Agriculture Development Committee, a county agriculture development board, a county, a municipality, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization pursuant to the provisions of section 24 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-31), section 5 of P.L.1988, c.4 (C.4:1C-31.1), section 1 of P.L.1989, c.28 (C.4:1C-38), section 1 of P.L.1999, c.180 (C.4:1C-43.1), sections 37 through 40 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-37 through C.13:8C-40), or any other State law enacted for farmland preservation purposes.

"Special occasion event" means a wedding, other lifetime milestone event, or other special event, as determined by a county agriculture development board, held on a date allowed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section, and which advances the agricultural or horticultural output of the preserved farm and promotes agricultural tourism.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would permit special occasion events to be conducted on preserved farmland, provided that: (1) the income generated from special occasion events conducted for the calendar year accounts for less than 50% of the annual gross income of the preserved farmland; (2) the special occasion events advance the agricultural or horticultural output of the farm and promotes agricultural tourism; and (3) the special occasion events are conducted on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or federal or State holiday, except that a special occasion event may be conducted on any other day of the week with the approval of the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC), or of the county agriculture development board (CADB) if delegated the authority to do so by the SADC.

An owner or operator of preserved farmland engaged in conducting special occasion events would be required to annually certify to the CADB that the special occasion events account for less than 50% of the annual gross income of the preserved farmland during each calendar year, and the CADB would be required to forward the certification of annual gross income to the SADC. An owner or operator of preserved farmland who violates this certification requirement, or who submits false information or a false certification, would be liable to a civil penalty of $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for any subsequent offense. Each CADB, as part of its annual inspections of preserved farms, would monitor and confirm compliance with the provisions of this committee substitute.

The bill defines a "special occasion event" as a wedding, other lifetime milestone event, or other special event, as determined by a CADB, held on an approved date, and which advances the agricultural or horticultural output of the preserved farm and promotes agricultural tourism.