Bill Text: NJ S954 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits conversion of fines for violation of certain municipal ordinances into tax liens.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-13 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S954 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S954-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER J. CONNORS
District 9 (Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Permits conversion of fines for violation of certain municipal ordinances into tax liens.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the collection of fines for violations of certain municipal ordinances and amending R.S.40:49-5.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.40:49-5 is amended to read as follows:
40:49-5. The governing body may prescribe penalties for the violation of ordinances it may have authority to pass, by one or more of the following: imprisonment in the county jail or in any place provided by the municipality for the detention of prisoners, for any term not exceeding 90 days; or by a fine not exceeding $2,000; or by a period of community service not exceeding 90 days.
The governing body may prescribe that for the violation of any particular ordinance at least a minimum penalty shall be imposed which shall consist of a fine which may be fixed at an amount not exceeding $100.
The governing body may prescribe that for the violation of an ordinance pertaining to unlawful solid waste disposal at least a minimum penalty shall be imposed which shall consist of a fine which may be fixed at an amount not exceeding $2,500 or a maximum penalty by a fine not exceeding $10,000.
The court before which any person is convicted of violating any ordinance of a municipality shall have power to impose any fine, term of imprisonment, or period of community service not less than the minimum and not exceeding the maximum fixed in such ordinance.
Any person who is convicted of violating an ordinance within one year of the date of a previous violation of the same ordinance and who was fined for the previous violation, shall be sentenced by a court to an additional fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed by the court upon a person for a repeated offense shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine fixed for a violation of the ordinance, but shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the violation of the ordinance.
Any municipality which chooses not to impose an additional fine upon a person for a repeated violation of any municipal ordinance may waive the additional fine by ordinance or resolution.
Any person convicted of the violation of any ordinance may, in the discretion of the court by which he was convicted, and in default of the payment of any fine imposed therefor, be imprisoned in the county jail or place of detention provided by the municipality, for any term not exceeding 90 days, or be required to perform community service for a period not exceeding 90 days.
Any municipality that chooses to impose a fine in an amount greater than $1,250 upon an owner for violations of housing or zoning codes shall provide a 30-day period in which the owner shall be afforded the opportunity to cure or abate the condition and shall also be afforded an opportunity for a hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction for an independent determination concerning the violation. Subsequent to the expiration of the 30-day period, a fine greater than $1,250 may be imposed if a court has not determined otherwise or, upon reinspection of the property, it is determined that the abatement has not been substantially completed.
If a fine imposed as permitted by this section against an owner of real property for a zoning or property maintenance violation continues to be unpaid 10 days after the expiration of the time period allowed for the owner to respond to the violation by curing, abating, or appealing the violation, it may be filed with the county clerk or the register of deeds and mortgages, as appropriate, as a municipal lien against the property cited in the offense upon the certification of the code enforcement officer who issued the citation. Prior to filing an unpaid fine as a municipal lien against the property pursuant to this section, the municipality shall serve written notice to the property owner indicating that if the fine remains unpaid it will be converted into a municipal lien, and shall provide the owner the opportunity to pay the fine or request a hearing before a court of competent jurisdiction. If the property owner fails to respond in accordance with the notice and the unpaid fine is filed as a municipal lien, the code enforcement officer shall file a copy of the lien and certification with the municipal tax collector. This lien shall be added to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such dwelling or lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes, and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.269, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment, and shall be applicable to all fines and penalties unpaid as of that date.
STATEMENT
This bill amends R.S.40:49-5 to permit the conversion of municipal court fines against an owner of real property for a zoning or property maintenance violation into a municipal lien against the property cited in the offense if the fine continues if the fine remains unpaid 10 days after the expiration of the time period allowed for the owner to respond to the violation. Prior to converting an unpaid fine into a municipal lien, the municipality is required to notify a property owner that the unpaid fine will be converted into a lien and to provide the property owner with an opportunity to pay the fine or request a hearing. If the property owner fails to respond in accordance with the notice, the code enforcement officer shall file a copy of the lien and certification with the municipal tax collector. The lien shall be added to and become and form part of the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such dwelling or lands, the same to bear interest at the same rate as taxes, and shall be collected and enforced by the same officers and in the same manner as taxes.
