Bill Text: NJ S2820 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires additional information in assessment notices required to be provided to property taxpayers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-06 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S2820 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2820-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DECLAN J. O'SCANLON, JR.
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires additional information in assessment notices required to be provided to property taxpayers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the content of assessment notices required to be provided to property taxpayers and amending R.S.54:4-38 and P.L.1991, c.75.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.54:4-38 is amended to read as follows:
54:4-38. a. [Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, every] Every assessor, at least ten days before filing the complete assessment list and duplicate with the county board of taxation [, and before annexing thereto his affidavit] as required in [section 54:4-36 of this title] R.S.54:4-35, shall [notify each taxpayer of the current assessment and preceding year's taxes and] give public notice by advertisement in at least one newspaper circulating within [his] the assessor's taxing district, or by posting on the municipality's, or county's, webpage, of a time and place when and where the assessment list may be inspected by any taxpayer for the purpose of enabling the taxpayer to ascertain what assessments have been made against [him or his] the taxpayer or the taxpayer's property and to confer informally with the assessor as to the correctness of the assessments [, so that any errors may be corrected before the filing of the assessment list and duplicate. Thereafter, the assessor shall notify each taxpayer by mail within 30 days of any change to the assessment. This notification of change of assessment shall contain the prior assessment and the current assessment. Any notice issued by the assessor shall contain information instructing taxpayers on how to appeal their assessment along with the deadline to file an appeal, printed in boldface type].
b. [In the case of a municipality located in a county where the county board of taxation is participating in the demonstration program established in section 4 of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-104), in the case of a county operating under the "Property Tax Assessment Reform Act," P.L.2009, c.118 (C.54:1-86 et seq.), and in the case of a municipality located in a county that has adopted, by resolution, the provisions of section 1 of P.L.2018, c.94 (C.54:1-105), every assessor, before filing the preliminary assessment list with the county board of taxation pursuant to subsection b. of R.S.54:4-35, shall notify each taxpayer of the preliminary assessment and preceding year's taxes and give public notice by advertisement in at least one newspaper circulating within his taxing district of a time and place when and where the assessment list may be inspected by any taxpayer for the purpose of enabling the taxpayer to ascertain what assessments have been made against the taxpayer or the taxpayer's property. Thereafter, the assessor shall notify each taxpayer by mail within 30 days of any change to the assessment. This notification of change of assessment shall contain the prior assessment and the current assessment. Any notice issued by the assessor shall contain information instructing taxpayers on how to appeal their assessment along with the deadline to file an appeal, printed in boldface type.
The notification required by this section shall satisfy any notice requirement to a property owner in a municipality located in a county wherein the county board of taxation is participating in the "Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program" established in section 4 of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-104) concerning the assessment of that property owner's preliminary assessment value for the tax year.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
(cf: P.L.2021, c.136, s.5)
2. Section 32 of P.L.1991, c.75 (C.54:4-38.1) is amended to read as follows:
32. a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, every assessor, prior to February 1, shall notify by mail each taxpayer of the [current assessment and preceding] prior year's taxes, and the prior year's final assessment, the Director's ratio for the prior year promulgated in accordance with the requirements of section 1 of P.L.1954, c.86 (C.54:1-35.1) or an assessed to market value ratio of 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented, and the implied prior year's market value calculated by dividing the prior year's final assessment by either the Director's ratio, or by 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented. The notice shall also include the current year's assessment, the Director's ratio for the current year promulgated in accordance with the requirements of section 1 of P.L.1954, c.86 (C.54:1-35.1) or an assessed to market value ratio of 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented, and the estimated market value calculated by dividing the current year's assessment by either the Director's ratio, or by 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented. Thereafter, the assessor or county board of taxation shall notify each taxpayer by mail within 30 days of any change to the assessment. This notification of change of assessment shall contain the [prior assessment and the] current year's original assessment and the revised assessment. The director shall establish the form of notice of assessment and change of assessment. Any notice issued by the assessor or county board of taxation shall contain information instructing taxpayers on how to appeal their assessment along with the deadline to file an appeal, printed in boldface type.
b. In the case of a municipality located in a county where the county board of taxation is participating in the demonstration program established in section 4 of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-104), in the case of a county operating under the "Property Tax Assessment Reform Act," P.L.2009, c.118 (C.54:1-86 et seq.) and in the case of a municipality located in a county that has adopted, by resolution, the provisions of section 1 of P.L.2018, c.94 (C.54:1-105), every assessor, on or before November 15 of the pretax year, shall notify by mail each taxpayer of the [preliminary assessment and preceding] prior year's taxes, the prior year's final assessment, the Director's ratio for the prior year promulgated in accordance with the requirements of section 1 of P.L.1954, c.86 (C.54:1-35.1) or an assessed to market value ratio of 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented, and the implied prior year's market value calculated by dividing the prior year's final assessment by either the Director's ratio, or by 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented. The notice shall also include the current year's preliminary assessment, the Director's ratio for the current year promulgated in accordance with the requirements of section 1 of P.L.1954, c.86 (C.54:1-35.1) or an assessed to market value ratio of 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented, and the estimated market value calculated by dividing the current year's assessment by either the Director's ratio, or by 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented. Thereafter, the assessor or county board of taxation shall notify each taxpayer by mail within 30 days of any change to the assessment [which has occurred as the result of a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment of real property within the municipality]. This notification of change of assessment shall contain the [prior assessment and the] current year's original preliminary assessment and the revised preliminary assessment. The director shall establish the form of notice of assessment and change of assessment. Any notice issued by the assessor or county board of taxation shall contain information instructing taxpayers on how to appeal their assessment along with the deadline to file an appeal, printed in boldface type. The notification required by this section shall satisfy any notice requirement to a property owner in a municipality located in a county wherein the county board of taxation is participating in the "Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program" established in section 4 of P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-104) concerning the assessment of that property owner's preliminary assessment value for the tax year.
c. The county board of
taxation of the county participating in the real property assessment program
established in section 4 of the "Real Property Assessment Demonstration
Program," P.L.2013, c.15 (C.54:1-104) shall make the preliminary data
electronically accessible to the public by posting the data, which shall be
compliant with the privacy and non-disclosure requirements on
various public records established pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), P.L.2015, c.226 (C.2C:20-31.1 et al), P.L.2020, c.125 (C.56:8-166.2 et al.), and P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 et al.), in searchable form on the county's website not later than 15 business days after the submission of the preliminary data.
d. As used in this section, "Director's ratio" means the average ratio of assessed to true value for each taxing district as determined by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury in the table of equalized valuations promulgated annually pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1954, c.86 (C.54:1-35.1).
(cf: P.L.2021, c.136, s.6)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require additional information regarding the assessment of real property to be provided in the assessment notifications required to be mailed to property taxpayers annually.
Current law requires each municipal assessor to annually provide each of New Jersey's property owners with access to, and notice of, their annual property assessment. Information about a property owner's assessment is important, because the assessment is the basis of the calculation of the annual property tax bill. R.S.54:4-38 law requires public advertisement of the ability to review the municipality's tax lists. Section 32 of P.L.1991, c.75 (C.54:4-38.1) requires the individual mailing of the assessment notice to each taxpayer. The existing notice provided to taxpayers lists only the prior year's taxes and the current year's assessed value. The purpose of this bill is to provide property owners with a significantly better understanding as to how they are being taxed by expanding the contents of the assessment notice that is currently required by section 32 of P.L.1991, c.75 (C.54:4-38.1).
The bill would require the addition of the following information in the assessment notice:
With respect to the prior tax year: the prior year's taxes; the prior year's final assessment; the Director's ratio of assessed to true value in the taxing district or an assessed to market value ratio of 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented; and the implied prior year's market value calculated by dividing the prior year's final assessment by either the Director's ratio, or by 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented.
With respect to the current
tax year: the current year's assessment; the Director's ratio of assessed
to true value in the taxing district or an assessed to market value ratio of
100 percent if
a revaluation or reassessment was implemented; and the estimated market value calculated by dividing the current year's assessment by either the Director's ratio, or by 100 percent if a revaluation or reassessment was implemented.
