Bill Text: NJ A4981 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Removes limit in annual budget requests of certain county offices.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-12-15 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A4981 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A4981-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTWAN L. MCCLELLAN
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Simonsen
SYNOPSIS
Removes limit in annual budget requests of certain county offices.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the annual budget requests of certain county offices, amending P.L.2007, c.62, and repealing various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 9 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.44) is amended to read as follows:
9. For the purposes of sections 9 through 13 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.44 through C.40A:4-45.47 and C.40A:4-45.3e):
"Adjusted tax levy" means an amount not greater than the amount to be raised by taxation of the previous fiscal year, less any waivers from a prior fiscal year required to be deducted by the Local Finance Board pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.46), that result multiplied by 1.02, to which the sum of exclusions defined in subsection b. of section 10 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.45) shall be added.
"Amount to be raised by taxation" means the property tax levy set in the annual budget of a local unit.
"Local unit" means a municipality, county, fire district, or solid waste collection district, but shall not include a municipality that had a municipal purposes tax rate of $0.10 or less per $100 for the previous tax year.
"New ratables" means the product of the taxable value of any new construction or improvements times the tax rate of a local unit for its previous tax year.
"County entity budget authority" means the county tax administrator, county superintendent of election, county board of election, and county register of deeds and mortgages, [county clerk, county surrogate, county prosecutor, and county sheriff,] in their role as the appointing authority of their respective offices.
"County entity" means a county board of taxation, office of the county superintendent of election, office of the county board of election, and office of the county register of deeds and mortgages[, office of the county clerk, office of the county surrogate, office of the county prosecutor, and county sheriff's department].
(cf: P.L.2015, c.249, s.2)
2. The following sections are repealed:
Section 7 of P.L.2015, c.249 (C.40A:9-77.2);
Section 8 of P.L.2015, c.249 (C.2B:14-14);
Section 9 of P.L.2015, c.249 (C.22A:4-8.2); and
Section 10 of P.L.2015, c.249
(C.2A:158-1a).
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the county budget year next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would remove the 2 percent limit on annual increases in the portion of the budget requests, of county constitutional officers, to be raised by property taxation. "County constitutional officers" is the colloquial term for county clerks, surrogates, prosecutors, and sheriffs, because Article VII, Sections I and II of the New Jersey Constitution, specifically reference those positions and provides certain requirements about their term of office.
Under current law, in preparation of the portions of their budget requests to be raised by property taxation, the constitutional officers must limit any increase in that portion of a budget request to 2 percent of the previous year's budget request, subject to the exceptions set forth in law. Under the bill, the offices of the constitutional officers, would not be required to adhere to the 2 percent budget request limitation.
This bill takes effect immediately upon enactment and first applies to the next local budget year following enactment.
