Bill Text: NJ S3947 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits certain municipalities to impose parking taxes to fund mass transit pedestrian access projects on non-residents; permits certain municipalities to require parking facilities to accept credit cards.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-06-13 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S3947 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S3947-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Permits certain municipalities to impose parking taxes to fund mass transit pedestrian access projects on non-residents; permits certain municipalities to require parking facilities to accept credit cards.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning municipal parking taxes, and supplementing and amending P.L.1970, c.326.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. Any municipality with a population of 100,000 or greater according to the most recent American Community Survey five-year estimate by the United States Census Bureau may adopt an ordinance imposing a mass transit access parking tax of three and one-half percent on fees for the parking, garaging, or storing of motor vehicles, other than parking in a garage which is part of premises occupied solely as a private one- or two-family dwelling.
b. All parking taxes collected pursuant to this section shall be anticipated and appropriated in the municipal budget as dedicated revenue pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-39 for the exclusive purpose of funding or financing capital improvements for pedestrian access to mass transit stations, including, but not limited to, the construction of bridges, tunnels, platforms, walkways, elevators, escalators, and stairways directly related to mass transit pedestrian accessibility.
c. The parking tax authorized by this section may be collected in addition to a surcharge collected pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2013, c.284 (C.40:48C-1.6) or a tax collected pursuant to subsection a. of section 6 of P.L.1970, c.326 (C.40:48C-6), but the parking tax authorized by this section shall not be collected whenever a special event parking tax surcharge is collected pursuant to subsection b. of section 6 of P.L.1970, c.326 (C.40:48C-6).
d. An ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall exempt residents of the municipality from the full amount of the three and one-half percent parking tax. The exemption shall be implemented as follows:
(1) For short-term parking, a resident may apply to the municipality for a rebate of the total three and one-half percent parking tax charged as provided in the ordinance; and
(2) For long-term parking, a parking facility operator shall not charge a resident the three and one-half percent parking tax upon a display of proof of residence as provided in the ordinance.
2. (New section) Any municipality authorized to impose a parking tax or surcharge pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2013, c.284 (C.40:48C-1.6), section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or section 6 of P.L.1970, c.326 (C.40:48C-6) may by ordinance require that any parking facility subject to that tax or surcharge accept credit cards.
3. Section 7 of P.L.1970, c.326 (C.40:48C-7) is amended to read as follows:
7. a. All taxes imposed by the ordinances authorized pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2013, c.284 (C.40:48C-1.6), section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or section 6 of P.L.1970, c.326 (C.40:48C-6) shall be collected on behalf of the municipality by the person (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "taxpayer") providing parking services to the customer.
b. Every person required to collect any tax, including surcharges imposed by the ordinances shall be personally liable for the tax imposed, collected or required to be collected hereunder. Any such person shall have the same right in respect to collecting the tax from his customer or in respect to nonpayment of the tax by the customer as if the tax were a part of the service charge and payable at the same time; provided, however, that the chief fiscal officer of the municipality shall be joined as a party in any action or proceeding brought to collect the tax.
c. No person required to collect any tax, including surcharges, hereunder shall advertise or hold out to any person or to the public in general, in any manner, directly or indirectly, that the tax is not considered as an element in the charge payable by the customer, that he will pay the tax, that the tax will not be separately charged and stated to the customer or that the tax will be refunded to the customer.
d. All taxes and surcharges collected pursuant to the ordinances shall be remitted to the chief fiscal officer of the municipality and shall be reported on such forms and paid at such times as may be prescribed in the ordinances.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.296, s.2)
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would allow certain municipalities to impose a parking tax of three and one-half percent to fund mass transit pedestrian access projects on non-residents. The bill would also allow any municipality collecting any parking tax to require the parking facilities subject to the tax to accept credit cards.
The mass transit access parking tax authorized by the bill would be available to any municipality with a population of 100,000 or greater according to the most recent American Community Survey five-year estimate by the United States Census Bureau. Presently, this includes Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, Edison, and Woodbridge. This mass transit access parking tax may be imposed in addition to parking taxes already authorized by current law in some of those municipalities, except that this new tax may not be imposed whenever a special event parking tax surcharge is charged.
Lastly, the bill makes a technical change to clarify that all municipal parking taxes authorized by statute, including the mass transit access parking tax, have to be collected in accordance with the procedural requirements set forth in section 7 of P.L.1970, c.326 (C.40:48C-7).
