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A1118
ASSEMBLY, No. 1118
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblywoman LUANNE M. PETERPAUL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes proportional property tax exemption for
honorably discharged veterans having service-connected permanent disability;
extends eligibility to veterans suffering from mental illness; establishes
eligibility of property owned by disabled veteran with surviving partner for
exemption.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning the disabled veterans� property tax
exemption, amending and supplementing P.L.1948, c.259.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.1948,
c.259 (C.54:4-3.30) is amended to read as follows:
���� 1.��� a.� The dwelling house
and the lot or curtilage whereon the same is erected, of any citizen and
resident of this State, now or hereafter honorably discharged or released under
honorable circumstances, from active service in any branch of the Armed Forces
of the United States, who has been or shall be declared by the United States
Department of
[
Veterans'
]
Veterans
Affairs
, its predecessor,
or its successor to have a service-connected
permanent
disability from paraplegia, sarcoidosis,
hemiplegia, or
osteochondritis
[
resulting in
permanent loss of the use of both legs, or permanent paralysis of both legs and
lower parts of the body, or from hemiplegia and has permanent paralysis of one
leg and one arm or either side of the body
]
or
, resulting from injury to the spinal cord, skeletal structure, or
brain or from disease of the spinal cord not resulting from any form of
syphilis; or from
[
total
]
blindness; or
from amputation
[
of
both arms or both legs, or both hands or both feet, or the combination of a
hand and a foot
]
affecting one or more extremities
; or from other service-connected
permanent
disability
, including, but not limited to, mental illness
[
declared by
the United States Veterans Administration or its successor to be a total or
100% permanent disability
]
,
[
and
]
not so
evaluated solely because of hospitalization or surgery and recuperation,
sustained through enemy action, or accident, or resulting from disease
contracted while in such active service, shall be exempt from taxation, on
proper claim made therefor,
in proportion to such person�s percentage of
service-connected permanent disability, up to and including 100 percent
permanent disability, as determined and declared by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs, or its predecessor or successor,
and such
exemption shall be in addition to any other exemption of such person's real and
personal property which now is or hereafter shall be prescribed or allowed by
the Constitution or by law but no taxpayer shall be allowed more than one
exemption under this act.
���� b.��� (1)� The surviving
spouse
, surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic partner
of
any such citizen and resident of this State, who at the time of death was
entitled to the exemption provided under this act, shall be entitled, on proper
claim made therefor, to the same exemption as the deceased had, during the
surviving spouse's widowhood or widowerhood, as the case may be,
or until
such time as the as the surviving civil union partner enters into a new civil
union pursuant to R.S.37:1-1 et seq. and P.L.2006, c.103 (C.37:1-28 et al.), or
until such time as the surviving domestic partner establishes a new domestic
partnership pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4) or remarries,
and while
the surviving spouse, surviving civil union partner, or surviving
domestic partner remains
a resident of this State, for the time that the
surviving spouse
, surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic
partner
is the legal owner thereof and actually occupies the said dwelling
house or any other dwelling house thereafter acquired.
���� (2)�� The surviving spouse
,
surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic partner
of any citizen
and resident of this State who was honorably discharged and, after the citizen
and resident's death, is declared to have suffered a service-connected
disability as provided in subsection a. of this section, shall be entitled, on
proper claim made therefor, to the same exemption the deceased would have
become eligible for.� The exemption shall continue during the surviving
spouse's widowhood or widowerhood, as the case may be,
or until such time as
the surviving civil union partner enters into a new civil union pursuant to
R.S.37:1-1 et seq. and P.L.2006, c.103 (C.37:1-28 et al.), or until such time
as the surviving domestic partner establishes a new domestic partnership
pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4) or remarries,
and
while
the surviving spouse, surviving civil union partner, or surviving
domestic partner remains
a resident of this State, for the time that the
surviving spouse
, surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic
partner
is the legal owner thereof and actually occupies the dwelling house
or any other dwelling house thereafter acquired.
���� c.���� The surviving spouse
,
surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic partner
of any citizen
and resident of this State, who died in active service in any branch of the
Armed Forces of the United States, shall be entitled, on proper claim made
therefor, to an exemption from taxation on the dwelling house and lot or
curtilage whereon the same is erected, during the surviving spouse's widowhood
or widowerhood, as the case may be,
or until such time as the surviving
civil union partner enters into a new civil union pursuant to R.S.37:1-1 et
seq.
and
P.L.2006, c.103 (C.37:1-28 et al.), or until such time as the
surviving domestic partner establishes a new domestic partnership pursuant to
section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4) or remarries,
and while
the
surviving spouse, surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic partner
remains
a resident of this State, for the time that the surviving spouse
,
surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic partner
is the legal
owner thereof and actually occupies the said dwelling or any other dwelling
house thereafter acquired.
���� d.��� The surviving spouse of
any citizen and resident of this State who died prior to January 10, 1972, that
being the effective date of P.L.1971, c.398, and whose circumstances were such
that, had said law become effective during the deceased's lifetime, the
deceased would have become eligible for the exemption granted under this
section as amended by said law, shall be entitled, on proper claim made
therefor, to the same exemption as the deceased would have become eligible for
upon the dwelling house and lot or curtilage occupied by the deceased at the
time of death, during the surviving spouse's widowhood or widowerhood, as the
case may be, and while a resident of this State, for the time that the
surviving spouse is the legal owner thereof and actually occupies the said
dwelling house on the premises to be exempted.
���� e.���� Nothing in this act
shall be intended to include paraplegia or hemiplegia resulting from locomotor
ataxia or other forms of syphilis of the central nervous system, or from
chronic alcoholism, or to include other forms of disease resulting from the
veteran's own misconduct which may produce signs and symptoms similar to those
resulting from paraplegia, osteochondritis, or hemiplegia.
(cf: P.L.2019, c.413, s.1)
���� 2.��� Section 2 of P.L.1948,
c.259 (C.54:4-3.31) is amended to read as follows:
���� 2.��� All exemptions from
taxation under P.L.1948, c.259 (C.54:4-3.30 et seq.) shall be allowed by the
assessor upon the filing with him of a claim in writing under oath, made by or
on behalf of the person claiming the same, showing the right to the exemption,
briefly describing the property for which exemption is claimed and having
annexed thereto a certificate of the claimant's honorable discharge or release
under honorable circumstances, from active service in any branch of the Armed
Forces of the United States and a certificate from the United States Department
of
[
Veterans'
]
Veterans
Affairs
, its predecessor,
or its successor, certifying to a
service-connected disability of such claimant of the character described in
section 1 of P.L.1948, c.259 (C.54:4-3.30).� In the case of a claim by
[
a
]
the
surviving spouse
, surviving civil union partner, or surviving domestic
partner
of such veteran, the claimant shall establish in writing under oath
that the claimant is the owner of the legal title to the premises on which
exemption is claimed; that the claimant occupies the dwelling house on said
premises as the claimant's legal residence in this State; that the veteran
shall have been declared, either during the veteran's lifetime or after the
veteran's death, by the United States Department of
[
Veterans'
]
Veterans
Affairs to have or to have had a service-connected disability of a character
described in this act, or, in the case of a claim for an exemption under
subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.1948, c.259 (C.54:4-3.30), that the veteran
shall have been declared to have died in active service; that the veteran was
entitled to an exemption provided for in this act, except for an exemption
under paragraph (2) of subsection b. and subsection c. of section 1 hereof, at
the time of death; and that the claimant is a resident of this State and has
not remarried
, has not entered into a new civil union pursuant to
R.S.37:1-1 et seq. and P.L.2006, c.103 (C.37:1-28 et al.), or has not entered
into a new domestic partnership pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246
(C.26:8A-4)
.� Such exemptions shall be allowed and prorated by the assessor
for the remainder of any taxable year from the date the claimant shall have
acquired title to the real property intended to be exempt by this act. Where a
portion of a multiple-family building or structure occupied by the claimant is
the subject of such exemption, the assessor shall aggregate the assessment on
the lot or curtilage and building or structure and allow an exemption of that
percentage of the aggregate assessment as the value of the portion of the
building or structure occupied by the claimant bears to the value of the entire
building or structure.
(cf: P.L.2019, c.413, s.2)
���� 3.� Section 3 of P.L.1948,
c.259 (C.54:4-3.32) is amended to read as follows:
���� 3.��� The governing body of
each municipality, by appropriate resolution, may return all taxes collected on
property which would have been exempt had proper claim in writing been made
therefor in the manner provided by P.L.1948, c.259 (C.54:4-3.30 et seq.). The
governing body of each municipality, by appropriate resolution, may also return
to the veteran or the veteran's surviving spouse
, surviving civil union
partner, or surviving domestic partner
all property tax payments made since
the time of the veteran's actual disability or since the time of the veteran's
death. No refunds shall be made under this section for any year or portion
thereof prior to the effective date of P.L.1948, c.259 (C.54:4-3.30 et seq.).
(cf: P.L.2007, c.317, s.3)
���� 4.��� (New section)� As used
in P.L.1948, c.259 (C.54:4-3.30 et seq.):
���� �Mental illness� means a
mental disorder classified within the American Psychiatric Association
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), including, but not
limited to, anxiety disorders, cognitive disorders, adjustment orders, schizophrenia
and other psychotic disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
���� �Surviving civil union
partner� means the surviving member of a civil union entered into pursuant to
R.S.37:1-1 et seq. and P.L.2006, c.103 (C.37:1-28 et al.).
���� �Surviving domestic partner�
means the surviving member of a domestic partnership established pursuant to
section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4).
���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill revises current law
regarding the property tax exemption provided to totally disabled,
honorably-discharged veterans who incur a 100 percent service-related
disability during their service in the United States Armed Forces.�
Proportional Property Tax Exemption
���� Under current law, veterans
who are not 100 percent totally and permanently disabled are not eligible to
receive a proportional property tax exemption.� This bill allows all
honorably-discharged veterans who have a service-related disability rating
resulting from their service in the United States Armed Forces, including those
who receive a 100 percent disability determination, to receive a proportional
property tax exemption in an amount equal to the degree of their
service-connected, permanent disability, as determined by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).� A veteran who was determined by the VA to
be 100 percent totally and permanently disabled due to a service-related
disability would continue to receive the full property tax exemption under the
current exemption statute.
Broadening of Eligibility
���� The bill extends eligibility
for the property tax exemption to veterans granted a disability rating due to
mental illness.
���� The bill broadens the
eligibility criteria for the property tax exemption granted to surviving civil
union partners and domestic partners of disabled veterans.� The bill extends
the property tax exemption to the surviving civil union partner or domestic partner
of a disabled veteran until such time as the surviving partner enters into a
new civil union, establishes a new domestic partnership, or remarries.� The
bill also allows the surviving civil union partner or domestic partner to
receive the property tax exemption when a disability declaration is granted
after the veteran�s death.
���� Under current law, only the
surviving spouse of a veteran who at the time of death was entitled to the
exemption is entitled to receive the same exemption.� This bill provides that
an eligible surviving spouse, surviving civil union partner, or surviving
domestic partner of a deceased disabled veteran, after filing a proper claim
with the municipal tax collector, shall be exempt from all property taxation in
the succeeding year.