Requires fire districts, school districts, and county governments to share in burden of property assessment appeal refunds.

A4402

ASSEMBLY, No. 4402

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� JAY WEBBER

District 26 (Morris and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires fire districts, school districts, and county
governments to share in burden of property assessment appeal refunds.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning property tax refunds required by
successful property assessment appeals, supplementing chapter 4 of Title 40A of
the New Jersey Statutes, and amending various sections of statutory law.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� (New section)��� a.�� The
total of the amount of property tax appeal refunds paid by a municipality
during a tax year shall be apportioned by the municipal tax collector between
the municipality, county, school district, fire districts and any other taxing
district operating within the boundaries of the municipality.

���� b.��� The tax collector shall
send a notice to the county, school district, fire districts, and any other
taxing district, setting forth their pro rata share of the property tax appeal
refunds paid by the municipality during the tax year, for inclusion into their
subsequent annual budgets.

���� c.���� In the year following
the tax year in which the property tax appeal refunds were paid, the municipal
tax collector shall deduct the applicable pro rata share from the amounts to be
paid to the county and each school district, fire district, and any other
taxing district, as required by N.J.S.40A:14‑79, R.S.54:4‑74, and
R.S.54:4‑75.

���� 2.��� N.J.S.40A:14-79 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 40A:14-79.��� Upon proper
certification pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1979, c.453 (C.40A:14-78.5), the
assessor of the municipality in which the fire district is situate shall assess
the amount to be raised by taxation to support the district budget against the
taxable property therein, in the same manner as municipal taxes are assessed
and the said amount shall be assessed, levied and collected at the same time
and in the same manner as other municipal taxes.

���� For the purposes of this
section:

���� "District tax due"
or "tax due" means the amount so assessed
,
less the district's
proportionate share of the property taxes no longer owed by the municipality
pursuant to the blue acres property tax exemption established by subsection b.
of section 1 of P.L.2013, c.261 (C.54:4-3.3g)
; the county�s
proportionate share of the property taxes refunded by the municipality in the
preceding tax year pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.������ , c.���
(C.����� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
and
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any
applicable credit established by subsection e. of section 1 of P.L.2013, c.261
(C.54:4-3.3g).

���� The collector or treasurer of
the municipality in which said district is situate shall pay over all district
tax due to the treasurer or custodian of funds of said fire district as
follows:� on or before April 1, an amount equaling 21.25% of all tax due; on or
before July 1, an amount equaling 22.5% of all tax due; on or before October 1,
an amount equaling 25% of all tax due; and on or before December 31, an amount
equaling the difference between the total of all tax due, and the total of the
quarterly amounts of such moneys previously paid over to the fire district.�
These moneys are to be held and expended for the purpose of providing and
maintaining means for extinguishing fires in such district.

���� Notwithstanding anything
herein to the contrary, the municipal governing body may authorize, in the cash
management plan adopted by it pursuant to N.J.S.40A:5-14, a schedule of
payments of fire district tax due by which an amount greater than required on
any of the first three payment dates cited herein may be paid over.� The
municipal governing body and board of fire commissioners may, by concurrent
resolution, adopt a schedule of payments of fire district tax due by which an
amount less than required on any of the first three payment dates cited herein
may be paid over.� Such resolution shall be included in the cash management
plan adopted by the municipal governing body pursuant to N.J.S.40A:5-14.

���� The commissioners may also pay
back, or cause to be paid back to such municipality, any funds or any part
thereof paid to the treasurer or custodian of funds of such fire district by
the collector or treasurer of the municipality, representing taxes levied for
fire district purposes but not actually collected in cash by said collector or
treasurer.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.261, s.2)

���� 3.��� R.S.54:4‑74 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 54:4-74. For the purpose of
this section:

���� "County tax due" or
"tax due" means the amount so assessed less the county's
proportionate share of the property taxes no longer owed by the municipality
pursuant to the blue acres property tax exemption established by subsection b.
of section 1 of P.L.2013, c.261 (C.54:4-3.3g)
; the county�s proportionate
share of the property taxes refunded by the municipality in the preceding tax
year pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.���� , c.��� (C.�������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill),
and
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any
applicable credit established by subsection e. of section 1 of P.L.2013, c.261
(C.54:4-3.3g), but shall include all amounts collected by the county under
agreements entered into by municipalities pursuant to the "Long Term Tax
Exemption Law," P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.).

���� The governing body of each
municipality shall cause to be paid to the treasurer of the county, in four
installments, the amount of county tax due, and the other county taxes required
to be assessed and raised in such municipality, on the fifteenth day of the
month in which each installment of taxes shall become payable, except, that in
those years when the third installment has been determined by the tax collector
to be due after August 10, the installment shall be due no later than five days
after the twenty-fifth day from when the tax bill was mailed or otherwise
delivered pursuant to subsection a. of R.S.54:4-64, but no later than September
15.� The amount to be payable as each of the first two installments shall be
one-quarter of the total county tax due and one-quarter of the other total county
taxes finally levied against the municipality for the preceding year, and the
amount to be payable for the third and fourth installments shall be the county
tax due, and for the other county taxes the full tax as levied, for the current
year, less the amount charged as the first and second installments.� The total
amount thus found to be payable as the last two installments shall be divided
equally for and as each installment.� The governing body of each municipality
shall cause to be paid to the county treasurer on December fifteenth of each
year all of the taxes required to be assessed and raised by taxation in such
taxing district for State school and other State purposes.

���� With each installment required
to be paid pursuant to this section, the chief municipal finance officer shall
provide the following information for each agreement entered into by the
municipality, pursuant to the "Long Term Tax Exemption Law," P.L.1991,
c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.), on after the effective date of P.L.2003, c.125
(C.40A:12A-4.1 et seq.):

���� a.���� the project name and
address;

���� b.��� the date on which the
municipality entered into the agreement;

���� c.���� the expiration date of
the agreement;

���� d.��� the amount of the annual
service charge to be paid to the municipality;

���� e.���� the annual amount due
to the county;

���� f.���� the portion of the
quarterly service charge installment due to the county;

���� g.��� the quarterly
installment amount collected by the municipality; and

���� h.��� the amount attributable
to the agreement that is included in the installment of county tax due.

(cf: P.L.2025, c.91, s.3)

���� 4.��� R.S.54:4‑75 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 54:4-75.� For the purpose of
this section:

���� "School tax due" or
"tax due" means the amount so assessed
,
less the school
district's proportionate share of the property taxes no longer owed by the
municipality pursuant to the blue acres property tax exemption established by
subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.2013, c.261 (C.54:4-3.3g)
; the
county�s proportionate share of the property taxes refunded by the municipality
in the preceding tax year pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.��� ,
c.���� (C.�������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
and
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any
applicable credit established by subsection e. of section 1 of P.L.2013, c.261
(C.54:4-3.3g).

���� The governing body of each
municipality shall pay over to the board secretary or treasurer of school
moneys, as appropriate, in the case of school districts in which appropriations
for school purposes are made by the inhabitants of the school district, within
forty days after the beginning of the school year, twenty per centum (20%) of
the moneys from school tax due, and thereafter, but prior to the last day of
the school year, the balance of the moneys from school tax due for school
purposes in such amounts as may be requested from time to time by the Board of
Education, within thirty days after each request.� The Board of Education shall
not request any more money at any one time than shall be required for its
expenditures for a period of eight weeks in advance; provided, however, that
the Board of Education may at any time, but not earlier than fifteen days prior
to the beginning of the school year, request sufficient moneys to meet all
interest and debt redemption charges maturing during the first forty days of
the school year. The governing body may make payments of such moneys in advance
of the time and in excess of the amounts required by this section.�
Notwithstanding provisions of this section to the contrary, in those years when
the third installment of property taxes has been determined by the tax
collector to be due after August 10, the installment shall be due no later than
five days after the twenty-fifth day from when the tax bill was mailed or
otherwise delivered pursuant to subsection a. of R.S.54:4-64, but no later than
September 1.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.261, s.4)

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires county
governments, school districts, fire districts and other taxing districts to
share in the burden of paying for property tax refunds.� Under current law,
only the county shares in this burden with municipalities through the county
tax equalization process.� The bill requires the municipal tax collector to
send a notice of the pro rata share of the property tax appeal refunds paid by
the municipality during the tax year to the county, school districts and fire
districts for inclusion into their annual budgets.� In the year following the
tax year in which the refunds were paid, the municipal tax collector is then
required to deduct the applicable pro rata share of the property tax refunds
from the amounts to be paid to the county and each school district and fire
district as required by N.J.S.40A:14‑79, R.S.54:4‑74 and R.S.54:4‑75.