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A4459
ASSEMBLY, No. 4459
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblywoman� HEATHER SIMMONS
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
SYNOPSIS
���� Directs State Agriculture Development Committee to
identify farmland ineligible for county farmland preservation programs, notify
owners of State requirements, and invite applications for farmland preservation
under State program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning farmland preservation and supplementing
P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-11 et seq.).
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� a.� Within two years after
the effective date of
P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), the State Agriculture
Development Committee shall survey and identify, for each county, all farmland
that satisfies the eligibility criteria for differential property taxation
pursuant to the �Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,� P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1
et seq.), in the county that does not meet the minimum acreage requirement for
eligibility for farmland preservation as established by the county in which the
farmland is located.
���� b.� Upon completion of the
survey, the committee shall:
���� (1) notify the owner of the
farmland identified in the survey, in writing, of the minimum eligibility
criteria for preserving land for farmland preservation purposes, other than
income requirements, established by the committee pursuant to N.J.A.C.2:76-6.20;
and
���� (2) invite the owner of the
farmland to apply to the committee to preserve the land for farmland
preservation purposes through the sale of a development easement or fee simple
title pursuant to the �Agricultural Retention and Development Act,� P.L.1983,
c.32 (C.4:1C-11 et seq.), the �Garden State Preservation Trust Act,� P.L.1999,
c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et seq.), or the �Preserve New Jersey Act,� P.L.2016, c.12
(C.13:8C-43 et seq.).
���� c.� For the purposes of this
section and the owner�s application, if the income requirements to qualify for
differential property taxation pursuant to the �Farmland Assessment Act of
1964,� P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), are satisfied by the farm, the
committee shall not apply any income requirements established pursuant to
N.J.A.C.2:76-6.20 to the application.
���� d.� The committee may complete
the survey and identification process for each county in the order it
determines appropriate, provided that all farmland in a county is identified
and all owners of the farmland have been notified pursuant to this section before
the committee initiates a survey in a subsequent county.
���� e.� The committee shall
approve applications for the preservation of farmland submitted pursuant to
this section in the order they are submitted consistent with the priority
system established by the committee for the preservation of farmland, to the
extent that funding is available and the farm meets eligibility criteria for
farmland preservation purposes.
���� f.� No later than one year
after the date upon which the committee has completed the survey for each
county in the State, the committee shall report to the Governor, and, pursuant
to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature:
���� (1)� the number of properties
in each county, that are eligible for differential property taxation pursuant
to the �Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,� P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.),in
the county that do not meet the minimum standard for farmland preservation set
by the county in which the farm is located; and
���� (2)� the number of
applications for farmland preservation received for farmland identified in the
survey and the status of each application.
���� g.� As used in this section,
�farmland,� �farmland preservation,� and �farmland preservation purposes� mean
the same as the terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-3).
���� 2.� This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill directs the State
Agriculture Development Committee (SADC), within two years after the effective
date of the bill, to survey and identify for each county, the farms eligible
for differential property taxation pursuant to the �Farmland Assessment Act of
1964,� P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) (i.e., farmland assessment) in the
county that do not meet the minimum acreage requirement for eligibility for
farmland preservation as established by the county in which the farm is
located.� The bill further requires the SADC, upon completing the survey to:
���� (1) notify the owner of the
farmland, in writing, of the minimum eligibility criteria for preserving land
for farmland preservation purposes, other than income requirements, established
by the committee pursuant to N.J.A.C.2:76-6.20; and
���� (2) invite the owner of the
farmland to apply to the SADC to preserve the land for farmland preservation
purposes.
���� The bill also provides that
for the purposes of the bill and the owner�s application, if the income
requirements to qualify for farmland assessment are satisfied by the farm, the
SADC would not apply any income requirements established pursuant to the regulations
to the application.
���� The bill provides that the
SADC may complete the survey and identification process for each county in the
order it determines appropriate, provided that all farmland in a county is
identified and all owners of the farmland have been notified pursuant to the
bill before the committee initiates a survey in a subsequent county.
���� The bill provides that the
SADC would approve applications in the order they are submitted, consistent
with the priority system established by the SADC for the preservation of
farmland, to the extent that funding is available and the farm meets
eligibility criteria for farmland preservation purposes.
���� Finally, the bill requires the
SADC to report to the Governor and the Legislature, no later than one year
after the date upon which the SADC has completed the survey for each county in
the State:
���� (1) the number of properties
in each county that are eligible for farmland assessment in the county that do
not meet the minimum standard for farmland preservation set by the county in
which the farm is located; and
���� (2) the number of applications
for farmland preservation received for farmland identified in the survey and
the status of each application.
���� This bill seeks to balance the
needs of owners of smaller farms who wish to preserve their farms and the
State�s interest in preserving more farmland acreage.
���� A number of county agriculture
development boards have developed minimum acreage requirements to qualify for
farmland preservation under the county program.� The county acreage
requirements may limit the ability of a farmer with a small farm to qualify for
farmland preservation under a local program. The SADC offers a program in
which a small farm may qualify for farmland preservation, but includes income requirements
that are higher than those established for eligibility for farmland assessment.�
Thus, the owner of a small farm may be ineligible for preservation funding
under the State program as well.�
���� This bill addresses this
problem by directing the SADC to identify those small farms ineligible due to
size for farmland preservation in each county, and requires the SADC to accept
applications for farmland preservation from the owners of small farms excluded
from a county program as long as the farm is eligible for differential property
taxation pursuant to the �Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,� P.L.1964, c.48
(C.54:4-23.1 et seq.).