Exempts certain water quality management structures, funded by certain federal and State grants, from real property taxation.

A4811

ASSEMBLY, No. 4811

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 4, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

SYNOPSIS

���� Exempts certain water quality management structures,
funded by certain federal and State grants, from real property taxation.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
exempting certain water quality management structures
from real property taxation and supplementing Title 54 of the Revised
Statutes.�

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

���� 1.��� As used in this act:

���� �Board of appeals� means the
construction board of appeals established under section 9 of P.L.1975, c.217
(C.52:27D-127), having jurisdiction in the municipality in which the property
is located.

���� �Director� means the Director
of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury.

���� �Enforcing agency� means the
enforcing agency in any municipality provided for under the �State Uniform
Construction Code Act,� P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) and rules and
regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

���� �Water quality management
structure� means a physical structure designed and installed using, in whole or
in part, federal grant money from the Natural Resource Conservation Service in
the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, or
the State Agriculture Development Committee, and for the purposes of improving
water quality.

���� 2.��� A water quality
management structure installed after the effective date of this act and
certified by the enforcing agency shall be exempt from taxation under chapter 4
of Title 54 of the Revised Statutes.� The owner of real property with a
certified water quality management structure may have exempted annually from
the assessed valuation of the real property a sum equal to the remainder of the
assessed valuation of the real property with the water quality management
structure included, minus the assessed valuation of the real property without
the water quality management structure.

���� 3.��� The enforcing agency
shall certify that a water quality management structure is exempt from taxation
pursuant to this act when the water quality management structure was designed,
constructed, and financed in accordance with this act and any rules or regulations
adopted by the director pursuant thereto.� The enforcing agency may at any time
inquire into the right of a claimant to the exemption, and for that purpose may
require the filing of a new application or the submission of any proof
necessary to determine the right of the claimant to the continuation of the
exemption.� The enforcing agency shall have the authority to make an inspection
of the premises which are the subject of the claim for exemption under this
act.

���� 4.��� a.� A claimant shall
submit a written application made on a form and in a manner prescribed by the
director.� The form shall be made available to claimants by the enforcing
agency.�

���� b.��� The enforcing agency
shall issue a certification when it determines that a water quality management
structure is exempt from taxation pursuant to this act.� The certificate shall
contain information identifying the water quality management structure and its
cost, and shall conform to any other requirements prescribed by the director.�
The certificate shall be provided to the claimant, a copy shall be retained on
file by the enforcing agency, and a copy shall be sent to the assessor of the
taxing district in which the property is located. �The exemption from taxation
for the water quality management structure shall become effective for the tax
year following the year in which certification was granted.

���� 5.��� The enforcing agency,
after giving notice to the holder of a water quality management structure
certificate, may revoke the certificate under the following circumstances:

���� a.���� the certificate was
obtained by fraud or misrepresentation;

���� b.��� the claimant for tax
exemption has failed substantially to proceed with the construction,
reconstruction, installation, or acquisition of a water quality management
structure;

���� c.���� the water quality
management structure to which the certificate relates has ceased to be used for
the primary purpose by which it was constructed and is� being used for a
different primary purpose;

���� d.��� the claimant for tax
exemption has so departed from the equipment, design, and construction
previously certified by the enforcing agency that, in the opinion of the
enforcing agency, the water quality management structure is not suitable and
reasonably adequate for the purposes initially intended.

���� 6.��� a.� A person aggrieved
by an action of the enforcing agency may seek review before the board of
appeals.

���� b.��� A person aggrieved by
any action of the assessor or of the county tax board may seek a review of such
action in the State Tax Court by filing a complaint in the Tax Court, pursuant
to rules of court.

���� 7.��� The director shall
adopt, pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations necessary for the proper
certification of a tax exemption pursuant to this act, the form of a
certificate to be issued, standards with respect to the technical sufficiency
of a water quality management system to qualify for the exemption, and any
other matter related to the exemption.

���� 8.��� This act shall be
effective on the first day of the taxable year next following the date of
enactment, except that the director may take any advance administrative actions
necessary for the implementation of the act.�

STATEMENT

���� This bill would exempt from
real property taxation certain water quality management structures funded, in
whole or in part, by certain federal and State grants.� The bill defines �water
quality management structure� as a physical structure designed and installed
using a grant from the United States Conservation Service in the Department of
Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, or the State Agriculture
Development Committee for purposes of improving water quality.� Any water
quality management structure that qualifies under the bill would be exempt from
property taxation under chapter 4 of Title 54.� The owner of real property with
a certified water quality management structure would have exempted annually
from the assessed valuation of the real property a sum equal to the remainder
of the assessed valuation of the real property with the water quality
management structure included, minus the assessed valuation of the real
property without the water quality management structure.�

���� The enforcing agency in any
municipality would make the decision to grant a certification that the
structures qualify after receiving a written application.� The enforcing agency
may inquire into the right of a claimant to the exemption and may require the
filing of a new application or the submission of any proof necessary to
determine the continuation of the exemption.� The enforcing agency would also
have the authority to make an inspection of the premises.� The exemption for
the water quality management structure would begin the tax year following the
year in which certification was granted.�

���� The enforcing agency may
revoke the certificate if: the certificate was obtained by fraud or
misrepresentation; the claimant fails to proceed with the construction,
reconstruction, installation, or acquisition of a water quality management
structure; the water quality management structure to which the certificate
relates is being used for a different primary purpose; or the claimant has so
departed from the equipment, design, and construction previously certified by
the enforcing agency that, the water quality management structure is not
suitable the purposes initially intended.�

���� The bill also requires the
Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to adopt
rules and regulations

necessary for certification of the
water quality management systems, including the technical sufficiency of a
water quality management system to qualify for an exemption, for the
implementation of the act.