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A4963
ASSEMBLY, No. 4963
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� ANDREA KATZ
District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes Secretary of Agriculture to declare
agricultural emergency; establishes sales tax holiday on sale of fertilizer
during agricultural emergency.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning the sale of fertilizer during an
agricultural emergency and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� a.� As used in this
section:
���� �Fertilizer� means any
formulation or product used as a plant nutrient which is intended to promote
plant growth and contains one or more plant nutrients.� The term includes both
�commercial fertilizer� and �specialty fertilizer� as defined by section 3 of
P.L.1970, c.66 (C.4:9-15.3).
���� �Secretary� means the
Secretary of Agriculture of the State of New Jersey.
���� b.��� The Secretary of
Agriculture may declare an agricultural emergency for a period of up to six
months.� During the duration of the agricultural emergency, the Secretary, to
the extent not in conflict with applicable federal law or regulation but
notwithstanding any State or local law or contractual agreement, shall be
empowered to temporarily exempt receipts from the retail sale of fertilizer sold
during the period the agricultural emergency is in effect from the tax imposed
under the �Sales and Use Tax Act,� P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.).
���� c.���� The Secretary of
Agriculture is empowered to determine specific criteria, including, but not
limited to, local and national events that impact the cost of fertilizer, which
would necessitate the declaration of an agricultural emergency.� The Secretary
may limit the applicability of any such agricultural emergency to specific
areas of the State which meet the criteria established pursuant to this
subsection.
���� d.��� The agricultural
emergency declared by the Secretary pursuant to this section shall remain in
effect until the Secretary declares that the agricultural emergency has
terminated.
���� 2.��� Notwithstanding any
provision of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to the contrary, the Director of the Division of Taxation
in the Department of the Treasury is authorized to adopt immediately upon
filing with the Office of Administrative Law rules and regulations necessary to
implement section 1 of this act and maintain compliance with the Streamlined
Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which regulations shall be effective for a period
not to exceed 180 days from the date of the filing. The rules and regulations
adopted pursuant to this section shall be effective for a period not to exceed
18 months following the date of filing and may thereafter be amended, adopted,
or readopted by the director in accordance with the requirements of P.L.1968,
c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
���� 3.��� The Secretary of
Agriculture shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as
necessary to implement this act.
���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would authorize the
Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to declare an agricultural emergency for a
period of up to six months.� This bill would empower the Secretary, during the
period the agricultural emergency is in effect, to establish a temporary sales
tax holiday on receipts from the retail sale of fertilizer.
���� The bill would also empower
the Secretary to: (1) determine specific criteria which would necessitate the
declaration of an agricultural emergency; (2) limit the applicability of any
such agricultural emergency to specific areas of the State which meet the
criteria established; and (3) terminate the agricultural emergency.