Amends State Constitution to decrease acreage required for farmland assessment with certain requirements for valuing farmland under five acres in area.

ACR110

ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 110

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Amends State Constitution to decrease acreage
required for farmland assessment with certain requirements for valuing farmland
under five acres in area.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A
Concurrent Resolution
proposing to amend
Article VIII, Section I, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution.

����
Be It
Resolved
by the General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

���� 1.��� The following proposed
amendment to the Constitution of the State of New Jersey is hereby agreed to:

PROPOSED
AMENDMENT

���� Amend Article VIII, Section I,
paragraph 1, to read as follows:

���� 1.��� (a) Property shall be
assessed for taxation under general laws and by uniform rules. All real
property assessed and taxed locally or by the State for allotment and payment
to taxing districts shall be assessed according to the same standard of value,
except as otherwise permitted herein, and such real property shall be taxed at
the general tax rate of the taxing district in which the property is situated,
for the use of such taxing district.

���� (b) The Legislature shall
enact laws to provide that the value of land, not less than
[
5
]

three

acres in area, which is determined by the assessing officer of the taxing
jurisdiction to be actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use and to
have been so devoted for at least the
[
2
]

two

successive years immediately preceding the tax year in issue, shall, for local
tax purposes, on application of the owner, be that value which such land has
for agricultural or horticultural use.�
The land shall be valued by the
assessing officer of the taxing jurisdiction: (1) for land that is three acres
in area or greater, but less than four acres in area, at 60 percent of the
land�s total agricultural or horticultural use and 40 percent of the land�s
market rate; (2) for land that is four acres in area or greater, but less than
five acres in area, at 80 percent of the land�s total agricultural or
horticultural use and 20 percent of the land�s market rate; and (3) for land
that is five acres in area or greater, entirely by the land�s agricultural or
horticultural use.

���� Any such laws shall provide
that when land which has been valued in this manner for local tax purposes is
applied to a use other than for agriculture or horticulture it shall be subject
to additional taxes in an amount equal to the difference, if any, between the
taxes paid or payable on the basis of the valuation and the assessment
authorized hereunder and the taxes that would have been paid or payable had the
land been valued and assessed as otherwise provided in this Constitution, in
the current year and in such of the tax years immediately preceding, not in
excess of
[
2
]

two

such years in which the land was valued as herein authorized.

���� Such laws shall also provide
for the equalization of assessments of land valued in accordance with the
provisions hereof and for the assessment and collection of any additional taxes
levied thereupon and shall include such other provisions as shall be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this amendment.

(cf: Art. VIII, Sec. I, par. 1; amended
effective December 5, 1963)

���� 2.��� When this proposed
amendment to the Constitution is finally agreed to pursuant to Article IX,
paragraph 1 of the Constitution, it shall be submitted to the people at the
next general election occurring more than three months after the final
agreement and shall be published at least once in at least one newspaper of
each county designated by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
General Assembly and the Secretary of State, not less than three months prior
to the general election.

���� 3.��� This proposed amendment
to the Constitution shall be submitted to the people at that election in the
following manner and form:

���� There shall be printed on each
official ballot to be used at the general election, the following:

���� a. In every municipality in
which voting machines are not used, a legend which shall immediately precede
the question as follows:

���� If you favor the proposition
printed below make a cross (X), plus (+), or check (
a
) in the square opposite the word "Yes." If you are
opposed thereto make a cross (X), plus (+) or check (
a
) in the square opposite the
word "No."

���� b. In
every municipality the following question:

CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT TO DECREASE LAND AREA REQUIRED FOR FARMLAND ASSESSMENT

YES

�� Do you approve amending the
Constitution to decrease the amount of land required to qualify for farmland property
tax assessment from five acres in area to three acres in area? �Land that is
greater than three acres in area but less than five acres in area would
receive part of the farmland assessment.

�� Currently, land over five
acres in area that is used as farmland may qualify for the full farmland
assessment.� This amendment would not affect the farmland assessment for land
over five acres in area.

INTERPRETIVE
STATEMENT

NO

�� This constitutional amendment
would decrease the amount of land required to qualify for the farmland
assessment from five acres to three acres.� Land that is greater than three
acres in area but less than five acres in area would receive part of the farmland
assessment valuation, depending on the size of the land.

�� Currently, land over five
acres in area that is used as farmland may qualify for a reduced property tax
assessment.� This is known as the farmland assessment.� The farmland
assessment gives the property owner a lower property tax than an identical
property without the farmland assessment.� The amendment would allow part of
the farmland assessment on land that is over three acres in area.

STATEMENT

���� This constitutional amendment
decreases the amount of land required to qualify for the farmland assessment
from five acres to three acres.� Currently, the Constitution provides a full
farmland assessment for land that is five acres or greater in area.� The
constitutional amendment provides that farmland that is three acres or greater,
but less than four acres, only receives farmland assessment for 60 percent of
the total property tax valuation and farmland that is four acres or greater,
but less than five acres, receives farmland assessment for 80 percent of the
total property tax valuation.

���� Currently, the Constitution
allows land not less than five acres in area that has been dedicated to
farmland use, for at least two years prior to the tax year, to be valued by the
local tax assessor for the value of agricultural or horticultural use and not
the market value of the property.� Only the land which is used for farmland is
eligible for farmland assessment; buildings and homes on farmland are assessed
in the same manner as other non-farm property.� The amendment is intended to
allow more property owners to qualify for farmland assessment.