Appropriates funds to support increases in tax levy resulting from health care costs in certain school districts.

S4318

SENATE, No. 4318

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 21, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.

District 9 (Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Appropriates funds to support increases in tax levy
resulting from health care costs in certain school districts.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

appropriating funds to support health care cost
increases in certain school districts.�

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

���� 1.� a.� There is appropriated
from the Property Tax Relief Fund such amounts, not to exceed $50,000,000 as
determined by the Commissioner of Education and subject to the approval of the
Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, as necessary to support a
qualifying school district�s increase to the adjusted tax levy for the
2026-2027 school year that results from implementing the allowable adjustment
to the tax levy for increases in health care costs pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subsection d. of section 3 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-38).� Funds received by
a qualifying school district pursuant to this section shall be the product of the
amount of funds, not to exceed $50,000,000, determined to be available for the
purposes of this section and the district�s proportionate share of the
Statewide total increase in health care costs among all school districts.�

���� b.� As used in this section,
�qualifying school district� means a school district with an adjusted tax levy
in the 2026-2027 school year that has increased by more than 9.9 percent of the
adjusted tax levy implemented for the district in the 2024-2025 school year.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill authorizes the
appropriation of funds, not to exceed $50 million, to support increases in
certain school districts� property tax levies that result from increased health
care costs.

���� School districts that qualify
for funds under the bill are those with an adjusted property tax levy in the
2026-2027 school year that has increased by more than 9.9 percent of the
adjusted tax levy implemented for the district in the 2024-2025 school year.�
The amount of funds a qualifying school district would receive under the bill
will be equal to the product of the amount of funds available for the purposes
of the bill and the qualifying district�s proportionate share of the Statewide
total increase in health care costs among all school districts.

���� Pursuant to current law, a
school district may increase its adjusted tax levy, without voter approval, for
the portion of actual increases in health care costs that exceeds two percent
of the prior year�s total health care costs.� This allowable increase to the
property tax levy, however, is limited to the average percentage increase of
the State Health Benefits Program, as determined annually by the Division of
Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury.� For the 2026-2027
school year, the allowable adjustment for health care costs, based on increases
in the State Health Benefits Program, is a staggering 29.9 percent.� This bill
seeks to alleviate the cost pressures that result from this unusually high
health care cost increase, with a specific focus on those districts that have
already had to burden their taxpayers with steadily increasing tax levies over
the past two years.�