ACR 27 proposes a constitutional amendment to increase New Jersey's veterans' property tax deduction from $250 to $1,000 annually, effective for tax year 2021. It would also tie future adjustments to annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases, ensuring the deduction grows with inflation while never decreasing. This change directly affects honorably discharged veterans, their surviving spouses, and veterans living in continuing care retirement communities. The amendment requires voter approval after legislative passage, as it modifies the state constitution. If approved, the deduction would automatically adjust yearly based on inflation without legislative action.
This New Jersey bill (A1150) creates a proportional property tax exemption for veterans with service-connected disabilities. It directly affects honorably discharged veterans whose disabilities (such as paralysis, blindness, or amputations) are certified by the VA as 25% to 100% service-connected. The exemption equals the veteran's disability percentage (e.g., 50% disability = 50% tax exemption) but caps partial exemptions at $15,000. To offset costs for local governments, the state must reimburse municipalities 102% of the tax revenue lost from these exemptions.
This bill requires New Jersey to reimburse municipalities for a portion of lost property tax revenue caused by exempting permanently disabled veterans' primary homes from property taxes. It directly affects disabled veterans who qualify for the total exemption (e.g., those with paraplegia, blindness, or amputations from service-connected disabilities) and the municipalities that collect property taxes. The state must pay each municipality 10% of the exempted tax amount annually, plus an additional 2% to cover administrative costs. Currently, municipalities bear the full cost of these exemptions without state reimbursement.
This bill establishes the "Food Desert Elimination Act" to incentivize supermarkets and grocery stores (18,000+ sq ft) to open in designated "food desert communities" - areas with limited access to fresh food, identified using USDA and CDC data. It provides property tax-based tax credits to businesses that open their *first* supermarket or grocery store in a designated food desert community, covering the full property tax assessed by the municipality for three years after opening. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority will designate up to 75 initial food desert communities, prioritizing areas with high poverty and limited healthy food access. This directly affects low-income residents in these communities by aiming to improve access to nutritious food through new retail options.
This bill expands New Jersey's property tax exemption for veterans with service-connected disabilities. It directly affects honorably discharged veterans who have a permanent service-connected disability, including mental illness (previously excluded), and their surviving partners. The key change adds mental illness as a qualifying condition for a proportional property tax exemption based on the veteran's disability percentage (up to 100%). It also extends eligibility to surviving partners if the veteran developed a service-connected disability after death, allowing them to claim the exemption as if the veteran were still living. The exemption applies to the veteran's or surviving partner's primary residence, in addition to other existing property tax exemptions.
This bill extends an existing property tax exemption for veterans with 100% service-connected disabilities (such as paraplegia, amputation, or total blindness) and their eligible surviving spouses to include those who pay "payments in lieu of property taxes" in urban renewal areas. It also clarifies that tenant shareholders in cooperative housing can claim the exemption for their proportionate share of taxes, provided the veteran or surviving spouse is the sole beneficiary. The exemption applies to the primary residence and is in addition to other existing property tax benefits, without replacing other available exemptions.
This bill exempts surviving spouses and civil union partners of disabled veterans from home sale fees in New Jersey. Specifically, it applies when the veteran qualified for a property tax exemption due to wartime disability at the time of death. The exemption covers both the basic realty transfer fee and the supplemental fee for sales of one- or two-family homes owned and occupied by the survivor. This extends an existing disability-related exemption to veterans' survivors, who previously did not qualify unless they themselves met the disability criteria.
This bill amends New Jersey law to require the Director of the Division of Taxation to include sales of properties in age-restricted communities sold by third parties (such as guardians, executors, or trustees) in the table of equalized valuations used for tax assessments. It directly affects residents of age-restricted communities, as current rules exclude these sales from valuation calculations due to their non-market nature. The key change mandates that such third-party sales be counted as part of the data determining fair market value for property tax purposes. This adjustment aims to ensure assessments better reflect actual market conditions for these properties.
This bill removes a 2% annual limit on property tax increases for certain county offices. It specifically affects county clerks, surrogates, prosecutors, and sheriffs (referred to as "county constitutional officers" in the bill), allowing their budget requests for property tax portions to exceed the previous year's amount without the 2% cap. Currently, these offices must keep property tax increases for their budgets below 2% annually, but this bill eliminates that restriction. The change applies immediately to the next county budget cycle following enactment.
ACR 17 is a proposed constitutional amendment requiring New Jersey’s legislature to hold four quarterly meetings each year solely to vote on bills certified as providing property tax relief. To qualify, bills must lower property taxes (not increase revenue) and address specific areas like education funding, pension reforms, or local government savings. If a bill passes in one legislative chamber, the other chamber must vote on it within 60 days. The amendment does not force the legislature to pass all such bills or prevent consideration of property tax legislation outside these designated meetings.
