The NJSBA is concerned that as a result of the Legislature’s special session on property tax reform, numerous bills have gone directly to the floor of the Senate or Assembly for a vote without a formal hearing process. 

“The rapid pace of legislative activity has the potential to create more problems than solutions to the issues that initially spurred Legislative action on property tax reform,” said Mike Vrancik, director of Governmental Relations. 

Typically, a lawmaker proposes a bill that is referred to a standing committee of the Legislature to vet the merits of the proposal and give the public a formal opportunity to address concerns with the measure. From there, the proposal could be voted out of committee and sent to the floor of the Senate or the Assembly for consideration and a possible vote. 

Unintended Consequences This process allows interested parties to inform the Legislature of issues that they might have with the bill, which often can help prevent unintended consequences. For example, Assembly Bill 1, which calls for a 4 percent limit on local property tax increases, does not address other statutory caps that already exist. As a result, local school districts are left with unanswered questions and are uncertain about how to proceed with their annual spending plans. 

While the Legislature might argue that it has held public hearings during the special session, the special session focused on concepts, rather than proposals.

Therefore, detailed analyses of actual legislation were not possible because very few concepts had made their way into bill form.