NJ Republicans Say ‘Energy Tax’ Bill Would Give Homeowners Relief

NEW JERSEY — A pair of Republican state legislators say they have a plan to help lower New Jersey’s crushing property taxes.

On Wednesday, Assembly members Jay Webber (District 26) and John DiMaio (District 23) made another push for a bill that would direct energy tax receipts back to New Jersey municipalities for the purposes of property tax relief.

The Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee unanimously cleared a companion measure (S330/A1012) in January. The bill now awaits a hearing in the Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee.

According to Webber and DiMaio, the average New Jerseyan pays $9,284 in property taxes – about 220 percent more than the average U.S. resident. It’s the second year in a row that average property taxes topped $9,000.

Residents living in the state’s top 10 most expensive towns pay more than $20,000 a year in property taxes, they added.

• Read More: See How Every NJ Town Ranks For Property Taxes On New List
• Read More: Big Gap Between Highest, Lowest Property Tax In This NJ County

According to Webber and DiMaio, their plan would restore nearly $331 million in reduced municipal aid to towns across New Jersey over the next five years.

The affected towns would be required to subtract the additional aid from the municipal property tax levy. Aid increases would begin in fiscal year 2023 and continue to increase until the fully restored amount is distributed beginning in fiscal year 2027.

Here’s how it would work, Webber and DiMaio said:

“Utility companies pay fees for the use of public space, also known as public right-of-way, for energy infrastructure like power and sewer lines. The state collects those fees, which go into the Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Fund to be distributed back to the municipalities. But a change in budget language in 2008 allowed the state to divert hundreds of millions of dollars each year from that fund and into general state expenditures. In fact, according to an analysis by the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, over $14 billion has been diverted from municipalities to the state coffers since 2002.”

The lawmakers’ bill directs that all monies that municipalities receive from energy tax receipts must be used to lower the local property tax levy, meaning residents’ property tax bills will automatically be lowered.

“The Senate took the first step in getting this bill across the finish line, and I urge the Democrat majority to post it for consideration in the Assembly,” Webber stated.

“Our residents need and deserve relief, and this is a common-sense solution that has bipartisan support,” said Webber, who first authored the legislation with Democratic state lawmaker Troy Singleton in 2012.

“Billions of dollars meant for property tax relief have supported ballooning state budgets,” Webber continued. “It’s time we reverse course, because feeding a bigger state government doesn’t help make the state more affordable or lower people’s taxes.”

“When you simply hand money back to a lower level of government without restrictions, local government is likely to spend it, which is why this bill mandates that the aid goes directly to relieving the property tax burden,” the assemblyman added.

DiMaio, who co-sponsored the legislation, agreed with Webber that “it’s time to take action.”

“We must stop the state from spending money that belongs in taxpayers’ pockets,” DiMaio urged. “Sky-high and increasing property taxes are hurting all of us who call New Jersey home. We have an affordability crisis on our hands and we have to start moving the needle with measures like this.”

• See related article: Combining NJ School Districts Closer To Reality With New Bill

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