NJ Gov. Phil Murphy Signs 24 Bills Into Law, Repeals Tax

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed 24 bills into law on Thursday and Friday, including legislation that would relieve the costly consequences of a tax on short-term rentals that he signed into law last year. Murphy signed the bill into law as evidence of the tax's damage to the Jersey Shore economy mounted.

Murphy signed A-4814 in law on Friday that narrows the scope of rentals that are subject to taxation. He signed the law after getting heavy criticism for an Airbnb tax he signed last October that critics say harmed New Jersey's economy this summer.

The Airbnb law compels owners who put their homes, or rooms, up for short-term rent to collect the state's 6.625 sales tax and 5 percent occupancy tax. Local towns also can also charge taxes of up to 3 percent.

Real estate officials say their Jersey Shore short-term rental occupancy rates are down as much as 30 percent because of the tax. The law includes a nearly 12-percent surcharge on short-term rentals lasting less than 90 days, they say.

“Our shore economy adds tremendous vitality and dynamism to New Jersey,” said Murphy. “Access to affordable rental properties for visitors and income on rentals for homeowners are the backbone of that economy. Our public policies must be well-calibrated to allow this economy to thrive and grow.”

Under the amendment, rentals that a homeowner facilitates directly, such as through local newspaper ads, personal referrals, or signage, will not be subject to the tax if the homeowner is collecting the rental payment themselves, according to officials.

Sen. Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, both Republicans, said Murphy’s announcement that he would repeal the "misguided" short-term rental tax was "too little, too late."

“The governor made the right call in repealing this short-term rental tax–and we acknowledge that–however it comes way too late,” said O’Scanlon. “We are in August at this point, summer is nearly over and most of the damage of this ill-conceived aspect of this tax has been done. The governor and his policy folks need to recognize when something is emergent and do their homework up front, so they’re ready to take action the minute such bills land on his desk. This was a total failure of administrative planning and it likely, needlessly, cost the New Jersey economy millions of dollars.”

Lawmakers say they've been waiting for Murphy to take action before the summer's over, but he hadn't, and he just returned from a long vacation.

On Thursday, Murphy also signed S2297 and A5111 into law, establishing the New Jersey Blockchain Initiative Task Force and creating the Innovation District Designation Program.

Murphy announced the signings while participating in a panel discussion at the Propelify Innovation Summit at Nokia Bell Labs in Murray Hill.

The task force will study blockchain technology, including:

• Opportunities and risks associated with using blockchain and distributed ledger technology;
• Types of blockchains, both public and private, as well as consensus algorithms;
• Projects and use cases currently under development in other states and nations, and how those cases could be applied in New Jersey; and
• How the state Legislature can modify current state laws to support secure, paperless record-keeping.
• Within 180 days of its initial meeting, the task force will issue a report, which will include the costs and benefits of government agencies utilizing blockchain technology and recommendations concerning the feasibility of implementation.

The Innovation District Designation Program will be established within the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology. The purpose of an Innovation District designation is to promote the development or redevelopment of an area in a manner that facilitates collaboration between government, higher education institutions, and private enterprise.

Here are the other bills Murphy signed into law:

• A312 (Pinkin, Conaway, Giblin, Holley, Danielsen, Mukherji, Wimberly/Vitale, Rice) - Requires certain health care facilities to provide information concerning palliative care and hospice care services.
• A841 (Land, Calabrese/Andrzejczak) - Provides for establishment of county college certificate programs to meet needs of certain regional employers.
• A1700 (Dancer, Vainieri Huttle, Calabrese/Cruz-Perez, Cunningham) - Expands eligibility criteria for designating certain areas as being in need of redevelopment.
• A2004 (Karabinchak, Mazzeo, Pinkin, Coughlin/Diegnan) - Requires municipality to pay certain nonresidential property tax appeal refunds in equal installments over period of three years.
• A3937 (DeAngelo, Reynolds-Jackson, Verrelli/Turner) - Allows local government water system employees to reside in all municipalities served by water system.
• A4115 (Benson, DeAngelo, Holley/Greenstein) - Clarifies that certain students are eligible for NJ STARS and NJ STARS II scholarship upon initial enrollment at institution of higher education on part-time basis.
• A4223 (Johnson, Rooney/Weinberg, Lagana) - Requires State Treasurer to pay county prosecutor's expenses for overseeing certain law enforcement agencies.
• A4938 (Tucker, Pinkin, Vainieri Huttle/Ruiz, Greenstein) - Requires DOH to establish "My Life, My Plan" program to support women of childbearing age in developing reproductive life plan.
• A5021 (Quijano, Bramnick, Reynolds-Jackson, Pinkin, Downey/Vitale, Kean) - Requires Medicaid coverage for group prenatal care services under certain circumstances.
• A5322 (Burzichelli, Milam, Houghtaling, Taliaferro/Sweeney, Oroho, Beach, Andrzejczak) - Establishes program for cultivation, handling, processing, transport, and sale of hemp; repeals New Jersey Industrial Hemp Pilot Program.
• A5392 (Quijano, Murphy/Vitale, Scutari) - Establishes new liability standards in sexual abuse lawsuits filed against public entities and public employees.
• A5595 (Milam, Houghtaling, Dancer, Wirths/Oroho, Pennacchio) - Expands eligibility for EDA small business loan program to specifically include certain farming operations and qualified dairy farmers.
• S601 (Smith, Greenstein/Pinkin, McKeon) - Establishes "New Jersey Solar Panel Recycling Commission."
• S781 (Sarlo, O’Scanlon/Giblin, DiMaso, Handlin) - Revises penalties for certain violations of law by public movers and warehousemen.
• S984 (Vitale, Singleton/Conaway, Mukherji, Murphy) - Establishes certain requirements, including allowable fees, for provision of medical records to patients, legally authorized representatives, and authorized third parties.
• S1109 (Ruiz/Munoz, Quijano) – Renames "Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Act" as "Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Act"; permits physician assistants to sign and modify POLST forms; requires continuing education concerning end-of-life care.
• S1739 (Oroho, Andrzejczak/Land, Space, Milam) - Renames county corrections officers as county correctional police officers.
• S2807 (Cryan, Cruz-Perez/Pinkin, Moriarty, Zwicker) - Concerns service of food or refreshments on mortuary premises.
• S2858 (Gopal, Diegnan/Houghtaling, Downey, Johnson) - Prohibits issuance of certain badges to NJT board members, PANYNJ commissioners, and local and State elected officials.
• S3212 (Ruiz, Rice/Pintor Marin, Holley) - Permits municipalities to establish temporary supplemental zoning boards of adjustment to address application backlogs.
• S3334 (Diegnan, Vitale/Conaway, Pinkin) - Exempts certain surgical technologists from general educational and training requirements.