S 4420

[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 4420
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 8, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman� LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
���� Authorizes regional rehabilitation and reentry center
authority to determine county proportional share assessment for budget
purposes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As reported by the Senate Budget and Appropriations
Committee on June 24, 2026, with amendments.
��
An Act concerning a regional rehabilitation and reentry
center authority proportional share assessment and amending P.L.2023, c.346 and
P.L.1976, c.68.
���� Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
����� 1.�� Section
6 of P.L.2023, c.346 (C.40A:67-6) is amended to read as follows:
����� 6.�� An
authority shall be a public body politic and corporate, established as an
instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental functions to
provide for the public health and welfare.� The authority shall have the
duties, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities, and disabilities of a
public body politic and corporate and shall have taxing power.� The authority
shall be a "contracting unit" for purposes of the "Local Public
Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.), shall have perpetual
succession until termination or dissolution in accordance with the agreement,
and shall have the powers to:
����� a.�� adopt
and have a common seal and to alter the same at pleasure;
����� b.�� sue
and be sued;
����� c.�� acquire,
own, rent, hold, lease, as lessor or lessee, use and sell or otherwise dispose
of, mortgage, pledge, or grant a security in, any real or personal property,
commodity, or service or interest therein;
����� d.�� plan,
develop, acquire, construct, reconstruct, operate, manage, dispose of,
participate in, maintain, repair, extend, or improve a center or satellite
facility, and act as agent, or designate one or more other persons employed by
or contracting with the center to act as its agent, in connection with the
planning, acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, extension,
or improvement of the center, and provision to the members of rehabilitation
and reentry services, to meet the needs of the members and the State, which
shall include the hiring of experts to perform a population review and
projected bed needs;
����� e.�� make
and execute additional contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient
to the exercise of its powers;
����� f.��� employ
correctional police officers and other employees, without regard to the
provisions of Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes, but does
not preclude employees from entering or becoming party to a collective
bargaining agreement;
����� g.�� contract
with any person, entity, or public agency within or outside the State of New
Jersey for the construction or operation of the center, or for any interest or
share therein, on terms and for a period of time as its board shall determine;
����� h.�� incur
indebtedness through the issuance of bonds, provide for and secure the payment
of any bonds and the rights of the holders thereof, and to purchase, hold, and
dispose of any bonds;
����� i.��� accept
gifts or grants of real or personal property, money, material, labor, or
supplies solely for the purposes and exclusive use and benefit of the
authority, and to make and perform those agreements and contracts as may be
necessary or convenient in connection with the procuring, acceptance, or
disposition of the gifts or grants;
����� j.��� make
and enforce bylaws or rules and regulations for the management and regulation
of its business and affairs and for the use, maintenance, and operation of its
properties and to amend its bylaws;
����� k.�� do
and perform any acts and things authorized by P.L.2023, c.346 (C.40A:67-1 et
seq.), through or by means of its own officers, agents, and employees, or by
contract with any person;
����� l.��� enter
into contracts, execute instruments, and do and perform all things necessary,
convenient, or desirable for the purposes of the authority, or to carry out any
power expressly authorized under P.L.2023, c.346 (C.40A:67-1 et seq.);
����� m.� join
organizations, including private or trade organizations, which the board has
deemed to be beneficial to the accomplishment of the authority's purposes;
����� n.�� invest
any funds held in reserve or sinking funds, or any funds not required for
immediate disbursement, including the proceeds from the sale of any bonds, in
those obligations, securities, and other investments as the authority deems to
be proper and are authorized pursuant to law; and
����� o.��
estab procedures for budget introduction and adoption, which shall be made
pursuant to the "Local Authorities Fiscal Control Law," P.L.1983,
c.313 (C.40A:5A-1 et seq.) 1and be on a fiscal year beginning on January 1 and
ending December 311, and which shall be subject to the cap on
calculation of adjusted tax levy by local units pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-45.45,
and shall include the following:
����� (1) [an amount to be raised by taxation, which shall be
conveyed to the Board of Taxation in each participation county within 15 days
of the adoption of the budget;] 1[(Deleted by amendment, P.L.     , c.    )] (Deleted by amendment, P.L.���� , c.��� )1
����� (2) the
chief financial officer of the authority shall certify the Average Daily
Population (ADP) of the inmates from each participating county, for the
previous year, by February 1st of each year;
����� [(3)]� (a)� based on the ADP [and, if determined by a separate formula, the
apportionment of any debt service pursuant to the inter-county agreement], the chief financial officer of the authority shall
certify each county�s proportional share of inmates for the previous year.� The
proportional share of the inmates for each county 1and, if determined by a separate formula pursuant to
the inter-county agreement, the apportionment of any debt service1 shall be applied to the total revenue needs in
the authority�s budget 1[, as introduced by January 26th of each year,]1 to determine the annual proportional share
assessment for each county.� The chief financial officer of the authority shall
certify the proportional share for each county concerning what portion is for
general operations and what portion is to support debt service.� By
February 15th of each year, [the proportional share for each county shall be
conveyed to the appropriate County Board of Taxation, to be used to calculate
the amount of taxes to be levied in each of the participating counties.� These
taxes shall be assessed, levied, and collected within the respective taxing
districts in the manner prescribed by law]
each portion of the total proportional share assessment for each
participating county shall be conveyed to the respective county chief financial
officer for inclusion in the county�s annual budget; [and]
����� (b) the
portion of the proportional share assessment for each county pertaining to debt
service shall be an eligible cap exception pursuant to subsection aa. of
section 4 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.4) for each participating county; and
����� (4) [in each local budget year in which the function of a
county jail is transferred from the county government to the authority, the
county shall deduct from its final appropriations upon which its permissible
county tax levy is calculated, the amount which the county expended for that
function during the last full budget year it was included in the county budget] 1when examining the annual budget of a participating
county,1 the Division of Local Government Services in the
Department of Community Affairs shall 1[certify that]
determine whether1 the amount of the proportional share assessment
1, as certified by the chief financial officer of the
authority,1 is included as an appropriation in each
participating county�s annual operation budget, as a condition of State
approval for budget adoption, pursuant to the "Local Budget Law,"
N.J.S.40A:4-1 et seq.
(cf:
P.L.2025, c.253, s.4)
����� 2.�� Section
4 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.4) is amended to read as follows:
����� 4.�� In
the preparation of its budget, a county may not increase the county tax levy to
be apportioned among its constituent municipalities in excess of 2.5[%] percent or the cost-of-living
adjustment, whichever is less, of the previous year's county tax levy, subject
to the following exceptions:
����� a.�� The
amount of revenue generated by the increase in valuations within the county,
based solely on applying the preceding year's county tax rate to the
apportionment valuation of new construction or improvements within the county,
and such increase shall be levied in direct proportion to said valuation;
����� b.�� Capital
expenditures, including appropriations for current capital expenditures,
whether in the capital improvement fund or as a component of a line item
elsewhere in the budget, provided that any such current capital expenditures
would be otherwise bondable under the requirements of N.J.S.40A:2-21 and
40A:2-22;
����� c.�� (1)������ An
increase based upon emergency temporary appropriations made pursuant to
N.J.S.40A:4-20 to meet an urgent situation or event which immediately endangers
the health, safety or property of the residents of the county, and over which
the governing body had no control and for which it could not plan and emergency
appropriations made pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-46.  Emergency temporary
appropriations and emergency appropriations shall be approved by at least
two-thirds of the governing body and by the Director of the Division of Local
Government Services, and shall not exceed in the aggregate 31[%] percent1 of the previous year's final current operating
appropriations.
����� (2) (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� The
approval procedure in this subsection shall not apply to appropriations adopted
for a purpose referred to in subsection d. or f. below;
����� d.�� All
debt service, except as otherwise provided in this section;
����� e.�� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� f.��� Amounts
required to be paid pursuant to (1) any contract with respect to use, service
or provision of any project, facility or public improvement for water,
sewerage, parking, senior citizen housing or any similar purpose, or payments
on account of debt service therefor, between a county and any other county,
municipality, school or other district, agency, authority, commission,
instrumentality, public corporation, body corporate and politic or political
subdivision of this State; and (2) any lease of a facility owned by a county
improvement authority when the lease payment represents the proportionate
amount necessary to amortize the debt incurred by the authority in providing
the facility which is leased, in whole or in part;
����� g.�� That
portion of the county tax levy which represents funding to participate in any
federal or State aid program and amounts received or to be received from
federal, State or other funds in reimbursement for local expenditures.  If
a county provides matching funds in order to receive the federal or State or
other funds, only the amount of the match which is required by law or agreement
to be provided by the county shall be excepted;
����� h.�� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1987, c.74[.])
����� i.��� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� j.��� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� k.�� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� l.��� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74[.])
����� m.� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� n��� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� o.�� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.1990, c.89[.])
����� p.�� Extraordinary
expenses, approved by the Local Finance Board, required for the implementation
of an interlocal services agreement;
����� q.�� Any
expenditure mandated as a result of a natural disaster, civil disturbance or
other emergency that is specifically authorized pursuant to a declaration of an
emergency by the President of the United States or by the Governor;
����� r.��� Expenditures
for the cost of services mandated by any order of court, by any federal or
State statute, or by administrative rule, directive, order, or other legally
binding device issued by a State agency which has identified such cost as
mandated expenditures on certification to the Local Finance Board by the State
agency;
����� s.�� That
portion of the county tax levy which represents funding to a county college in
excess of the county tax levy required to fund the county college in local
budget year 1992;
����� t.��� (Deleted
by amendment, P.L.2004, c.74 1[.]1)
����� u.�� Expenditures
for the administration of general public assistance pursuant to P.L.1995, c.259
(C.40A:4-6.1 et al.);
����� v.�� Amounts
in a separate line item of a county budget that are expended on tick-borne
disease vector management activities undertaken pursuant to P.L.1997, c.52
(C.26:2P-7 et al.);
����� w.� Amounts
expended by a county under an interlocal services agreement entered into
pursuant to the "Interlocal Services Act," P.L.1973, c.208 (C.40:8A-1
et al.) entered into after the effective date of P.L.2000, c.126 (C.52:13H-21
et al.) or amounts expended under a joint contract pursuant to the
"Consolidated Municipal Service Act," P.L.1952, c.72 (C.40:48B-1 et
seq.) entered into after the effective date of P.L.2000, c.126 (C.52:13H-21 et
al.);
����� x.�� Amounts
appropriated in the first three years after the effective date of P.L.2003,
c.92 (C.18A:7F-5b et al.) for liability insurance, workers' compensation
insurance and employee group insurance;
����� y.�� Amounts
appropriated in the first three years after the effective date of P.L.2003,
c.92 (C.18A:7F-5b et al.) for costs of domestic security preparedness and
responses to incidents and threats to domestic security;
����� z.�� Expenditures
of amounts received pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1981, c.278 (C.13:1E-96);
����� aa. Amounts
certified by the chief financial officer of a regional rehabilitation and
reentry center authority as the county�s share of the proportional share
assessment 1pertaining to debt service1 for the authority, as specified pursuant to
subsection o. of section 6 of P.L.2023, c.346 (C.40A:67-6).
����� In
the first full year where an existing appropriation or expenditure that is
subject to budget limitations is made an exception to budget limitations, a
county shall deduct from its final appropriations upon which its permissible
expenditures are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68
(C.40A:4-45.2) the amount which the county expended for that purpose during the
last full budget year, or portion thereof, in which the purpose so excepted was
funded from appropriations in the county budget.
����� In
the first full year where an existing appropriation or expenditure that is not
subject to budget limitations is made subject to budget limitations, a county
shall add to its final appropriations upon which its permissible expenditures
are calculated pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.2) the
amount which the county expended for that purpose during the last full budget
year, or portion thereof, in which the purpose so excepted was funded from
appropriations in the county budget.
����� Notwithstanding
the provisions of section 10 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.40A:4-45.45) to the contrary,
after a county has made the determination to prepare its budget under the
property taxation limitations of section 4 of P.L.1976, c.68 (C.40A:4-45.4),
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 10 of P.L.2007, c.62
(C.40A:4-45.45), then in any such local budget year, if a county's
appropriations for debt service are less than the prior year's appropriations
for debt service, which amounts are exceptions to the 2.5[%] percent county tax levy increase
limitation pursuant to this section, then the county's maximum permissible tax
levy for that local budget year shall not be reduced by the amount of the
difference in appropriations for debt service between the two local budget
years.
(cf:
P.L.2024, c.8, s.1)
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.