Bill > A951

This bill aims to increase the financial aid municipalities receive from the "Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Fund" over a five-year period, specifically from fiscal year 2013 to fiscal year 2017, to compensate for past reductions in municipal aid. The fund, established to distribute revenue from energy and utility taxes, will see an additional allocation calculated based on the difference in aid received by each municipality between fiscal years 2008 and 2012, with the full difference being distributed by fiscal year 2017 and continuing thereafter. A key provision requires that any additional aid a municipality receives through this increase must be used to reduce the amount it collects through local property taxes, meaning the extra state funding is intended to directly lower the property tax burden on residents. The bill also modifies the definition of "adjusted tax levy" to account for these new distributions from the Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Fund.