Bill > A1745

Introduced Session

This bill would authorize municipalities, by adoption of an ordinance, to appropriate and expend amounts raised through an annual levy imposed for the development or maintenance of lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes for the purpose of developing or maintaining other land devoted to recreation and conservation purposes, whether such land is owned by the municipality or another public entity, so long as the land is located within the municipality and the improvements will inure to the benefit of the residents of the municipality. Under current law, imposition of an "open space tax" must be authorized by adoption of voter referendum. A recent court decision has indicated that moneys raised from this open space tax for the development or maintenance of lands acquired for recreation and conservation purposes cannot be appropriated and expended by a municipality to improve public school fields located within the municipality, because the school property was not "acquired" by the municipality. Under this bill, municipalities will be authorized to expend "open space tax" revenues to develop and maintain other land devoted to recreation and conservation purposes, whether the land is owned by the municipality or another public entity, so long as the land is located within the municipality and the improvements will inure to the benefit of the residents of the municipality, despite the provisions of current law or the constraints of a voter referendum that may have limited expenditures from such revenues to lands acquired by the municipality.

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Lou Greenwald (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (on 01/27/2016)