A1042

An Act establishing a Public School Revenue Study Commission.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. There is established a Public School Revenue Study Commission. The commission shall consist of 12 members as follows: two members of the Senate appointed by the Senate President, no more than one of whom shall be of the same political party; two members of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, no more than one of whom shall be of the same political party; the Commissioner of Education, ex officio, or a designee; the State Treasurer, ex officio, or a designee; and six public members, two to be appointed by the President of the Senate, two to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, and two to be appointed by the Governor. Public members shall have expertise in public school finance, public tax policy, or both.

2. Appointments to the commission shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement for expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.

3. The commission shall organize within 30 days after the appointment of its members and shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members and a secretary who need not be a member of the commission. The commission may meet and hold hearings at the place or places it designates during the sessions or recesses of the Legislature.

4. Staff and related support services shall be provided to the commission by the Department Treasury. The commission shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

5. It shall be the duty of the commission to study ways to reduce New Jersey’s dependence on property taxes for public school funding. The commission shall review the State’s system of taxation and recommend revisions to that system to reduce the State’s over-reliance on property taxes as a primary source for the funding of public schools. Pursuant to Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 3 of 2006, the four joint committees created by the resolution to study property tax reform are required to submit reports to the Legislature by November 15, 2006 that includes proposals for constitutional amendments and legislation to bring about property tax reform. The Public School Revenue Study Commission shall review the recommendations in the reports of the joint committees relating to the reduction of the reliance on the property tax for the funding of public schools. The commission shall either endorse those joint committee recommendations it finds practicable, or offer alternative recommendations, or both. Further, in the event that the joint committees’ reports are not submitted by November 15, 2006 and no extension has been granted, or if the report does not provide practicable solutions, then this commission shall propose its own measures to reduce or eliminate property taxes as a means of primary funding for public schools. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature no later than 180 days following its organizational meeting.

6. This act shall take effect immediately and the commission shall expire upon the submission of its report to the Governor and the Legislature pursuant to section 5 of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill creates a 12-member Public School Revenue Study Commission. It consists of four members of the Legislature: two members of the Senate appointed by the Senate President and two members of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly. It will have two executive members: the Commissioner of Education and State Treasurer. The six public members will include two appointed by the President of the Senate, two appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, and two appointed by the Governor. The bill requires the public members to have expertise in public school finance, public tax policy, or both.

The purpose of the commission is to find ways to reduce New Jersey’s dependence on property taxes for funding public schools. Though a special session to address this problem is underway, this commission will serve as a check to ensure that New Jersey’s taxpayers see tangible results.

The commission will recommend legislative or other action if the special session fails to produce viable results. The recommendations will be submitted in a report to the Governor and Legislature within three months of the commission’s first meeting. The Commission will expire after its recommendations are submitted to the Governor and the Legislature.