Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANDREA KATZ
District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes Secretary of Agriculture to declare agricultural emergency; establishes sales tax holiday on sale of fertilizer during agricultural emergency.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the sale of fertilizer during an agricultural emergency and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
“Fertilizer” means any formulation or product used as a plant nutrient which is intended to promote plant growth and contains one or more plant nutrients. The term includes both “commercial fertilizer” and “specialty fertilizer” as defined by section 3 of P.L.1970, c.66 (C.4:9-15.3).
“Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture of the State of New Jersey.
b. The Secretary of Agriculture may declare an agricultural emergency for a period of up to six months. During the duration of the agricultural emergency, the Secretary, to the extent not in conflict with applicable federal law or regulation but notwithstanding any State or local law or contractual agreement, shall be empowered to temporarily exempt receipts from the retail sale of fertilizer sold during the period the agricultural emergency is in effect from the tax imposed under the “Sales and Use Tax Act,” P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.).
c. The Secretary of Agriculture is empowered to determine specific criteria, including, but not limited to, local and national events that impact the cost of fertilizer, which would necessitate the declaration of an agricultural emergency. The Secretary may limit the applicability of any such agricultural emergency to specific areas of the State which meet the criteria established pursuant to this subsection.
d. The agricultural emergency declared by the Secretary pursuant to this section shall remain in effect until the Secretary declares that the agricultural emergency has terminated.
2. Notwithstanding any provision of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to the contrary, the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury is authorized to adopt immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law rules and regulations necessary to implement section 1 of this act and maintain compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which regulations shall be effective for a period not to exceed 180 days from the date of the filing. The rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be effective for a period not to exceed 18 months following the date of filing and may thereafter be amended, adopted, or readopted by the director in accordance with the requirements of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
3. The Secretary of Agriculture shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to declare an agricultural emergency for a period of up to six months. This bill would empower the Secretary, during the period the agricultural emergency is in effect, to establish a temporary sales tax holiday on receipts from the retail sale of fertilizer.
The bill would also empower the Secretary to: (1) determine specific criteria which would necessitate the declaration of an agricultural emergency; (2) limit the applicability of any such agricultural emergency to specific areas of the State which meet the criteria established; and (3) terminate the agricultural emergency.