New Jersey § 54:4-23

§ 54:4-23.

a. Application for valuation, assessment and taxation of land in agricultural or horticultural

use under P.L.1964, c. 48 shall be on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the

Department of the Treasury , in consultation with the State Board of Agriculture , and provided for the use of claimants by the governing bodies of the respective

taxing districts. The form of application shall provide for the reporting of information pertinent

to the provisions of Article VIII, Section 1, paragraph 1(b) of the Constitution , as amended, and P.L.1964, c. 48 . The form shall include a plain language recitation and explanation of the guidelines

describing generally accepted agricultural and horticultural practices developed and

adopted pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.2013, c. 43 ( C.54:4-23.3d ) that may be used by municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators,

and other appropriate local government officials to assist them in determining whether

land may be deemed to be in agricultural use, horticultural use, or actively devoted

to agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to the “Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,”

P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.1 et seq. ). The applicant shall include with the form of application, in a manner prescribed

by the director, proofs of sales of agricultural or horticultural products, and of

any other payments, fees, or imputed income received from the agricultural or horticultural

use of the land, in the prior year, or clear evidence of anticipated yearly gross

sales, payments, fees, or imputed income, amounting to at least $1,000 for the first

five acres, or in the case of woodland subject to a woodland management plan pursuant

to section 3 of P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.3 ) amounting to at least $500 for the first five acres, or in either case amounting

to such sums as may be established by the State Farmland Evaluation Committee pursuant

to subsection a. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.5 ). In the case of land that is the subject of a forest stewardship plan approved by the

Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2009, c. 256 ( C.13:1L-31 ) which is fully implemented, and otherwise qualifies under the “Farmland Assessment

Act of 1964,” P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.1 et seq. ), for valuation, assessment and taxation as land in agricultural or horticultural

use pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.3 ), no proofs required pursuant to this subsection of gross sales, payments, fees,

or imputed income, or of clear evidence of anticipated yearly gross sales, payments,

fees, or imputed income, need be included with the form or otherwise submitted. However, the applicant shall include documentation demonstrating implementation

of the forest stewardship plan, including documentation of scheduled activities, a

forest inventory and yield parameters to document forest productivity, and inspections

performed, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted for the forest stewardship

program by the Department of Environmental Protection. b. A certification by the landowner that the facts set forth in the application are

true may be prescribed by the director to be in lieu of a sworn statement to that

effect. Statements so certified shall be considered as if made under oath and subject to

the same penalties as provided by law for perjury. In addition, for a gross and intentional misrepresentation on the application, the

landowner shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000. Any such civil penalty may be imposed and collected by the municipality, the county,

or the State, with costs, in a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement

Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c. 274 ( C.2A:58-10 et seq. ). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the

provisions of the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999” in connection with this subsection. One-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or county shall be

dedicated and used by the municipality or county in administering and enforcing the

provisions of the “Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,” P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.1 et seq. ) in the municipality or county. The remaining one-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or

county shall be paid by the municipality or county to the State, and together with

any civil penalties so collected directly by the State, shall be dedicated and used

by the Department of Agriculture and the Division of Taxation in administering and

enforcing the provisions of P.L.1964, c. 48. c. Any landowner, except those who have submitted a woodland management plan or a forest

stewardship plan pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.3 ), who is an applicant for valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to P.L.1964,

c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.1 et seq. ) for lands not previously qualified under P.L.1964, c. 48 shall submit with the application a map of land use classes and soil groups that

conforms with standards established by the Division of Taxation in consultation with

the State Board of Agriculture. d. For any landowner whose farm management unit is less than seven acres in size,

the landowner shall submit with the application form a narrative describing the agricultural

or horticultural uses on the farm management unit, the number of acres that will be

actively devoted to those uses, and a sketch of the location on the farm management

unit of those uses. For the purposes of this subsection, “ farm management unit ” means a parcel or parcels of land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, together

with agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures and facilities, producing

agricultural or horticultural products, and operated as a single enterprise. e. The director, after consultation with the State Board of Agriculture, shall include

with each application a letter or other document explaining any changes to the law,

rules, regulations, and guidelines on the valuation, assessment and taxation of land

pursuant to P.L.1964, c. 48 ( C.54:4-23.1 et seq. ) that have occurred in the prior tax year and which shall be newly in effect in the

tax year for which the application is being submitted. f. The director shall devise a form for the extension of filing time for the valuation

application, which form shall include the name and address of the applicant, the reason

for the extension, and a space for the approval or rejection of the assessor.