ASSEMBLY, No. 274

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen BATEMAN and KAVANAUGH

An Act concerning the use of certain State-owned land and supplementing P.L.1989, c.79 (C.4:1C-44 et seq.).

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

    1. a. For any land owned by the State of New Jersey and (1) farmed by a State agency, or (2) deemed suitable for agricultural production pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1989, c.79 (C.4:1C-44 et seq.), the State shall execute a restrictive covenant that the land shall be used only for agricultural production. Any such restrictive covenant shall run with the land in perpetuity and shall be attached to and recorded with the deed for the land.

    b. This section shall not apply to any land owned or administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would provide that for any land owned by the State of New Jersey and (1) farmed by a State agency, or (2) deemed suitable for agricultural production pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1989, c.79 (C.4:1C-44 et seq.), the State would execute a covenant restricting the use of the land to agricultural production only. Any such restrictive covenant would run with the land in perpetuity and would be attached to and recorded with the deed for the land. The bill's provisions would not apply to any land owned or administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Requires that certain State-owned farmland be deed-restricted for farming use only.