ASSEMBLY, No. 696

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman ZISA

An Act authorizing a municipality to impose a fee on hospital users and supplementing chapter 48 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.

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

    1. a. The governing body of a municipality may adopt an ordinance imposing a daily fee of up to $1 for each person over the age of 21 who enters for the purpose of receiving health care treatment or services any buildings actually used in the work of associations and corporations organized exclusively for hospital purposes that is located within the municipality and is exempt from local property taxation pursuant to the provisions of R.S.54:4-3.6.

    b. Exemption from the user fee may be provided in accordance with uniform rules under an ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

    c. The chief administrator of the association or corporation organized exclusively for hospital purposes shall be responsible for collecting the fee from each person required by an ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection a. of this section to pay the fee. The chief administrator shall remit the monies collected, on a quarterly basis, to the municipality in a manner specified in the ordinance.

    d. The monies collected by a municipality from the fee imposed by an ordinance adopted pursuant to this act shall be used by the municipality for any public safety purpose for which tax revenues of the municipality may be expended.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill authorizes a municipality to impose a daily fee of up to $1.00 for each person over the age of 21 who enters, for the purpose of health care treatment or services, any hospital located within the municipality that is exempt from local property taxation.

    Generally, hospitals are exempted by law from local property taxation but place one of the heaviest demands of all exempt properties on municipal public safety police and fire services. Under this bill, the nonexempt users of health treatment facilities and services of a hospital exempt from local property taxation will be required to pay a user charge for maintaining the ready and available benefit of municipal police and fire protection. The fees will be collected by the chief administrator of the hospital and remitted to the municipality.

    The monies collected by the municipality from the fee imposed under this act shall be used by the municipality for any public safety purpose for which tax revenues of the municipality may be expended.

Allows municipality to impose fee on hospital user.