ASSEMBLY HOUSING COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2217

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

      The Assembly Housing Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2217, with committee amendments.

      This bill, as amended, would permit municipalities which have opted to license rooming and boarding houses to deny licenses or refuse to renew licenses of those rooming and boarding houses for which property taxes have not been paid. The bill will provide an enforcement tool for licensing municipalities to better regulate those rooming and boarding houses under their control. Under current law, the reasons a municipality may deny a license are limited to those pertaining to density issues or fitness of the premises for a rooming and boarding house. In some instances, municipalities have been unable to deny licenses to owners of rooming and boarding homes who failed to pay significant amounts of property taxes assessed against the facilities.

      The committee amendmened the bill to correct terminology referring to the payment of property taxes.