This
executive order modified by EO #86 Whitman.
WHEREAS, Assembly
Bill No. 292, enacted into law on this date makes several changes
to the "Tenants Property Tax Rebate Act," P.L. 1976, c.63 (C.54:4-6.2
et seq.), which requires landlords to rebate reductions in property
taxes to their residential tenants; and
WHEREAS, Assembly
Bill No. 292 redefines the property subject to the "Tenants Property
Tax Rebate Act," identifies the reductions to be rebated, changes
the calculation of the property tax reduction to be rebated and
clarifies the landlord and tenant procedures for making and receiving
rebates; and
WHEREAS, those
changes to the "Tenants Property Tax Rebate Act" contained in Assembly
Bill No. 292 have generated interest and discussion regarding many
and varied issues involving landlords and tenants in the State of
New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, it
is important for government officials, landlords, tenants and private
investors to work together in order to promote cooperation to ensure
both the proper and safe development of multi-family housing communities
and the maintenance of existing communities;
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, Governor of the State of New Jersey,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. The creation
of the Landlord-Tenant Task Force (hereinafter "Task Force") to
study the issues affecting landlords and tenants and their relationship
in multi-family housing communities.
2. A charge
to the Task Force to consider issues which will include, but not
be limited to:
a. the
State's current laws concerning property tax rebates by landlords
to tenants;
b. the
existing laws regarding rent control and the sharing of tax
rebates;
c. the
effect of rent control on property costs;
d. the
feasibility of using Alternative Dispute Resolution to resolve
landlord-tenant disputes prior to the filing of a complaint
in the Superior Court, Special Civil Part;
e. the
problems relating to landlord-tenant proceedings in Superior
Court, Special Civil Part;
f. the
increase and improvement of multi-family housing communities
in the State; and
g. the
development of laws that clearly delineate the responsibilities
of the landlord and the tenant.
3. The Task
Force shall convene by July 1, 1998, and shall complete its study
and report to me within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the
date the Task Force first convenes.
4. The Task
Force shall identify and report back to me articulating their
concerns, agreements and disagreements and making recommendations
regarding these issues.
5. The Task
Force shall consist of the Attorney General, or his designee;
the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, or her
designee; a member of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate
President; a member of the General Assembly to be appointed by
the Speaker of the General Assembly; and one member from each
of the following organizations to be appointed by the Governor:
the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey Tenants Organization,
the New Jersey Apartment Association, the League of Municipalities,
the New Jersey Builders Association, and the New Jersey Bankers
Association. The Governor shall designate a chairman and vice-chairman
of the Task Force from among the members of the Task Force.
The members
shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties
subject to the availability of funds therefor. The Department
of Community Affairs and all other State departments and agencies
are hereby directed, to the extent not inconsistent with law and
within budgetary constraints, to cooperate with the Task Force
and to furnish it with such information, personnel, and assistance
as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Order.
6. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN,
under my hand and seal,
this 4th day of Mayin the Year
of Our Lord, One Thousand Nine
Hundred and Ninety-Eight, and of
the Independence of the United States,
the Two Hundred and Twenty-Second.
/s/
Christine Todd Whitman
Governor
[seal]
Attest:
/s/ John J.
Farmer, Jr.
Chief Counsel to the Governor
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