POLISCOPE
Back to bills

The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.

New Jersey bill extends county-based property assessment program to Passaic County

Original title: Extends county-based real property assessment program to Passaic County.

Last action · January 13, 2026: Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government CommitteeSponsor: Gary Schaer

Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Would Do

Assembly Bill 604 extends New Jersey's county-based real property assessment pilot program to include Passaic County, requiring the county to appoint a full-time county assessor and oversee municipal property revaluations. The legislation transfers assessment responsibilities from individual municipalities to the county government and establishes state reimbursement provisions for revaluation costs.

Why it matters

Passaic County property taxpayers and municipalities will shift from local property assessment to a centralized county assessment model, altering how property valuations, revaluations, and assessment appeals are managed and financed.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Passaic County property taxpayers

Property valuations, assessment appeals, and tax rates will be administered under a centralized county assessment program rather than individual municipal offices.

Directly affected

Municipalities within Passaic County

Municipalities must implement real property revaluations within a set timeframe and transfer ongoing assessment duties to the county assessor.

Directly affected

Municipal tax assessors in Passaic County

Existing municipal assessors receive appointment preferences for deputy county assessor positions under the new county structure.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Assembly Bill 604 do for Passaic County?
It extends the county-based real property assessment program to Passaic County, replacing individual municipal tax assessment offices with a centralized county assessor.
Who pays for the mandatory municipal revaluations under this bill?
Passaic County initially pays for the revaluations, and the State is subsequently required to reimburse the county using funds from the SHARE program, Consolidation Fund, or Property Tax Relief Fund over three years.
How are existing municipal tax assessors affected by the change?
Tenured municipal tax assessors or deputy municipal tax assessors receive preference when deputy county assessors and assistant deputy county assessors are appointed.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

1 action
  1. Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Centralization of Municipal Assessment

The bill continues a legislative trend in New Jersey of shifting municipal property assessment duties to county governments, following a prior pilot program in Gloucester County.

Connected Entities

Gloucester County, Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Division of Property Assessment and 3 more
locationGloucester County“County where the original pilot program was established.”Map →
OrganizationPassaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders“County governing body responsible for appointing the county assessor.”Map →
OrganizationDivision of Property Assessment“Division within the Department of the Treasury.”Map →
OrganizationDivision of Taxation“Division within the Department of the Treasury responsible for adopting rules an”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of the Treasury“State department housing the Division of Taxation and Division of Property Asses”Map →
locationPassaic County“County where the real property assessment program is extended.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

njleg.state.nj.us

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance65
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy25
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz20
    Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

Share or embed this record

POLISCOPE publisher tools

Share or embed this record