32:1-35.82. Taxes and assessments; approval of municipality of purchaser or lessee

The port authority shall be required to pay no taxes or assessments upon any of the property acquired and used by it for any of the purposes of this act or upon any deed, mortgage or other instrument affecting such property or upon the recording of any such instrument. However, to the end that no taxing jurisdiction shall suffer undue loss of taxes and assessments by reason of the acquisition and ownership of property by the port authority for any of the purposes of this act, the port authority is hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to enter into a voluntary agreement or agreements with any city, town, township or village whereby the port authority will undertake to pay in lieu of taxes a fair and reasonable sum, if any, or sums annually in connection with any real property acquired and owned by the port authority for any of the purposes of this act and to provide for the payment as a rental or additional rental charge by any person occupying any portion of any industrial development project or facility either as lessee, vendee or otherwise of such reasonable sum, if any, or sums as hereinafter provided. Such sums in connection with any real property acquired and owned by the port authority for any of the purposes of this act shall not be more than the sum last paid as taxes upon such real property prior to the time of its acquisition by the port authority; provided, however, that in connection with any portion of any industrial development project or facility, which is owned by the port authority or another governmental entity and improved pursuant to this act with buildings, structures or improvements greater in value than the buildings, structures or improvements in existence at the time of its acquisition, development or improvement by the port authority, any person occupying such portion of such industrial development project or facility either as lessee, vendee or otherwise shall, as long as title thereto shall remain in the port authority or in another governmental entity, pay as a rental or additional rental charge an amount in lieu of taxes, if any, not in excess of the taxes on such improvements and on personal property, including water and sewer service charges or assessment, which such person would have been required to pay had it been the owner of such property during the period for which such payment is made; provided further, however, that neither the port authority nor any of its projects, facilities, properties, moneys or bonds and notes shall be obligated, liable or subject to lien of any kind whatsoever for the enforcement, collection or payment thereof. Each such city, town, township or village is hereby authorized and empowered to enter into such agreement or agreements with the port authority, which agreement or agreements may also include provisions with respect to the joint review of categories of tenants proposed as occupants for industrial development projects or facilities with the cities, towns, townships or villages in which they are proposed to be located, and to accept the payment or payments which the port authority is hereby authorized and empowered to make or which are paid by a person occupying any such portion of such industrial development project or facility as rental or as additional rental in lieu of taxes, and the sums so received by such city, town, township or village shall be devoted to purposes to which taxes may be applied in all affected taxing jurisdictions unless and until otherwise directed by law of the state in which such city, town, township or village is located. At least 10 days prior to the authorization by the port authority of any agreement provided for in this section 11, the port authority shall notify the chief executive officer of each city in the port district within which an industrial development project or facility has been included in the master plan provided for in paragraph b. of section 3 hereof of the proposed authorization of such agreement, shall seek their comments and shall include with such authorization any comments received from such city. The port authority shall not sell or lease substantially all of an industrial development project or facility to a proposed purchaser or lessee without the prior approval by the municipality wherein the project or facility is located of such purchaser or lessee.

L.1978, c. 110, s. 11, eff. Aug. 24, 1978.