Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee Statement, No. 4556 (December 16, 2024)

Summary

Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee statement to Assembly, No. 4556 with committee amendments, State of New Jersey, dated December 16, 2024. The committee reports favorably, with committee amendments, Assembly Bill No. 4556, which as amended clarifies when recently constructed permanent structures may be used for limited special occasion events on preserved farms. The statement says existing law prohibits use of permanent structures built within the five-year period before the application date, and that the bill would create a limited exception, including for a structure used by a winery for the primary purpose of facilitating the testing, sale, consumption, or marketing of wine, wine-related products, or farm-related products.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
           AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE

                          STATEMENT TO

                     ASSEMBLY, No. 4556
                         with committee amendments



       STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                         DATED: DECEMBER 16, 2024

          The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and
      Agriculture Committee reports favorably, and with committee
      amendments, Assembly Bill No. 4556.
          As amended by the committee, this bill would amend the law at
      P.L.2023, c.9 (C.4:1C-32.15 et seq.), which authorizes the holding of
      certain limited special occasion events on preserved farms, in order to
      clarify the circumstances under which certain recently constructed or
      erected permanent structures may be used for such special occasion
      events.
          While existing law authorizes special occasion events to be held on
      a preserved farm, provided that the farm owner or operator first (and
      annually) applies to, and receives approval therefor from, the State,
      local, or nonprofit entity to which the farm’s development rights have
      been conveyed (the grantee), the existing law also prohibits a farm
      owner or operator from using any permanent structures on the farm,
      for the holding of grantee-approved special occasion events, if those
      structures have been recently constructed within the five-year period
      preceding the date on which the special occasion events application is
      submitted. This bill would establish a limited exception to this general
      prohibition by authorizing a preserved farm owner or operator to use
      these types of recently constructed permanent structures, for special
      occasion events that are approved to be held on the preserved farm, as
      long as either: 1) such permanent structure is used by a winery, as
      defined by the existing special occasion events law, in accordance with
      the State’s Right to Farm Act, for the primary purpose of facilitating
      the testing, sale, consumption, or marketing of wine, wine-related
      products, or farm-related products; or 2) the total revenues to be
      received from all special occasion events held on the farm, during the
      calendar year, will not exceed 10 percent of the total revenues accruing
      to the farm in that calendar year. A farm owner or operator who
      wishes to use such recently constructed permanent structures for
      special occasion event purposes, would be required, in the special
      occasion events application which is submitted to the grantee pursuant
      to existing law, to certify and provide supporting documentation
                                   2

demonstrating satisfaction of either of the bill’s purpose and use or
revenue requirements, as necessary to justify the applicant’s use of the
permanent structure for special occasion event purposes, and the
grantee would be required to confirm, in its written notice approving
of such application, whether the applicant has provided satisfactory
evidence of compliance with the bill’s primary purpose and use
requirements or revenue requirements, in this regard, and is being
authorized and approved by the grantee, on such basis, to use recently
constructed permanent structures for the purposes of holding the
special occasion events identified in the application.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
    The committee amended the bill to:
    (1) permit farm owners to use recently constructed permanent
structures for special occasion events that are approved to be held on
the preserved farm, as long as either: a) such permanent structure is
used by a winery for the primary purpose of facilitating the testing,
sale, consumption, or marketing of wine, wine-related products, or
farm-related products; or b) the total revenues to be received from all
special occasion events held on the farm, during the calendar year, will
not exceed 10 percent of the total revenues accruing to the farm in that
calendar year;
    (2) require farm owners to certify and provide supporting
documentation in the special occasion events application
demonstrating satisfaction of either of the bill’s purpose and use or
revenue requirements; and
    (3) require the special occasion events application grantee to
confirm whether the applicant has provided satisfactory evidence of
compliance with the bill’s primary purpose and use requirements or
revenue requirements.


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