N.J. Admin. Code § 18:17-2.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 18:17-2.4 - Continuing education course topics and course composition

(a) The Continuing Education Eligibility Board shall approve only those continuing education activities and course topics as are considered by the Continuing Education Eligibility Board to be consistent with the purpose of tax assessor continuing education. Course credits are classified as either property tax administration or real property appraisal.

1. Property tax administration covers the local government units of New Jersey, State Constitution, and the statutory basis of assessing.

i. Examples include real property tax deductions, exemptions, abatements, farmland assessment, revaluation, and reassessment duties, the tax appeal process, and the sales ratio.

ii. Acceptable human resource courses or computer courses must be related to assessment duties or functions of the tax assessor or the county board of taxation at the municipal, county, or State level.

2. Real property appraisal covers the theory and techniques of valuing real property.

i. Examples include the replacement cost, sales comparison, and income approaches to value, land valuation, mass appraisal, Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA), and analysis of income and expense statements, capitalization methods and techniques, and ad valorem taxation.

3. Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) may be categorized as either property tax administration or real property appraisal.

4. The examples cited in (a)1 and 2 above are illustrative only and are not inclusive or exclusive of acceptable course topics.

(b) The Continuing Education Eligibility Board shall approve only such continuing education programs as are available and advertised on a reasonably nondiscriminatory basis to certified tax assessors in the State.

(c) Continuing Education Eligibility Board approval of all credits must occur prior to the start of the course or seminar.

(d) The Continuing Education Eligibility Board may revoke approval of those continuing education course topics considered by the Continuing Education Eligibility Board as no longer consistent with the purpose of continuing education at the time it is presented for vote.

(e) The certificate holder may obtain continuing education credits consistent with the roles and responsibilities of the assessor for the following as approved by the Continuing Education Eligibility Board:

1. Training programs offered by State or Federal agencies or commissions;

2. Educational programs provided during professional trade organization conferences;

3. Colleges or universities accredited by the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education or any accrediting agency approved by the Continuing Education Eligibility Board meeting the criteria in (a), (b), and (c) above, community or junior colleges accredited by the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education, and proprietary schools;

4. Seminars offered by assessor, real estate appraisal, municipal, or county organizations;

5. Seminars offered by vendors of commercial products geared toward the assessing office or county board of taxation; and

6. Participation, other than as a student, in property tax administration or property tax appraisal education programs approved by the Continuing Education Eligibility Board.

i. Examples of activities for which credit may be granted include teaching real property administration courses and/or real property appraisal courses.

ii. Speakers are entitled to receive credit for their portion of the instructional activities. No more than one-half of the total hours of credit required for a renewal cycle may be awarded for the activities qualifying under this paragraph.

iii. Within each renewal cycle, credit can only be given once for the same course.

7. For purposes of meeting tax assessor certificate continuing education requirements, the Continuing Education Eligibility Board accepts credits earned for real property appraisal courses that have been approved for continuing education by the State Real Estate Appraisers Board. These are considered real property appraisal credits and shall not be considered property tax administration credits.

i. The State Real Estate Appraisers Board agrees to accept, for purposes of meeting licensed and certified real estate appraiser continuing education requirements, credits earned for real property appraisal courses that the Continuing Education Eligibility Board in the Division of Taxation has approved for continuing education as real property appraisal credits.

ii. For purposes of meeting tax assessor certification continuing education requirements, course reciprocity under this paragraph shall not apply to any credits earned for the continuing education courses that the State Real Estate Appraisers Board may retroactively approve for an individual.

iii. For purposes of meeting licensed and certified real estate appraiser continuing education requirements, course reciprocity under this paragraph shall not apply to credits earned for courses relating to assessment administration that are approved by the Continuing Education Eligibility Board for property tax administration credits.

iv. Courses of the Appraisal Qualification Board of the Appraisal Foundation that are not consistent with the requirements of the Continuing Education Eligibility Board in the Division of Taxation as set forth in this chapter are not eligible for reciprocal credit.

(f) Composition of the continuing education courses shall include the following:

1. The course session must be at least two hours long (unless the course is part of a conference).

2. Credit calculations are done in hour or half hour increments.

Example: A course that is a one hour and 15 minute session will have one hour of credit.

3. When a meal is part of the agenda, the educational session must occur prior to or after the meal. Credits are not given to sessions occurring when food is being served.

Example: A conference includes a three-hour morning course session and a two-hour afternoon session, with a one-hour lunch in between sessions. Only five hours of credit will be allowed.

N.J. Admin. Code § 18:17-2.4

Adopted by 49 N.J.R. 130(a), effective 1/3/2017