Bill
A 775
Amended A775 would establish a bird-friendly building tax exemption under Real Property Taxation.
Note on conflicting materials
- The metadata for A775 (title, committee referrals, and recent actions) indicates the bill was amended and recommitted to the Real Property Taxation Committee and is titled “Establishes a tax exemption for buildings with bird‑friendly design.”
- The full text provided in the packet, however, is the Introduced Version of an unrelated bill that would regulate student participation in school‑sanctioned sporting events based on biological sex.
- Because the official printed version is A775A (4/9/2025) and committee actions point to real‑property/taxation subject matter, this summary (below) presents both: (1) a detailed summary of the Introduced Version text supplied (athletics/sex‑based participation), and (2) a brief note about the later procedural indicators that the bill was amended toward a bird‑friendly building tax exemption (no text provided for that amendment).
If you want a summary only of the amended/printed A775A (bird‑friendly tax exemption), please provide the A775A text or confirm you wish me to summarize available committee/summary language.
Purpose / intent
- Requires that participation in school‑sanctioned athletic teams be determined by biological sex at birth, asserting that sex‑based classification in athletics accommodates physiological differences and protects opportunities for female athletes.
Key provisions
- Applicability: Interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams sponsored by public/nonpublic schools that are NJSIAA members, public institutions of higher education, and institutions that are NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA members.
- Team designation: Athletic teams must be expressly designated as one of: (1) males/men/boys; (2) females/women/girls; or (3) coed/mixed.
- Exclusion: Teams designated for females/women/girls shall not be open to students of the male sex.
- Sex determination when disputed: A student must establish sex with a signed physician’s statement based solely on:
1. internal and external reproductive anatomy;
2. normal endogenously produced testosterone levels; and
3. an analysis of the student’s genetic makeup.
- Protections from adverse action: Government entities, licensing/accrediting organizations, or athletic associations may not investigate or take adverse action against a school or institution for maintaining female‑only teams.
- Private causes of action:
- Students deprived of athletic opportunities or harmed by violations may sue for injunctive relief, damages, and other relief.
- Students retaliated against for reporting violations may sue.
- Schools/institutions harmed by adverse actions from entities (for maintaining female‑only teams) may sue those entities.
- Statute of limitations: civil actions must be initiated within two years of the harm.
- Prevailing plaintiffs entitled to monetary damages (including for psychological/emotional/physical harm), reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief.
- Effective date: Immediately upon enactment.
Who would be affected
- Students (including transgender or gender‑diverse students), schools (public and nonpublic), institutions of higher education, athletic associations, physicians (who may be asked to provide determinations), and licensing/accrediting bodies.
- Potential impacts include exclusion of male‑assigned students from female teams, legal exposure for schools/entities accused of violating or of interfering with enforcement, and medical/legal controversies around the required evidentiary bases (anatomy, testosterone levels, genetic analysis).
Potential legal and practical implications
- Requires invasive biological testing/documentation in disputed cases (testosterone levels, genetic makeup).
- Creates private enforcement mechanisms and financial liability for schools and other entities.
- Could conflict with federal nondiscrimination laws or existing policies of athletic associations; may prompt litigation.
Procedural history (selected)
- Introduced in Assembly: 2024‑01‑09; referred to Assembly Education Committee.
- Later committee actions (2025‑01‑08) show referral to Real Property Taxation.
- 2025‑04‑09: “AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO REAL PROPERTY TAXATION” and PRINT NUMBER 775A (indicates the bill was amended and reprinted).
- 2025‑06‑30: Motions recorded in the legislature (e.g., Motion To Relieve from Comm (McGuckin); Motion Table (Reynolds‑Jackson)).
Bird‑friendly tax exemption (title reflected in metadata)
- The bill’s title in the header says: “Establishes a tax exemption for buildings with bird‑friendly design.” That subject aligns with referral to Real Property Taxation and the April 2025 amendment/print.
- No legislative text for the bird‑friendly tax exemption was included in the materials you provided, so specific provisions (eligibility, standards for “bird‑friendly design,” duration/amount of exemption, certification/inspection process, fiscal impact, effective dates) cannot be summarized here.
Sponsor and related bill
- Primary sponsor listed: Linda Rosenthal.
- Companion bill: S1331.
If you want:
- I can summarize only the amended/printed A775A if you provide the A775A text; or
- I can draft a likely outline of what a “bird‑friendly building” tax exemption bill would include (eligibility, standards, fiscal considerations) based on common statutory models. Which would you prefer?
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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