NJ A5688

Imposes a $3 per day surcharge on hotel room occupancies in first-class cities with an international airport, collected by the Division of Taxation and distributed monthly to the municipality

Requires all surcharge revenue to be deposited into a dedicated fire services trust fund used exclusively for firefighting services, including hiring, training, equipment acquisition, and capital improvements

Limits spending on hiring and retention of fire service employees to no more than 37% of surcharge revenues from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028

Beginning January 1, 2029, authorizes the Director of the Division of Local Government Services to set the maximum percentage of revenue that may be used for fire service hiring and retention

Conditions use of trust fund appropriations on the municipality increasing its total firefighting services budget compared to the previous fiscal year