16. a. All facilities and other property of the authority are declared to be public property devoted to an essential public and governmental function and purpose and shall be exempt from all taxes and special assessments of the State or any political subdivision thereof, but when any part of the center not occupied or to be occupied by facilities of the center is leased by the authority to another whose property is not exempt and the leasing of which does not make the real estate taxable, the estate created by the lease and its appurtenances shall be listed as the property of the lessee or his assignee, and be assessed and taxed as real estate. All bonds or notes issued pursuant to this act are declared to be issued by a body corporate and politic of the State and for an essential public and governmental purpose and the bonds and notes, and the interest thereon and the income therefrom, and all funds, revenues, income and other moneys received or to be received by the authority and pledged or available to pay or secure the payment of the bonds or notes, or interest thereon, shall be exempt from taxation except for transfer inheritance and estate taxes.

b. To the end that there does not occur an undue loss of future tax revenues by reason of the acquisition of real property by the authority or construction of additional facilities by the authority for the center, the authority annually shall make payments in lieu of taxes to the taxing jurisdiction in which the property is located in an amount computed in each year with respect to each taxing jurisdiction in an amount equal to the taxes which would have been assessed against the property acquired by the authority if the property were not exempt. The payments shall be made in each year commencing with the first year subsequent to the year in which the real property shall have been converted from a taxable to an exempt status by reason of its acquisition by the authority.

c. The authority is further authorized to enter into any agreement with any county or municipality in the State, whereby the authority will undertake to pay any additional amounts to compensate for any loss of tax revenues by reason of the acquisition of any real property by the authority for the center or to pay amounts to be used by the county or municipality in furtherance of the development of the center. Every county and municipality so located is authorized to enter into these agreements with the authority and to accept payments which the authority makes thereunder.

L.1994,c.98,s.16.