Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Appropriates $5 million to DCA to provide direct utility bill payment assistance to low-income households.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act to provide direct utility bill payment assistance to low-income households, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is appropriated from the funds provided to the State by the United States government under the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” Pub. Law 116-136, to the Department of Community Affairs the sum of $5,000,000, for use by the department to provide direct utility bill payment assistance to low-income households throughout the State due to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. If $5,000,000 is not available through the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” Pub. Law 116-136, then the remainder of this amount shall be appropriated from other federal funding authorized for coronavirus relief as it becomes available. If federal funding is not available to satisfy the full amount of this appropriation, then the Commissioner of Community Affairs may notify the State Treasurer and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee of the Legislature of the deficiency and may request that the Legislature appropriate a portion of the remainder from the General Fund, or other available State funding sources, for the purposes of providing direct utility bill payment assistance to low-income households throughout the State due to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
b. The department shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.
c. For the purposes of this act:
“Low-income households” means a household with a gross household income equal to 50 percent or less of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the housing region in which the household is located.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The bill would appropriate $5 million to the Department of Community Affairs (“DCA”) from the funds provided to the State by the federal government under the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (“CARES Act”) to provide direct utility bill payment assistance to certain low-income households throughout the State due to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the event that the $5 million is not available through the CARES Act, then the remainder would be appropriated from other federal funding available for coronavirus relief as it becomes available. If federal funding is not available to satisfy the full amount of this appropriation, then the bill would authorize DCA to request that a portion of the remainder be appropriated from State funding sources.