STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Burgess
SYNOPSIS
Requires expanded use of affordable housing voucher program funding for homeownership expense assistance.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning use of affordable housing vouchers for homeownership expenses, amending P.L.2004, c.140, and supplementing P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2004, c.140 (C.52:27D-287.1) is amended to read as follows:
1. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall establish a rental assistance program for low income individuals or households. This program shall be in addition to and supplement any existing programs established pursuant to the "Prevention of Homelessness Act (1984)," P.L.1984, c.180 (C.52:27D-280 et al.).
a. The program shall provide rental assistance grants comparable to the federal section 8 program, but shall be available only to State residents who are not currently holders of federal section 8 vouchers.
b. Assistance to an individual or household under the State program shall be terminated upon the award of federal section 8 rental assistance to the same individual or household.
c. The program shall reserve a portion of the grants for assistance to senior citizens aged 62 or older who otherwise meet the criteria of subsection a. of this section.
d. The program shall reserve a portion of the grants for assistance to veterans who have successfully completed the Veterans Transitional Housing Program, or "Veterans Haven," a vocational and transitional housing program for homeless veterans administered by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs.
e. The program shall reserve a portion of the funds available to it for tenant-based vouchers to veterans, other than those veterans eligible for assistance pursuant to subsection d. of this section.
f. The program shall reserve a portion of the funds available to it to establish and administer a program comparable to the federal section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program, authorized pursuant to Subpart M of Part 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to enable a household to use a program voucher to buy a home and receive monthly assistance in meeting homeownership expenses.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.29, s.1)
2. (New section) A housing authority created or continued pursuant to the "Local Redevelopment and Housing Law," P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-1 et seq.), that administers funding through the federal section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, shall use a portion of the funds available to it to implement the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program, established pursuant to Subpart M of Part 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to enable a household to use a program voucher to buy a home and receive monthly assistance in meeting homeownership expenses.
3. On or before the first day of the sixth month next following enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Community Affairs shall, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52: 14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations to implement P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment, but the commissioner may take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the purposes of the act prior to that date.
STATEMENT
This bill would require expanded use of affordable housing voucher program funding for the purpose of homeownership expense assistance.
The bill would require the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to reserve a portion of the funding provided for the State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) to establish and administer a program comparable to the federal section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program. The federal section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program allows program participants, who would otherwise apply a voucher towards rent payments, to instead apply the voucher towards principal and interest on mortgage debt, insurance, taxes, utilities and other homeownership expenses.
The bill would require local housing authorities in the State that administer funding through the federal section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program to also implement the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program. Currently, local housing authorities are permitted, but not required, to implement this program.
The bill would take effect on the first day of the sixth month following enactment in order to provide DCA and housing authorities time to prepare to implement the bill’s requirements.