SENATE COMMUNITY AND URBAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1746

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 8, 2020

      The Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1746.

      This bill, as amended, would amend the “New Jersey Housing Assistance for Veterans Act,” P.L.2017, c.258 (C.52:27D-516 et seq.) to expand the purposes of the pilot program established by that act to include the purchase and rehabilitation of abandoned homes for homeless veterans.  Currently, the pilot program established by this law authorizes grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to rehabilitate existing primary residences of disabled or low-income veterans.

      Under the bill, a nonprofit veterans' organization that has experience in rehabilitating housing for homeless veterans, or others, would be eligible to receive a grant to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned homes for homeless veterans.  The bill would afford a preference in awarding grants to nonprofit organizations that serve communities that are in the greatest need of homeless services.  The bill also would allow the administrator of the current pilot program to give preferences in awarding grants in order to achieve a fair distribution among homeless veterans in different geographical regions of the State.

      Finally, this bill adjusts the existing law, through defining “rehabilitation” and other language changes, to clarify that pilot program funds may be expended for a broad range of project types, including repairs, renovations, reconstruction, as well as the installation of appropriate new fixtures and other alterations.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to include recent updates to a statute amended by the bill.