Committee Statement to Senate No. 2332 - Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee (May 7, 2020)

Summary

Statement to Senate, No. 2332, with committee amendments, dated May 7, 2020, from the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee of the State of New Jersey, reporting Senate Bill No. 2332 favorably. The bill establishes a temporary emergency rental assistance program for residential tenants who have suffered an income loss due to the COVID-19 crisis and appropriates $100 million. Tenants who are at least 30 days past due on rent and unable to pay without assistance would be eligible, with medium-income defined as above 80 percent and up to 120 percent of Area Median Income (AMI). The statement says the bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 3956, and the committee amendments concern uncommitted, unexpended CDBG-DR funds.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
                COMMITTEE

                          STATEMENT TO

                        SENATE, No. 2332

                         with committee amendments



       STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                             DATED: MAY 7, 2020

          The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
      reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No.
      2332.
          This bill establishes a temporary emergency rental assistance
      program for residential tenants who have suffered an income loss due
      to the COVID-19 crisis. The bill appropriates $100 million to provide
      rental assistance to tenants across the State.
          The bill directs the Commissioner of Community Affairs to
      implement this program along the lines of the Homelessness
      Prevention Program, (HPP), however, for the purpose of this new
      program, the bill requires the commissioner to modify current HPP
      rules and guidelines in several ways in order to address the needs of
      tenants who are in difficult financial circumstances because of the
      COVID-19 crisis. Notably, the bill directs the commissioner to
      modify current HPP rules so to provide rental assistance to tenants
      before they face eviction, and so to provide rental assistance to tenants
      of medium-income (in addition to tenants of low- and moderate-
      income). Medium-income refers to persons and households with
      greater than 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) and up to 120
      percent of AMI.
          The bill directs the Commissioner of Community Affairs to
      distribute an amount of program funds for each county and applicant
      based, in part, on the fair market rents in each county, according to the
      most recent fair market rents published by the U.S. Department of
      Housing and Urban Development. Under the bill, the commissioner
      would provide funds to each HPP agency to be used exclusively for
      providing emergency rental assistance payments for eligible tenants.
      However, for the purposes of this program, the bill authorizes the
      commissioner to designate an additional agency or agencies to process
      applications and disburse emergency rental assistance payments in
      more populated, and more densely populated counties.
          The program would pay certain amounts of rent due and owing on
      behalf of tenants who: 1) are at least 30 days past due on a rent
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payment; 2) are unable to pay rent without assistance; and 3) have
suffered a demonstrable loss in income due to the COVID-19 crisis.
     The bill directs HPP agencies to verify with the landlord the
amount of rent due and owing before disbursing program funds, and
requires landlords to cooperate with and respond to inquiries from a
HPP Agency. Upon verification of the amount of rent due and owing,
and a determination that an application satisfies all program
requirements, a HPP Agency would disburse a payment of program
funds, to the extent funds are available, directly to the landlord on the
tenant’s behalf and provide a copy of the disbursement directly to the
tenant.
     The bill directs the Commissioner of Community Affairs to:
      expeditiously seek federal government approval for a
        substantial action plan amendment to reallocate
        uncommitted, unexpended Community Development Block
        Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to the “2020
        New Jersey Emergency Rental Assistance Program,” and
      identify amounts of federal government assistance provided
        to this State with regard to the Coronavirus disease 2019
        which may be available for the purposes of this program and
        allocate those amounts to this program.
     The bill specifies that the $100 million being credited to the “2020
New Jersey Emergency Rental Assistance Program” shall be funded
first from assistance provided from the federal government, to the
extent not prohibited by federal law, which shall include uncommitted,
unexpended CDBG-DR funds reallocated under the bill to the “2020
New Jersey Emergency Rental Assistance Program,” and that the
remaining amounts necessary to fund this program are appropriated
from the General Fund.
     The bill takes effect immediately. The program would expire upon
the completion of processing of all applications for assistance
submitted on or prior to the 90th day next following the end of the
eviction moratorium ordered by the Governor pursuant to Executive
Order No. 106 (2020) or modified by the Governor in a subsequent
executive order.
     As reported by the committee with amendments, Senate Bill No.
2332 is identical to Assembly Bill No. 3956, which the committee also
reported on this date with amendments.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
    The committee amendments provide that the bill’s direction to first
fund the “2020 New Jersey Emergency Rental Assistance Program”
from assistance provided from the federal government includes
uncommitted, unexpended CDBG-DR funds reallocated under the bill
to the “2020 New Jersey Emergency Rental Assistance Program.”


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