Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee Statement to Assembly, No. 3671 (March 21, 2022)

Summary

This is the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee Statement to Assembly, No. 3671, State of New Jersey, dated March 21, 2022. The committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 3671. The bill provides that if a residential customer submits an application for utility assistance before June 15, 2022 and has not received a determination, the grace period under Executive Order No. 246 of 2021 remains in effect for 60 days after the application is submitted. It requires the State agency to approve or reject a completed application within 90 days and to notify utilities within seven business days of a determination. The committee amended the bill to require utility account numbers in the notices.

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ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
                COMMITTEE

                           STATEMENT TO

                      ASSEMBLY, No. 3671

       STATE OF NEW JERSEY
                           DATED: MARCH 21, 2022

           The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee
      reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No.
      3671.
           As amended and reported, this bill provides that if a residential
      customer submits an application for utility assistance before June 15,
      2022 to a State agency but has not received an application
      determination from the State agency, then the provisions of Executive
      Order No. 246 of 2021 (concerning a grace period for residential
      customers) are to remain in effect for 60 days after the customer has
      submitted an application and any local authority, municipal utility,
      public utility, or rural electric cooperative within the residential
      customer’s service territory is to continue to provide electric, gas,
      sewer, or water service to that residential customer. If the customer
      completes the application, the local authority, municipal utility, public
      utility, or rural electric cooperative is to continue to provide electric,
      gas, sewer, or water service to the residential customer until such time
      as the application is approved or rejected by the appropriate State
      agency. Any discontinuance occurring to a residential customer
      described in the bill between the end of the extended grace period
      established by P.L.2021, c.317 and before the effective date of the bill
      is to be nullified and service is to be restored immediately.
           The bill also provides that, when a residential customer submits an
      application to a State agency for utility assistance prior to June 15,
      2022, a local authority or municipal utility is not to place, sell, or
      enforce a lien on real property owned by a residential customer for the
      unpaid balance of any electric or water charges, or for the unpaid
      balance of any sewer charges not sold at tax sale, or otherwise accrued
      to a lien that was struck off to a municipality prior to January 1, 2022
      until 60 days after the customer has submitted an application, or, if the
      application is completed, until such time as the application is approved
      or rejected by the appropriate State agency, and the residential
      customer is offered a utility service bill payment plan.
           The bill requires the Department of Community Affairs (DCA),
      Department of Human Services (DHS), Board of Public Utilities
      (BPU), or any other State agency that administers a utility assistance
      program to provide approval or rejection of the application to the
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residential customer by regular mail and, if applicable, the online
portal in which the residential customer applied for the utility
assistance program, within 90 days of receiving a completed
application for utility assistance from a residential customer.
    The bill provides that, upon receipt of the completed application,
the DCA is to consider whether the residential customer is eligible for
any utility assistance programs administered by the DCA when
making an application determination. If the residential customer may
be eligible for participation in the Payment Assistance for Gas and
Electric (PAGE) program, the DCA is to refer the application to the
Affordable Housing Alliance, which administers the program, for
review and determination.
    The bill provides that the notice provided to the residential
customer pursuant to the bill is to include information concerning the
availability of utility bill service payment plans.
    Within two weeks of the effective date of the bill, and bi-weekly
thereafter, the DCA, DHS, BPU, and any other State agency that
administers a utility assistance program are to notify each local
authority, municipal utility, public utility, and rural electric
cooperative that provides electric, gas, sewer, or water service, within
the residential customer’s service territory. This notice would
indicate:
    1) the name, address, and utility account number of each
residential customer that has submitted an application or completed an
application to a utility assistance program pursuant to the bill; and
    2) the protections set forth in the bill, which prohibit the
discontinuance of any utility service to that residential customer until
the State agency determines the residential customer’s application and
the placing, selling, or enforcing of a lien on real property owned by a
residential customer until the State agency determines the residential
customer’s application.
    The bill provides that, within seven business days of receiving
notice of the approval or rejection of a residential customer’s
application for a utility assistance program, the appropriate State
agency is to provide a notice of determination to each local authority,
municipal utility, public utility, and rural electric cooperative that
provides electric, gas, sewer, or water service within the residential
customer’s service territory. In addition to any other information that
the State agency may deem appropriate, the written notice is to
indicate:
    1) the name, address, and utility account number of the residential
customer who applied for the utility assistance program;
    2) the decision made on the application and the amount of
assistance that will be provided to the residential customer; and
    3) the termination of the protections set forth in the bill.
    The provisions of the bill are not to apply in certain situations.
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     A local authority, municipal utility, public utility, or rural electric
cooperative is not to be deemed to violate the provisions of this
subsection if: the State agency failed to provide notice to the local
authority, municipal utility, public utility, or rural electric cooperative;
or the local authority, municipal utility, public utility, or rural electric
cooperative determines, in good faith, that a utility emergency requires
the discontinuance or interruption of electric, gas, sewer, or water
service.
     Upon the effective date of the bill, DCA, DHS, BPU, and any other
State agency that administers a utility assistance program is required to
update all public information, including written materials,
advertisements, and websites, regarding the availability of the utility
assistance programs administered by the State. The public information
is to prominently include a statement of the consumer protections that
residential customers receive if the customer has submitted an
application for utility assistance program or completed an application
for a utility assistance program. Each local authority, municipal
utility, public utility, or rural electric cooperative is also required to
provide this information in any communication to a residential
customer in connection with an overdue utility bill.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
    The committee amended the bill to:
    1) require residential customer utility account numbers to be
included in the notices required pursuant to the bill;
    2) require DCA, upon receipt of a completed application, to
consider whether the residential customer is eligible for any utility
assistance programs administered by the department. If the residential
customer may be eligible for participation in the PAGE program, the
DCA is to refer the application to the Affordable Housing Alliance,
which administers the program, for review and determination;
    3) require information concerning utility bill payment plans be
included in the notice required by the bill;
    4) omit a requirement for notice by certified mail; and
    5) require the State to notify utilities and authorities within seven,
rather than three, business days of the agencies’ determination on an
application for assistance.


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