Bill Text: NJ A2367 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Increases income eligibility threshold, over three-year period, to 50 percent of federal poverty level for families with dependent children under Work First New Jersey program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-14 - Reported out of Asm. Comm. with Amendments, and Referred to Assembly Budget Committee [A2367 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A2367-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Increases income eligibility threshold, over three-year period, to 50 percent of federal poverty level for families with dependent children under Work First New Jersey program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning Work First New Jersey income eligibility for families with dependent children and supplementing P.L.1997, c.38 (C.44:10-55 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any regulation to the contrary, the initial maximum allowable income eligibility level for each assistance unit size for families with dependent children under the Work First New Jersey Program shall increase by an equal amount, to the extent possible, in each of the three fiscal years following the effective date of this act, such that the income eligibility level shall be 50 percent of the federal poverty level in the third fiscal year in which this act is effective. The initial maximum allowable income eligibility levels established under this act shall be used for new applicant, reapplicant, and reopened cases to determine initial income eligibility.
2. The Commissioner of Human Services shall apply for such State plan amendments as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act and to secure federal financial participation for State expenditures under the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program.
3. The Commissioner of Human Services, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt such rules and regulations as the commissioner deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect on July 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill increases the income eligibility threshold, over a three-year period, to 50 percent of the federal poverty level for families with dependent children under the Work First New Jersey (WFNJ) program. The WFNJ program provides cash and other assistance to low-income New Jersey residents to alleviate the negative effects of poverty. Families with dependent children are part of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program within the WFNJ. The WFNJ-TANF program is funded through both State dollars and the federal TANF block grant.
Specifically, under the bill, the initial maximum allowable income eligibility levels are to increase by an equal amount, to the extent possible, in each of the three fiscal years following the effective date of the bill such that the income eligibility level is required to be 50 percent of the federal poverty level in the third fiscal year in which the bill is effective. The initial maximum allowable income eligibility levels established under this act are to be used for new applicant, reapplicant, and reopened cases to determine initial income eligibility.
Currently, according to the New Jersey State Plan for TANF, the initial maximum allowable income eligibility level under the WFNJ-TANF program for a family of three is $839 a month. Nationwide, 25 states have a higher income eligibility threshold for TANF, with monthly maximum amounts ranging from $857 in South Dakota to $2,231 in Minnesota. Based upon the federal poverty guidelines for 2022, the bill would increase New Jersey's monthly income threshold by approximately $40 is each of the three fiscal years following the bill's enactment until the initial maximum allowable income eligibility level reaches $960 a month in the third fiscal year in which the bill is effective.
The bill further directs the Commissioner of Human Services to apply for such State plan amendments as may be necessary to implement the provisions of the bill and to secure federal financial participation for State expenditures under the federal TANF program.
The bill is to take effect on July 1 next following the date of enactment.
