Bill Text: NJ A2949 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes $250 qualified caregiver rebate program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-08 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A2949 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A2949-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes $250 qualified caregiver rebate program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing qualified caregiver rebates and supplementing Title 54 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Qualified caregiver" means a resident of this State, whether a renter or homeowner, who provides care and support to a qualified family member at the qualified caregiver's primary residence in this State.
"Qualified caregiver rebate" means a $250 grant.
"Qualifying family member" means an individual who is a relative of the qualified caregiver, and who resides with the qualified caregiver at the qualified caregiver's permanent place of abode in this State, and who requires residential care in accordance with the regulations adopted pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
"Relative" means an individual related by consanguinity within the third degree as determined by the common law or an individual related to a spouse or domestic partnership within the third degree as so determined, and includes an individual in an adoptive relationship within the third degree.
b. A qualified caregiver shall be allowed a qualified caregiver rebate for each calendar in which a qualifying family member resides with the qualified caregiver for that entire property tax year. The rebate shall be limited to one per household. The rebate shall be paid in the calendar year following the year in which the qualifying family member resided in the qualified caregiver's primary residence.
c. No qualified caregiver rebate shall be allowed except upon annual application therefor, in any manner, as shall be prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation. The director may require a claimant for a qualified caregiver rebate to attach to the application documentation demonstrating that the qualifying family member resided in the qualified caregiver's home for the entire applicable tax year.
d. Upon approval of qualified caregivers rebates by the director, the director shall prepare lists of individuals entitled to a rebate and shall forward such lists to the State Treasurer, the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting and any other officials as the director deems appropriate on or before the earliest of such date or dates as may be convenient for the director to compile such lists.
e. A qualified caregiver rebate shall be allowed for a claimant whose ownership of an interest in a primary residence is satisfied by the holding of the beneficial interest if legal title thereto or share therein is held by another for the benefit of the claimant.
f. A qualified caregiver rebate paid as a result of misrepresentation or paid in error shall be payable to and recoverable by the director in the same manner as a deficiency with respect to the payment of a State tax in accordance with the State Uniform Tax Procedure Law, R.S.54:48-1 et seq.
g. The State Treasurer, annually on or before October 31, upon certification of the director and upon warrant of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, shall pay and distribute the amount of a qualified caregiver rebate payable under this act that is claimed for the prior tax year to each claimant whose rebate is approved by the director.
2. a. The Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of Treasury shall promulgate any rules, regulations, forms or processes necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
b. There shall be annually appropriated to the Department of the Treasury such amount as the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury shall determine is necessary for the administrative costs of implementing the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first be applicable to the tax year next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill directly assists individuals that make extreme sacrifices for the good of a family member in need, an act of devotion that all in society can appreciate and revere, by providing that caretaker with an annual qualified caregiver rebate of $250.
Under the bill, an annual $250 rebate is provided to qualified individuals who are the qualified caregivers to a qualifying family member. "Qualified caregiver" means a resident of this State, whether a renter or homeowner, who provides care and support to a qualified family member at the qualified caregiver's primary residence in this State. "Qualifying family member" means an individual who is a relative of the qualified caregiver, and who resides with the qualified caregiver at the qualified caregiver's permanent place of abode in this State. Under this rebate program, the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury is permitted to require any documentation necessary from an applicant to make certain that the program is not abused and that only qualified individuals receive the rebate. The rebate is limited to one per household.
Across the State and the entire country, parents are taking care of adult children with disabilities and adult children are taking care of aging parents. While there are many programs to assist these families in caring for their loved ones, there are other programs designed to help that still leave people falling through the cracks.
