Bill Text: NJ A3528 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Program."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-05 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee [A3528 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A3528-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Program."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act providing foreclosure assistance to certain single-parent families and supplementing chapter 50 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Program."
2. The Legislature finds and declares:
a. Since the enactment in 2010 of the federal "Affordable Care Act," New Jersey residents have a broader choice of health insurance plans to purchase to protect their families, and federal assistance in paying for that insurance; however, some New Jersey families still lack protection against the high cost of chronic, or single, episodes of serious illness suffered by their family members, many of whom are young children, that may destroy their resources. An illness resulting in this potentially devastating financial consequence is referred to as a catastrophic illness.
b. The cost of treatment for catastrophic illnesses can severely stress family budgets, and many families face the choice between paying for medical care for a chronically ill child, and paying their monthly mortgage and other bills. When a family is headed by a single parent, these costs can be overwhelming, and these families are oftentimes at a high risk of losing their homes.
c. ingle-parent families of chronically ill children having a catastrophic illness should have priority access to any foreclosure mediation program created by the New Jersey Superior Court or by the State so that they can care for their seriously ill children without worrying that the cost of that care may make them homeless.
3. As used in this section:
"Child" means a person 21 years of age and under, who is eligible to receive financial assistance through the "Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund" established in P.L.1987, c.370 (C.26:2-148 et seq.); and
"Qualifying parent" means an unmarried person legally domiciled within the State who is the head of a household and the parent of a child with a catastrophic illness, who owns a parcel of real property that is the primary residence of the person and of the catastrophically ill child.
4. There is established in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency a program of financial housing assistance for qualifying parents of children with catastrophic illnesses. The program, designated the "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Program," shall be funded through voluntary contributions from individuals or businesses located in the State, appropriations by the Legislature; and donations by taxpayers through their New Jersey gross income tax returns, and all such funds shall be deposited into the "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Fund" and used solely for the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
The program shall provide grants and low-interest loans to qualifying parents who are behind on their mortgage payments, in order to make them current on those mortgage loans.
The program shall also provide foreclosure mediation assistance to qualified parents who are delinquent in the payment of their residential mortgage loan.
The parent of a child having a catastrophic illness who is eligible to receive financial assistance through the "Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund" established in P.L.1987, c.370 (C.26:2-148 et seq.), who applies to participate in any foreclosure mediation program offered by any State agency, shall receive priority placement for assistance through any such program. The Executive Director of the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency shall negotiate with the Administrative Office of the Courts to obtain, for a qualifying parent, priority placement for assistance through any foreclosure mediation program established by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
The submission of a mediation application by any parent under this subsection shall immediately result in a stay of foreclosure proceedings against that parent's real property for 36 months, or the parent and the mortgage lender to reach a mediation agreement. If, at the end of the 36-month period, the parent and the mortgage lender have not reached an agreement under the foreclosure mediation program, the mortgage lender may resume the foreclosure process.
The Executive Director of the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency shall promulgate regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to effectuate the provisions of the program established in this section.
5. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Fund."
b. Each taxpayer shall have the opportunity to indicate on the taxpayer's New Jersey gross income tax return that a portion of the taxpayer's tax refund or an enclosed contribution shall be deposited in the special fund.
c. Any costs incurred by the Division of Taxation for collection or administration attributable to this act may be deducted from receipts collected pursuant to this act, as determined by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting. The State Treasurer shall deposit net contributions collected pursuant to this act into the "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Fund."
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill, designated the "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Program", would establish in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency a program of financial housing assistance for qualifying parents of children with catastrophic illnesses, to be funded through voluntary contributions from individuals or businesses located in the State; appropriations by the Legislature; and donations by taxpayers through their New Jersey gross income tax returns, and all such funds shall be deposited into the "Families At Risk Foreclosure Assistance Fund" and used solely for the purposes of the bill.
Under the bill, an unmarried person legally domiciled within the State who is the head of a household, the parent of a child 21 years of age or younger with a catastrophic illness who is eligible to receive financial assistance through the "Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund" established in P.L.1987, c.370 (C.26:2-148 et seq.), and who owns a parcel of real property that is the primary residence of the person and of the catastrophically ill child, would be eligible to participate in the program.
The program shall provide grants and low-interest loans to qualifying parents who are behind on their mortgage payments, in order to make them current on those mortgage loans.
The program shall also provide foreclosure mediation assistance to qualified parents who have fallen behind in the payment of their residential mortgage loan.
Under the bill, the parent of a child having a catastrophic illness who is eligible to receive financial assistance through the "Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund" established in P.L.1987, c.370 (C.26:2-148 et seq.), who applies to participate in any foreclosure mediation program offered by any State agency, shall receive priority placement for assistance through any such program. The bill would require the Executive Director of the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency to negotiate with the Administrative Office of the Courts to obtain, for a qualifying parent, priority placement for assistance for any foreclosure mediation program established by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
The submission of a mediation application by any parent under this subsection shall immediately result in a stay of foreclosure proceedings against that parent's real property until the parent and the mortgage lender reach a mediation agreement, for a period of 36 months. Under the bill, if, at the end of the 36-mionth period, the parent and the mortgage lender have not reached an agreement under the foreclosure mediation program, the mortgage lender may resume the foreclosure process.
