Bill Text: NJ A4859 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides grants to certain nonprofit meal delivery service providers.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-11-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Senior Services Committee [A4859 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A4859-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANGELICA M. JIMENEZ
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman MARILYN PIPERNO
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Provides grants to certain nonprofit meal delivery service providers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain meal delivery service providers and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Nonprofit organization" means an organization incorporated under the provisions of Title 15 or Title 16 of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey, an organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or an entity to which a charitable contribution as defined under subsection (c) of section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code is deductible under section 170.
"Nutrition services program" means a program through which a volunteer delivers, at a minimum, nutritious meals to homebound senior citizens who are unable to prepare meals independently and have no assistance from another person residing in the home.
"Senior citizen" means an individual who has attained the age of at least 60 years.
"Qualifying vehicle" means an automotive vehicle:
(1) owned by a nonprofit organization for the primary purpose of delivering meals to the homes of senior citizens who participate in a nutrition services program operated by the nonprofit organization; or
(2) owned by a volunteer who delivers meals to the homes of senior citizens who participate in a nutrition services program operated by a nonprofit organization.
2. a. The Commissioner of Human Services shall award annual grants, on a competitive basis, to nonprofit organizations that meet the requirements of subsection b. of this section.
b. To be eligible for consideration for a grant award under this act, a nonprofit organization shall:
(1) submit an application to the Department of Human Services, in a form and manner as shall be prescribed by the commissioner, and in accordance with criteria established by the commissioner, which application shall specify the purposes for which a grant award shall be used;
(2) operate a nutrition services program that, at a minimum, regularly delivers nutritious meals to the homes of senior citizens who participate in the program;
(3) rely primarily on volunteers who utilize a qualifying vehicle to deliver meals to the homes of participants in the nutrition services program operated by the nonprofit organization.
c. The commissioner shall specify the permitted uses of the funding awarded through the grant program, which uses shall include, but shall not be limited to:
(1) the purchase of fuel cards to partially offset the cost of gasoline purchased by a volunteer for a qualifying vehicle used by the volunteer to deliver meals to the homes of participants in a nutrition services program operated by a nonprofit organization;
(2) subsidies for the cost of routine maintenance for a qualifying vehicle that is owned by a volunteer who utilizes such qualifying vehicle to regularly deliver meals to the homes of participants in a nutrition services program operated by a nonprofit organization; and
(3) subsidies for the cost of routine maintenance for a qualifying vehicle that is owned by a nonprofit organization for the primary purpose of regularly delivering meals to the homes of participants in a nutrition services program operated by the nonprofit organization.
3. Grants shall be awarded, in an amount to be determined by the Commissioner of Human Services, based upon a review of the applications submitted and subject to the availability of funds.
4. In awarding grant funds pursuant to this act, the Commissioner of Human Services shall prioritize those applicants that:
a. serve a high percentage of low-income senior citizens;
b. have experienced a 10 percent or greater reduction in the number of meal delivery volunteers from the prior calendar year; and
c. do not assess a delivery charge or a convenience fee for the delivery of meals to the home of a participant in a nutrition services program.
5. Within one year after receiving a grant award under this act, a nonprofit organization shall submit a report to the Department of Human Services containing information on the nonprofit organization's use of the grant funds and the extent to which the grant funds have affected the number of volunteers that regularly deliver meals for the nutrition services program operated by the nonprofit organization.
6. The Commissioner of Human Services, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
7. There are hereby
appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services such
sums as necessary for the implementation of the
provisions of this act, as determined by the
Commissioner of Human Services.
8. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Human Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a competitive grant program, to be administered by the Department of Human Services, to defray the gasoline and vehicle maintenance costs borne by volunteers for nonprofit organizations that provide meals to homebound senior citizens. To be considered for a grant, a nonprofit organization is required to: (1) submit an application that, among other requirements, specifies how the grant award will be utilized; (2) operate a nutrition services program that, at a minimum, regularly delivers nutritious meals to homebound senior citizens; and, (3) rely primarily on volunteer drivers who use a personal vehicle to deliver meals to homebound senior citizens.
Pursuant to the bill, grant recipients may utilize the funding for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to: the purchase of fuel cards to partially offset volunteer drivers' gasoline costs; subsidies for the cost of routine maintenance for volunteer drivers' personal vehicles; and subsidies for the cost of routine maintenance for vehicles that are owned by the nonprofit organization and are primarily used by volunteer drivers to deliver meals to homebound senior citizens.
The bill further stipulates that the Commissioner of Human Services is to prioritize grant awards for those nonprofit applicants that serve a high percentage of low-income senior citizens, have experienced a 10 percent or greater reduction in the number of meal delivery volunteers from the prior year, and do not assess a delivery charge or a convenience fee for meal delivery to homebound senior citizens.
Within one year of receiving funding under this grant program, a nonprofit organization is required to submit a report to the department containing information on the entity's use of the grant funds and information on the extent to which the funding has affected the number of volunteer drivers for the organization.
The bill appropriates such sums as necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this act, as determined by the Commissioner of Human Services.
It is the intent of the bill's sponsor to alleviate the financial burden faced by many nonprofit senior meal delivery programs due to high gasoline prices and rising rates of inflation. In recent months, a substantial number of volunteer meal delivery drivers have either reduced their hours or have stopped this volunteer work because of the high costs of gasoline and vehicle maintenance. The sponsor of this bill intends to provide a measure of financial assistance for the volunteers across the State who ensure that vulnerable senior citizens regularly receive nutritious meals and critical social connections.
