Bill Text: NJ A4957 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns lead reduction expenditures and Superstorm Sandy recovery.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-08 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee [A4957 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4957-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns lead reduction expenditures and Superstorm Sandy recovery.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Lead Hazard Reduction Program and Superstorm Sandy recovery, and amending and supplementing P.L.2015, c.102.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2015, c.102 (C.52:15D-4) is amended to read as follows:
2. As used in P.L.2015, c.102 (C.52:15D-3 et seq.), as amended and supplemented:
"Agency" means the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1983, c.530 (C.55:14K-4).
"Applicant" means an individual or business that has applied for, is waiting for, or is receiving benefits under a recovery and rebuilding program, and shall include individuals who are awaiting the completion of a construction project using benefits received under a recovery and rebuilding program.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
"Department" means the Department of Community Affairs.
"Forbearance" means a period of time during which obligations for mortgage and interest payments are suspended.
"FRM" means the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing.
["Qualified contractor pool" means a listing of contractors approved by the Department of Community Affairs participating in the RREM program.]
"LHR program" means the Lead Hazard Reduction Program for which policies and procedures have been adopted by the department.
"LMI" means Low-to-Moderate Income and the program for which policies and procedures have been adopted by the Department of Community Affairs.
"LRR program" means the Landlord Rental Repair Program for which policies and procedures have been adopted by the department.
"Mortgage" means a mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a residential mortgage.
"Qualified contractor pool" means a listing of contractors approved by the Department of Community Affairs participating in the RREM program.
"Recovery and rebuilding program" means the use of funding provided by the federal government for the RREM and LMI programs, which are intended to help individuals rebuild and recover from Superstorm Sandy, the TBRA program, which is intended to assist renters in returning to and residing in areas impacted by Superstorm Sandy, and the FRM program, which is intended to assist developers in repairing or replacing rental housing units damaged or destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.
"RREM" means Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation.
"Sandy-impacted homeowner" means a homeowner for whom one or both of the following are true:
(1) the homeowner received rental assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a result of damage to his or her primary residence due to Superstorm Sandy; or
(2) the homeowner has been approved for assistance through the RREM or LMI program.
"Superstorm Sandy" means the major storm that made landfall in New Jersey on October 29, 2012.
"TBRA" means Tenant-Based Rental Assistance.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.15, s.1)
2. (New section) a. In order to ensure that the full $2 million of funding allocated to the LHR program is committed and expended for lead hazard reduction purposes, the commissioner shall open the LHR program to:
(1) RREM, LMI, and LRR program applicants who have maximized their grant award, but continue to have a funding need for lead abatement resulting from Superstorm Sandy that is not prohibited under federal law or under a federally-established condition of grant approval; and
(2) Sandy-impacted homeowners located in federal or State-designated flood hazard areas who are not prohibited from receiving federal disaster assistance due to: (a) previously receiving federal flood disaster assistance conditioned on obtaining and maintaining flood insurance and failing to obtain and maintain that flood insurance, pursuant to section 582 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. s.5154a); (b) location in a regulatory floodway, pursuant to the restriction under subsection (c)(1) of 24 C.F.R. s.55.1; or (c) another prohibition under federal law or federally-established condition of grant approval.
b. The commissioner shall review previous denials of LHR program applications. If, in the course of such review, the commissioner discovers that any RREM, LMI, or LRR program applicants, or any Sandy-impacted homeowners, have been prevented from participating in the LHR program despite meeting the conditions under subsection a. of this section, then the commissioner shall re-assess the eligibility of these individuals. If eligible, the commissioner shall provide a renewed opportunity for these individuals to participate in the LHR program.
c. (1) If the commissioner determines that, as a result of federal deadlines for the commitment and expenditure of disaster assistance funding, it is not possible to fully discharge the requirements of subsection a. or b. of this section, or both, then the commissioner shall fulfill those requirements to the greatest extent reasonably possible, and shall apply for an extension of the federal deadlines. If commitment and expenditure deadlines are extended sufficiently to allow the full discharge of subsections a. and b. of this section, then commissioner shall fully carry out the requirements of those subsections.
(2) If the commissioner determines that the full discharge of the requirements of subsection a. or b. of this section, or both, is not reasonably possible, then the commissioner shall promptly notify the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the minority leaders of the Senate and the General Assembly, to provide an explanation of why these requirements cannot be fulfilled.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
In 2014, the State transferred $5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery ("CDBG-DR") funds to support lead hazard reduction in homes impacted by Superstorm Sandy through a program known as the Lead Hazard Reduction ("LHR") Program. That $5 million allocation has since been reduced to $2 million, largely due to restrictions on who may apply for the funding. Some of those restrictions, however, appear to be broader than federal law requires.
In order to ensure that the full $2 million of remaining funding allocated to the LHR program is committed and expended for lead hazard reduction purposes, this bill requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs to open the LHR program to:
1) Individuals who have applied to the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation ("RREM"), Low and Moderate Income ("LMI"), and Landlord Rental Repair ("LRR") programs, also CDBG-DR programs, and have maximized their grant award but continue to have a funding need for lead abatement resulting from Superstorm Sandy that is not prohibited under federal law; and
2) Sandy-impacted homeowners located in federal or State-designated flood hazard areas who are not prohibited from receiving federal disaster assistance due to previously receiving federal flood disaster assistance conditioned on obtaining and maintaining flood insurance and failing to obtain and maintain that flood insurance, due to location in a regulatory floodway, or due to another prohibition under federal law.
The bill further requires the commissioner to review previous denials of LHR program applications. In the course of such review, the commissioner is to assess whether any RREM, LMI, or LRR program applicants, or any Sandy-impacted homeowners, have been prevented from participating in the LHR program, even though federal duplication of benefit restrictions and flood insurance requirements do not prohibit their participation. If so, the bill requires the commissioner to fully re-assess the eligibility of these individuals. If eligible, the commissioner would be required to provide a renewed opportunity for these individuals to participate in the LHR program.
If the commissioner determines that, as a result of federal deadlines for the commitment and expenditure of disaster assistance funding, it is not possible to fully discharge the requirements of this bill, then the commissioner would be required to fulfill those requirements to the greatest extent reasonably possible and apply for an extension of the deadlines. If commitment and expenditure deadlines are extended sufficiently to allow the commissioner to carry out the requirements of the bill, then commissioner is directed to do so. Finally, the bill requires that, if the commissioner determines that it is not reasonably possible to fully discharge the requirements of the bill, then he shall promptly notify the Legislature and the Governor to provide an explanation.
