Bill Text: NJ S294 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Homelessness Prevention Program agencies to remain open during public health emergency and provides for funding of each agency.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S294 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S294-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Homelessness Prevention Program agencies to remain open during public health emergency and provides for funding of each agency.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning Homelessness Prevention Program agencies 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 P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Agency" means a non-profit organization in this State that is responsible for administering the program in a county.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.
"Department" means the Department of Community Affairs.
"Populous county" means any county with a population of 350,000 or more, according to the most recent federal decennial census.
"Program" means the "Homelessness Prevention Program" established under chapter 41 of Title 5 of the New Jersey Administrative Code by the department in order to implement the provisions of P.L.1984, c.180 (C.52:27D-280 et al.).
"Public health emergency" means an occurrence or imminent threat of an occurrence that:
a. is caused or is reasonably believed to be caused by any of the following:
(1) bioterrorism or an accidental release of one or more biological agents;
(2) the appearance of a novel or previously controlled or eradicated biological agent;
(3) a natural disaster;
(4) a chemical attack or accidental release of toxic chemicals; or
(5) a nuclear attack or nuclear accident;
b. poses a high probability of any of the following harms:
(1) a large number of deaths, illness, or injury in the affected population;
(2) a large number of serious or long-term impairments in the affected population; or
(3) exposure to a biological agent or chemical that poses a significant risk of substantial future harm to a large number of people in the affected population, and
c. has been declared a public health emergency by the Governor pursuant to the "Emergency Health Powers Act," P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.).
2. a. The department shall, at all times, provide funding to support operations of one agency in each populous county to help manage and implement the program within such a populous county.
b. (1) The commissioner shall require that an agency remain open and available in order to serve New Jersey residents throughout the duration of a public health emergency.
(2) If federal funding intended to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not available to satisfy the full amount of establishing this agency within a populous county, then the commissioner may notify the State Treasurer and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee of the Legislature of the deficiency and may request that the Legislature appropriate a portion of the remainder from the General Fund, or other available State funding sources, for the purposes of the program.
3. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to effectuate the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires that one Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP) agency operates in certain populous counties and that all HPP agencies remain open during public health emergencies. Under the bill, "populous county" means any county with a population of 350,000 or more, according to the most recent federal decennial census.
The bill specifically requires the Department of Community Affairs to provide funding to ensure that one agency is established in populous counties to help manage and implement the HPP within that populous county.
Under the bill, if federal funding intended to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not available to satisfy the full amount of establishing this agency within a populous county, then the Commissioner of Community Affairs is permitted to notify the State Treasurer and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee of the Legislature of the deficiency and to request that the Legislature appropriate a portion of the remainder from the General Fund, or other available State funding sources.
