SENATE, No. 158

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Senator BRYANT

An Act concerning housing assistance for recipients of aid to families with dependent children benefits, amending P.L.1994, c.67 and supplementing chapter 10 of Title 44 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Commerce and Economic Development, shall develop a program to provide grants to housing developers for the development of low-income rental housing for recipients of aid to families with dependent children benefits pursuant to P.L.1959, c.86 (C.44:10-1 et seq.) who are homeless or receiving temporary emergency shelter assistance, as an alternative to the use of temporary emergency shelters for those recipients who are eligible for emergency shelter assistance.

    b. Of the funds appropriated for payments for emergency assistance by the Department of Human Services by the annual appropriations act, 10% shall be reserved for low-income rental housing development grants pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

    c. The Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Commerce and Economic Development, shall develop appropriate incentives for the development of low-income rental housing pursuant to subsection a. of this section, including but not limited to a guarantee of a fixed rental rate for recipients of aid to families with dependent children benefits who rent units in this housing.

    2. (New section) The Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Commerce and Economic Development, shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.

    3. The following item in Section 1 of P.L.1994, c.67 is amended to read as follows:

STATE AID

54 DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

50 Economic Planning, Development and Security

53 Economic Assistance and Security -- State Aid

7550 Division of Family Development

    Of the monies hereinabove allocated for payments for emergency assistance, 10% shall be reserved for grants to develop low-income rental housing for recipients of aid to families with dependent children benefits who are homeless or receiving temporary emergency shelter assistance.

    4. This act shall take effect immediately and be retroactive to July 1, 1994.

STATEMENT

    This bill directs the Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the Commissioners of Community Affairs and Commerce and Economic Development, to develop a program to provide grants to housing developers for the development of low-income rental housing for recipients of aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) benefits pursuant to P.L.1959, c.86 (C.44:10-1 et seq.) who are homeless or receiving temporary emergency shelter assistance, as an alternative to the use of temporary emergency shelters for AFDC recipients who are eligible for emergency shelter assistance. The monies used for this purpose are to be derived from funds allocated for emergency assistance by the Department of Human Services in the annual appropriations act for Fiscal Year 1995 and subsequent years, with 10% of that amount to be reserved for providing grants for low-income rental housing development.

Requires that 10% of AFDC emergency assistance funding be used to pay for development of low-income rental housing.