SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 1010

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: MAY 2, 1996

 

      The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1010.

      This bill would require that the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services pay the fees of attorneys or any legal entity, such as the Community Health Law Project, which represents recipients of public assistance in successful appeals of claims for federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The bills provide that the fee paid would be an amount fixed by rules and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Human Services.

      Funding for the payment of these fees would be disbursed from the Payments to Municipalities for Cost of General Assistance fund. This SSI payment is made to the municipal welfare department pursuant to a contract between the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the State and is reimbursed to the municipal welfare department for the public assistance provided while the SSI claim was being appealed.