Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SADAF F. JAFFER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblyman REGINALD W. ATKINS
District 20 (Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson
SYNOPSIS
Relates to provision of financial assistance to eligible property owners, renters, and vehicle owners impacted by remnants of Hurricane Ida; appropriates $100 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the provision of financial assistance to eligible property owners, renters, and vehicle owners impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
CDBG-DR qualified means an individual or household that was qualified for or received Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds authorized by the United States Congress and administered by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development related to damage to real or personal property resulting from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
Completed application means an application for assistance made pursuant to any process created at the direction of the Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation in the Department of Community Affairs that is designated as complete, in the discretion of the division.
Department means the Department of Community Affairs.
Division means the Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation in the Department of Community Affairs.
Eligible property owner, renter, or vehicle owner means an individual or household that is CDBG-DR qualified, except as otherwise specified in P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), whose primary residence on September 1, 2021 was in New Jersey and whose real or personal property was damaged as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ida. For tenant renters, damages shall be established from FEMA or other evidence of at least one-foot of flood damage, or $100 worth of damage, as determined by the division. For owner-occupied real property, an eligible property owner shall establish damages through a document from homeowners or flood insurance, FEMA, or a letter from a municipality. For a vehicle owner, the property owner shall establish damages, with insurance documentation sufficient to document significant damage to a vehicle.
FEMA means the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Financial recovery or reclamation actions means the recoupment of funds as resulting from either an over-disbursement of remnants of Hurricane Ida recovery funds administered by the Department of Community Affairs, or resulting from a duplication of benefits made use of by a remnants of Hurricane Ida survivor in order to repair damaged property.
Remnants of Hurricane Ida means the major storm that caused flooding in New Jersey on September 1 through 3 of 2021, for which notice of a Presidential declaration of a major disaster for New Jersey was issued on September 5, 2021.
Remnants of Hurricane Ida survivor means a New Jersey resident who is an eligible property owner, renter, or vehicle owner and who experienced significant loss as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ida to the primary home they own, personal property in their residential rental property that served as their primary residence, or to a vehicle that was their primary form of transportation.
2. a. The Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation in the Department of Community Affairs shall oversee the disbursement of funds to eligible property owners, renters, or vehicle owners who are remnants of Hurricane Ida survivors. The division shall develop policies and procedures including, but not limited to:
(1) public advertising of benefits available pursuant to P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) through local media, social media, public events, and through community organizations;
(2) providing information and consultation services to eligible remnants of Hurricane Ida survivors seeking benefits;
(3) establishing uniform application forms to be used by eligible remnants of Hurricane Ida survivors;
(4) establishing reasonable timelines concerning the application process, including a period where:
(a) eligible property owners, renters, and vehicle owners may apply for awards under P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(b) applications are reviewed by the division, including establishing a process where applicants who have filed incomplete or faulty applications are notified of the incompleteness or faultiness and given adequate time to correct the identified problems; and
(c) eligible property owners, renters, and vehicle owners are notified of the award of benefits;
(5) a method of prioritizing reimbursement claims in the event that the total value of requested benefits by eligible property owners, renters, and vehicle owners who applied is an amount greater than the amounts appropriated pursuant to section 4 of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. The division shall award grants to eligible property owners, rent