LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
SENATE, No. 3960
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: DECEMBER 18, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Extends eligibility for certain individuals for emergency assistance.
Type of Impact: Five-year State expenditure increase. Five-year local expenditure and
revenue increases.
Agencies Affected: Department of Human Services, county governments.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Five-Year Duration of
Fiscal Impact Extension
Annual State Expenditure Increase $6.4 million to $7.4 million
Annual Local Expenditure Increase $6.4 million to $7.4 million
Annual Local Revenue Increase $6.4 million to $7.4 million
 The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) determines that annual State expenditures will
increase between $6.4 million and $7.4 million in order to extend by five years the
Commissioner of Human Services’ authority to provide an extension of emergency assistance
benefits for recipients of Work First New Jersey/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,
Work First New Jersey/General Assistance, or Supplemental Security Income benefits. Under
current law, the commissioner’s authority to provide this benefits extension will expire on
February 1, 2024.
 Since county welfare agencies serve as a conduit for providing emergency assistance to the
beneficiary population, any additional increase in State expenditures under the bill will result
in an equivalent revenue gain and expenditure increase for county governments.
Office of Legislative Services Legislative Budget and Finance Office
State House Annex Phone (609) 847-3105
P.O. Box 068 Fax (609) 777-2442
Trenton, New Jersey 08625 www.njleg.state.nj.us
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BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill extends the authority of the Commissioner of Human Services to provide an extension
of emergency assistance benefits to certain recipients of Work First New Jersey/Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families, Work First New Jersey/General Assistance, or Supplemental
Security Income benefits. In order to qualify for an extension of emergency assistance benefits,
an individual must also be: the full-time caretaker of a disabled child or another disabled
dependent, permanently disabled, over sixty years of age, or chronically unemployable.
Legislation, enacted in 2018, stipulated that the provisions extending this authority were to expire
on the first day of the 60th month after the effective date of the 2018 law, which is February 1,
2024. This bill extends, by an additional five years, the commissioner’s authority to provide an
extension of emergency assistance benefits to qualifying individuals, until February 1, 2029.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS concludes that annual State expenditures will increase between $6.4 million and $7.4
million in order to extend by five years the Commissioner of Human Services’ authority to provide
an extension of emergency assistance benefits for a recipient of Work First New Jersey/Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families, Work First New Jersey/General Assistance, or Supplemental
Security Income benefits. To qualify for an extension on emergency assistance benefits, an
individual must also be the full-time caretaker of a disabled child or another disabled dependent,
permanently disabled, over sixty years of age, or chronically unemployable.
Since county welfare agencies serve as a conduit for providing emergency assistance to the
beneficiary population, any additional increase in State expenditures under the bill will also result
in an equivalent revenue gain and expenditure increase for county governments.
The OLS cautions that this cost estimate is based on current State economic trends. Any future
changes in State or national economic conditions will almost certainly affect enrollment in the
emergency assistance program, the number of individuals potentially eligible for a benefits
extension under the bill, and, therefore, the fiscal impact of the bill’s provisions.
Estimated State and county costs under the bill are projected to be higher than the original
estimated costs pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2018, c.164 due to two countervailing tends.
First, the number of individuals receiving emergency assistance benefits in the State, and therefore
the population of emergency assistance recipients who may qualify for a benefits extension, has
decreased by 13.7 percent since FY 2019. Although the number of individuals receiving
emergency assistance benefits has decreased, the weighted average monthly benefit amount per
recipient has increased by 51.6 percent over this time period, rising from $742.92 in FY 2019 to
$1,126.06 in FY 2024.
Emergency assistance is available, for a total of 12 cumulative months, for certain individuals
who receive Supplemental Security Income or assistance under the Work First New
Jersey/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or the Work First New Jersey/General
Assistance programs. Eligible individuals include homeless individuals, those at immediate risk
of homelessness, and individuals who have experienced a significant loss of housing, household
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furnishings, clothing, or food subsequent to a fire, flood, or similar disaster. The array of
emergency assistance benefits available to eligible individuals includes, but is not limited to:
shelter, household furnishings, temporary rental assistance, past-due rent or mortgage payments,
essential utility payments, moving expenses, and transportation to search for housing. In FY 2024,
the Department of Human Services anticipates that approximately 6,700 individuals will qualify
for emergency assistance benefits.
Under P.L.2018, c.164, the commissioner may provide a renewable six-month extension of
emergency assistance benefits for individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income or
assistance under the Work First New Jersey/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or the Work
First New Jersey/General Assistance programs, and who are also: the full-time caretakers of a
disabled child or other disabled dependent, permanently disabled, over the age of sixty years, or
chronically unemployable. The commissioner’s current authority to provide this benefits
extension will expire on February 1, 2024.
Section: Human Services
Analyst: Anne Cappabianca
Senior Fiscal Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).