This bill mandates that the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) prioritize municipalities that comply with their affordable housing obligations when awarding grants or financial assistance through various state programs, including the Main Street New Jersey Program and the Neighborhood Preservation Program. The bill specifies that this priority consideration will not apply to grants intended to assist municipalities in meeting their affordable housing obligations.

To assess compliance, the DCA will evaluate several factors during the first five years of a new round of affordable housing obligations, including the use of builders remedy lawsuits, existing affordable housing settlement agreements, and the percentage of obligations fulfilled from the previous round. After five years, compliance determinations will be based on the current round of obligations. Additionally, municipalities exempt from fair share affordable housing obligations will still be considered compliant for the purposes of this bill.