The proposed bill establishes the "New Jersey Low Income Household Water Assistance Program," designed to provide financial assistance for water service and bill payments to eligible low-income households. An "eligible household" is defined as one that pays for its own water or sewer services and has a monthly income at or below 60 percent of the New Jersey State median income. The program will offer various forms of assistance, including direct financial aid, support for renters, crisis intervention, water efficiency measures, and debt relief for arrears. The Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, will implement the program and ensure it aligns with existing assistance programs.

To fund this initiative, the bill appropriates $25 million from the General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs and creates the "New Jersey Low Income Household Water Assistance Program Fund," a non-lapsing fund dedicated to the program's purposes. The bill outlines the responsibilities of public utilities, local authorities, and municipal utilities in participating in the program, including vendor contracts and customer eligibility advertising. It also mandates the collection of performance metrics and requires the commissioner to submit an annual report to the Governor and Legislature detailing the program's operations, including application statistics and funding expenditures.