Sponsored by:
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Greenstein and Johnson
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes grants to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned homes for homeless veterans.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act authorizing grants to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned homes for homeless veterans and amending P.L.2017, c.258.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2017, c.258 (C.52:27D-517) is amended to read as follows:
2. As used in this act:
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Housing and Community Resources in the Department of Community Affairs.
["Disabled"] Disability means [a person who fulfills the definition of having a "disability"] the same as that term is defined pursuant to section 3 of the "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990," 42 U.S.C. s.12102.
"Division" means the Division of Housing and Community Resources in the Department of Community Affairs.
"Eligible veteran" means a [disabled or low-income] veteran who is low-income or has a disability, or both.
"Energy efficient features or equipment" means features or equipment within a primary residence that help to reduce the amount of electricity used to heat, cool, or ventilate the residence, including but not limited to insulation, weatherstripping, air sealing, repaired heating systems, or duct sealing.
"Family member" means a spouse, child, parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, first cousin, grandparent, grandchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister, whether the individual is related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
"Homeless veteran" means a veteran who is living outside, or in a building not meant for human habitation or which the veteran has no legal right to occupy, in an emergency shelter, or in a temporary housing program which may include a transitional and supportive housing program if habitation time limits exist, or temporarily in the home of another household, or in a motel.
"Low-income veteran" means a veteran occupying a household with a gross household income equal to 50 percent or less of the median gross household income for households of the same size, and within the same housing region, as defined by subsection b. of section 4 of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-304).
"Primary residence" means a dwelling unit that is owned by the eligible veteran or by a family member of the eligible veteran, and occupied by the eligible veteran as his or her principal residence.
"Qualified organization" means a nonprofit veterans' organization that qualifies as a section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code.
Rehabilitation means the repair, renovation, alteration, or reconstruction of any building or structure.
"Veteran" means any resident of the State now or hereafter who has been discharged honorably or under general honorable conditions in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, or a Reserve component thereof, or the National Guard of this State or another state as defined in section 1 of P.L.1963, c.109 (C.38A:1-1), or any honorably discharged member of the American Merchant Marine who served during World War II and is declared by the United States Department of Defense to be eligible for federal veterans' benefits.
(cf: P.L.2019, c.500, s.12.)
2. Section 3 of P.L.2017, c.258 (C.52:27D-518) is amended to read as follows:
3. The director shall establish a pilot program to award grants to qualified organizations to rehabilitate [and modify] the primary residences of eligible veterans, and to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned homes for occupancy by homeless veterans. The director shall manage the pilot program in consultation with the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs to most effectively advance the needs of eligible veterans. The director shall administer the pilot program for five years following the operative date of P.L.2017, c.258 (C.52:27D-516 et seq.). Grant awards totaling $1 million shall be awarded during each year the pilot program is in operation.
a. In addition to any additional information required by the director, a qualified organization seeking a grant under the pilot program shall submit an application to the division that shall include the following information:
(1) the approximate number of veterans the qualified organization has the capacity to serve through grant funding; and
(2) a description of the type of work to be completed, such as interior home modifications, energy efficiency improvements, and other similar categories of work.
b. In order to receive a grant award under the pilot program, a qualified organization shall:
(1) demonstrate expertise in providing housing rehabilitation [and modification] services for the purpose of making homes accessible, functional, and safe;
(2) have experience in successfully carrying out accountability and reporting requirements involved in the proper administration of grant funds; and
(3) commit to paying workers employed through the pilot program no less than the prevailing wage rate for the worker's craft or trade, as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.).
c. In awarding grants under the pilot program,
(1) the director shall give preference to:
(a) qualified organizations that employ workers from an apprenticeable trade participating in the Helmets to Hardhats Program, as certified by the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council, such that not less than five percent of projected labor hours shall be completed by such participating organizations; and
(b) qualified organizations that serve communities that the director determines have the greatest need for homeless services; and
(2) the director may give preference to qualified organizations to achieve a fai