The proposed bill establishes the "New Jersey Low Income Household Water Assistance Program," which aims to provide financial assistance for water service and bill payments to low-income households in New Jersey, specifically those with a monthly income at or below 60 percent of the 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 unpaid water service bills. The Commissioner of Community Affairs is tasked with coordinating this program with existing assistance initiatives and adapting elements from low-income energy assistance programs.
To fund the initiative, the bill appropriates $25 million from the General Fund to the Department of Community Affairs, which will manage the program through a newly created trust fund. It requires public utilities and local authorities to enter into vendor contracts to facilitate assistance for qualifying customers and outlines penalties for utilities that do not comply with program requirements, including a prohibition on service disconnections for eligible customers. The Commissioner is also mandated to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature detailing the program's operations, including application statistics and funding expenditures, ensuring transparency and accountability in the program's implementation.