SENATE ECONOMIC GROWTH COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 3333

 

with committee amendments

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  February 16, 2023

 

      The Senate Economic Growth Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3333, with committee amendments.

      As amended and reported, this bill imposes certain temporary requirements on water service providers, including local authorities, municipal utilities, and public utilities, concerning their participation in the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). 

      Currently, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) uses federal funding to administer the LIHWAP, which provides financial assistance toward the water and wastewater bills of certain low-income households.  As required under federal law, this financial assistance is provided directly to the water service providers that service participating low-income households.  However, before the customers of a water service provider can receive assistance under the program, the water service provider would need to enter into a vendor contract with the DCA to effectuate their participation in the program.

      Under the bill, each water service provider would be required to enter into the vendor contract and participate in the program, as required under the vendor contract.  However, to the extent permitted by federal law, the bill stipulates that the vendor contract may not prohibit a water service provider from undertaking any of the following actions, after September 30, 2023, toward any customer who has been approved for the LIHWAP: (1) assessing interest on the unpaid balance of water or wastewater service charges, except in certain situations; (2) discontinuing the water or wastewater service of any qualifying customer for non-payment, except when the customer is enrolled in a deferred payment agreement and complies with all requirements of the agreement; or (3) in the case of a local authority or municipal utility, placing, selling, or enforcing a lien on real property for the unpaid balance of water or wastewater service charges.

      Before October 1, 2023, the bill provides that if a water service provider fails to enter into a vendor contract with the DCA, or otherwise fails to allow customers to participate in the LIHWAP, the water service provider would be prohibited from: (1) discontinuing the water or wastewater service of any residential customer for non-payment; and (2) in the case of a local authority or municipal utility, placing, selling, or enforcing a lien on real property for the unpaid balance of the water or wastewater charges of any residential customer.  However, the bill does not apply to any municipal lien that was sold to a third party before the enactment of the bill, nor does it apply to the payment of unpaid water or wastewater charges by a third-party lienholder.  A water service provider that violates this prohibition would be subject to a fine of $500 for each calendar day in which the water or wastewater service is discontinued for non-payment. 

      Additionally, the bill requires each water service provider to advertise, in a manner and form prescribed by the DCA, eligibility for the LIHWAP on the bills of every residential customer, on the water service provider’s Internet website, and in any written communications provided to a residential customer in connection with an overdue water or wastewater bill.  A water service provider that violates this requirement would be subject to a fine of $100 for each instance in which the water service provider fails to advertise eligibility for the program, including any residential customer bill that fails to include this information. 

      The bill also requires the DCA and the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to provide written notice to water service providers concerning the provisions of this bill.  If the DCA determines that the water service provider has failed to enter into a vendor contract with the DCA or otherwise failed to allow its customers to participate in the LIHWAP, the notice would be required to indicate, in a clear and conspicuous manner, that the water service provider is prohibited from undertaking the actions specified in the bill.  The bill also requires separate notice to be provided when the application period for the LIHWAP is terminated and the provisions of the bill no longer apply.

      The bill also requires the DCA to provide written instructions to each water service provider concerning the duties and responsibilities of the water service provider under the vendor contract, as well as any other duties and responsibilities of a water service provider that enters into a vendor contract.  These instructions would also be required to include direct contact information for one or more DCA employees who may assist the water service provider in the implementation of the LIHWAP. 

      Every 14 calendar days after the date of enactment until the LIHWAP is terminated, the bill requires the DCA to provide written notice to each water service provider concerning the status of every residential customer who applies for the LIHWAP.  After a water service provider has received this notice, the provider would be required to suspend any enforcement actions against any residential customer who has been approved for the LIHWAP.  Additionally, if the water service provider receives notice after September 30, 2023 that a customer has been approved for the LIHWAP, the water service provider would be required to waive any interest assessed on the customer for the unpaid balance of water or wastewater charges during the period after September 30, 2023 and before the date of receipt of the notice.  However, the requirement to waive interest would not apply if the unpaid balances of the customer have already been paid by a third-party lienholder or sold at a tax sale.

      Under the bill, each water service provider would be required to provide a written notice, every 14 calendar days after the date of enactment until October 1, 2023, to the DCA concerning the arrearages of residential customers.  These notices would be considered confidential, and the DCA would be required to use these notices to encourage otherwise eligible persons to participate in the LIHWAP. 

      The bill also requires the DCA to submit reports detailing the operations of the LIHWAP to the Legislature, which reports would be submitted within 30 days after the date of enactment and every 45 days thereafter until October 1, 2023.

 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments provide the following changes to the bill:

      (1)  require all water service providers to enter into a vendor contract with the DCA;

      (2)  stipulate that, to the extent permitted by federal law, the vendor contract may not prohibit a water service provider from undertaking certain actions specified in the bill after September 30, 2023;

      (3)  provide that water service providers would only be prohibited from discontinuing a residential customer’s service or enforcing liens on the unpaid balances of residential customers until October 1, 2023, not during the entire period in which the LIHWAP remains in operation;

      (4)  expand the definition of “municipal utility” to include joint meetings, regional service agencies, and water commissions;

      (5)  clarify that before the DCA prescribes the form and manner in which water service providers are required to advertise eligibility for the LIHWAP, each water service provider would be required to provide this information in a form and manner determined by that water service provider;

      (6)  require the written instructions provided by the DCA to each water service provider to include direct contact information for one or more DCA employees who may assist the water service provider in the implementation of the LIHWAP;

      (7)  provide that after a water service provider receives notice from the DCA that a customer has been approved for the LIHWAP, the water service provider would be required to suspend any enforcement actions against the customer until October 1, 2023;

      (8)  provide that if a water service provider receives notice after September 30, 2023 that a customer has been approved to participate in the LIHWAP, the water service provider would be required to waive any interest assessed on the customer for unpaid water or wastewater charges between September 30, 2023 and the date of receiving the notice, except in certain circumstances;

      (9) require each water service provider to provide written, bi-weekly notice to the DCA concerning the current arrearages of residential customers, which notices would be used by the DCA to encourage participation in the LIHWAP;

      (10) require the DCA to submit reports detailing the operations of the LIHWAP to the Legislature, which reports would be submitted within 30 days after the date of enactment and every 45 days thereafter until October 1, 2023;

      (11) provide that the DCA is to require water service providers to submit written documentation attesting to their compliance with the advertising requirements of the bill;

      (12) remove certain regulatory authorizations to reflect the temporary nature of the bill; and

      (13) provide technical changes to the bill, including updating certain statutory cross-references and subdivisions, clarifying certain provisions of the bill, and revising the title to reflect the temporary nature of the bill.