ASSEMBLY AGING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 5435
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MAY 8, 2025
The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5435.
As amended by the committee, this bill directs the Division of Housing and Community Resources in the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to enter into a memorandum of understanding with each State agency and Statewide nonprofit energy assistance organization that administers a financial assistance program for residential utility customers to provide a consolidated, user-friendly Internet website-based application for those programs on the DCA’s Internet website. The bill also directs each State agency and Statewide nonprofit energy assistance organization to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the DCA and to assist the DCA in developing the consolidated application, including alerting the DCA of temporary programs that provide financial assistance to residential customers for utility bill payments or energy efficiency measures that the State agency or Statewide nonprofit energy assistance organization may be directed to administer, so that the DCA may integrate those temporary programs into the consolidated Internet website application.
The bill directs the DCA, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to adopt rules and regulations it deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of the bill.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The committee amendments clarify that the State agencies and non-profit organizations required to contract with the Division of Housing and Community Resources (division) in the DCA are those that administer its own utility assistance program. Additionally, the committee amendments clarify that the division would not be required to develop a new consolidated application portal but would add those utility programs for which the consolidated application is not currently used.