SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR CITIZENS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2959

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 9, 2026

      The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2959.

      As amended, this bill directs the State Chief Technology Officer of the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, no later than 365 days after the effective date of the bill and in collaboration with all applicable State agencies, to expand the MyNJHelps web-based application platform for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Work First New Jersey Program, and the NJFamilyCare Program to include all State administered public assistance programs.  In doing so, the State Chief Technology Officer is required to: reformat the MyNJHelps web-based application platform as the State’s centralized online resource for applicants to access information about, apply for benefits to, and check the application status of all State administered public assistance programs; and design a single application, accessible on the MyNJHelps web-based application platform, through which an applicant can apply for all State administered public assistance programs.  The bill defines “public assistance program” to mean a program that provides benefits to low-income New Jersey residents via a means-tested eligibility process.  These types of programs provide benefits that include, but that are not limited to:  healthcare, pharmaceutical, food, cash, child care, housing, and utility assistance.

      The provisions of the bill are not to be construed to alter the administrating agency of a public assistance program.  Rather, the platform established under the bill is required to provide all applicable administering agencies with access to the necessary applicant information to make eligibility determinations, as well as access to platform functions to post information regarding application status.  Moreover, the bill directs the State Chief Technology Officer to enter into any necessary data sharing agreements with applicable State agencies to comply with the provisions of the bill.  

      This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 2026-2027 session pending technical review.  As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments provide that the State Chief Technology Officer of the New Jersey Office of Information Technology will implement the provisions of the bill.  As introduced, the bill required the Commissioner of Human Services to implement the provisions of the bill.

      The committee amendments revise the synopsis of the bill to reflect the change. The committee amendments make technical changes concerning punctuation and style.