Authorizes establishment of municipal homelessness trust funds and adoption of homeless housing plans by municipalities.

A2094

ASSEMBLY, No. 2094

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Speight

SYNOPSIS

���� Authorizes establishment of municipal homelessness
trust funds and adoption of homeless housing plans by municipalities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning homelessness, by
authorizing the
establishment of Municipal Homelessness Trust Funds and the adoption of
homeless housing plans by municipalities, and supplementing chapter 27D of
Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �Municipal Homelessness Trust Fund Act.�

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that:

���� a.� Homelessness is a critical
issue affecting communities throughout New Jersey;

���� b.� Homelessness impacts many
facets of community life in municipalities, including, but not limited to:

���� (1)� the state of a
municipality�s housing stock and broader building stock;

���� (2)� general public safety and
public health;

���� (3)� animal welfare related to
persons who are experiencing homeless with their pets, and broader impacts on
animal population health in the municipality;

���� (4)� the state of the
commercial and business climate in a municipality; and

���� (5)� the broader general
welfare of community life in the municipality;

���� c.���� Municipalities require
additional resources and strategic planning to effectively address homelessness
and provide necessary services and supports; and

���� d.��� Establishing a dedicated
funding source through municipal homelessness trust funds will enable
municipalities to implement sustainable and comprehensive strategies to combat
homelessness.

���� 3.��� As used in P.L.��� c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

���� �Community based organization�
means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.2009, c.123
(C.52:27D-287c).

���� �Municipal homeless housing
grant program� means the vehicle by which competitive grants are awarded by the
governing body of the municipality, utilizing monies from the municipal
homelessness trust fund authorized pursuant to section 5 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), for activities
directly related to housing homeless individuals and families, preventing
homelessness, and other efforts directly related to permanently housing
homeless persons, as administered by the municipality or its designated
subcontractor.

���� �Homeless housing plan� means
a strategic plan adopted by a municipality, prepared in consultation with the
Department of Community Affairs and a community based organization that
operates in or serves the municipality, to address the housing needs of persons
experiencing homelessness within its jurisdiction that includes measureable and
achievable objectives to end homelessness in the municipality.

���� �Outcome measurement� means
the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.2009, c.123
(C.52:27D-287c).

���� �Person experiencing
homelessness� means an individual living outside, or in a building not meant
for human habitation or which the person as 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 hotel or motel.

���� �Trust fund� means a municipal
homelessness trust fund established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.��� c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� 4.��� A municipality, in
consultation with the Office of Homelessness Prevention in the Department of
Community Affairs and one or more community based organizations that operate in
or serve the municipality, may by resolution adopt a homeless housing plan to
address the housing needs of persons experiencing homelessness within its
jurisdiction, which shall be in accordance with the provisions of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). �The plan
shall include provisions for administration of a trust fund for the purpose of
receiving funds, as established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and a strategic
local plan to identify and address the needs of persons experiencing
homelessness within the jurisdiction, including strategies to reduce the need
for emergency room care, hospital care, law enforcement, foster care, and other
social services associated with persons experiencing homelessness.� The homeless
housing plan shall establish guidelines for the award of grants or loans from
the trust fund.

���� 5.��� a.� In the event that a
municipality adopts a homeless housing plan pursuant to section 4 of P.L.���
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the
municipality shall, by ordinance, establish a municipal homelessness trust fund
for the purpose of receiving funds to effectuate the homeless housing plan.�
Amounts collected by a municipality pursuant to subsection f. of this section
shall be deposited into a �Municipal Homelessness Trust Fund� to be used
exclusively for the purposes authorized by P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).� Any interest or other income
earned on monies deposited into the trust fund shall be credited to the fund to
be used for the same purposes as the principal.� A municipality may deposit
other funds into the trust fund, as it deems appropriate.�

���� b.��� No monies in the trust
fund shall be utilized to pay or discharge the principal or interest on any
indebtedness incurred for any purpose by the municipality or any other
governmental entity.

���� c.���� Amounts raised by the
additional fees collected pursuant to subsection f. of this section are
required to be expended for the purposes detailed pursuant to section 6 of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
within four years of being collected.

���� d.��� Any monies in the trust
fund that are not expended after four years shall be transferred to the
Department of Community Affairs, which shall contract with a community based
organization which operates in or serves the same municipality where the trust
fund exists for the purposes of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill).�

���� e.���� Administrative costs
for operating the trust fund shall not exceed five percent annually of the
total amount deposited into the trust fund in a given fiscal year.

���� f.���� Notwithstanding any
law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a municipality that adopts a homeless
housing plan pursuant to section 4 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) and establishes a trust fund pursuant to this
section may establish, by ordinance, an additional fee of not more than five dollars,
as the municipality deems appropriate, to any existing fines and penalties
collected by the municipality, including, but not limited to, parking tickets
and court fines.

���� 6.��� a.� Each municipality
shall utilize its municipal homelessness trust fund for the operation of a
homeless housing grant program.� The program shall award grants to provide:

���� (1)� for the acquisition,
construction, or rehabilitation of housing projects or units within housing
projects that supply permanent affordable housing for persons, including
families, experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness;

���� (2)� rental assistance
vouchers, including tenant- and project-based subsidies, for affordable housing
projects or units within housing projects that provide permanent affordable
housing for persons, including families, experiencing homelessness or at risk
of experiencing homelessness;

���� (3)� supportive services,
including payment for temporary accommodation at a hotel, as defined in section
3 of P.L.1967, c.76 (C.55:13A-3), as may be required by persons experiencing
homelessness in order to obtain or maintain, or both, permanent affordable
housing; and

���� (4)� prevention services for
at risk individuals or families so that they can obtain and maintain permanent
affordable housing.

���� b.��� Grants awarded by the
governing body of the municipality shall be used to support projects that:

���� (1)� measurably reduce
homelessness;

���� (2)� demonstrate government
cost savings over time;

���� (3)� employ evidence-based
models;

���� (4)� can be replicated in
other municipalities;

���� (5)� include an outcome
measurement component;

���� (6)� are consistent with the
homeless housing plan; or

���� (7)� fund the acquisition,
construction, or rehabilitation projects that will serve individuals or
families experiencing homelessness for a period of at least 30 years or the
equal to the longest term of affordability required by other funding sources.

���� c.���� Each municipality that
has established a municipal homelessness trust fund shall annually transmit
information concerning the uses of the funds to the Office of Homelessness
Prevention in the Department of Community Affairs in accordance with
requirements established by that office, which shall include, but not be
limited to details concerning the collection and expenditure of funds, projects
funded, and outcomes achieved.

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of
enactment.

STATEMENT

���� The bill permits municipal
governments to, by ordinance, create municipal homelessness trust funds and, by
resolution, adopt municipal homeless housing plans.�

���� The bill permits a
municipality to impose additional fees, fines and penalties for deposit into a
municipal homelessness trust fund.� The bill allows five percent of the
deposits to be used annually for administrative costs related to the
administration of the trust fund, and the remainder of the monies in the fund
are required to be used solely for the operation of a homelessness housing
grant program in order to provide:

���� (1)�� for the acquisition,
construction, or rehabilitation of housing projects or units within housing
projects that supply permanent affordable housing for persons or families
experiencing homelessness, including those at risk of homelessness;

���� (2)�� rental assistance
vouchers, including tenant and project based subsidies, for affordable housing
projects or units within housing projects that provide permanent affordable
housing for persons or families experiencing homelessness, including those at
risk of homelessness;

���� (3)�� supportive services,
including payment for temporary accommodation at a hotel, as may be required by
persons or families experiencing homelessness in order to obtain or maintain,
or both, permanent affordable housing; and

���� (4)�� prevention services for
at risk individuals or families so that they can obtain and maintain permanent
affordable housing.

���� Grants awarded by the
governing body of the municipality are required to be used to support projects
that:

���� (1)�� measurably reduce
homelessness;

���� (2)�� demonstrate government
cost savings over time;

���� (3)�� employ evidence-based
models;

���� (4)�� can be replicated in
other municipalities;

���� (5)�� include an outcome
measurement component;

���� (6)�� are consistent with the
municipal homeless housing plan; or

���� (7)�� fund the acquisition,
construction, or rehabilitation projects that will serve persons or families
experiencing homelessness for a period of at least 30 years or the equal to the
longest term of affordability required by other funding sources.