Requires Office of Homelessness Prevention to contract with county agencies or nonprofits to issue certain identification and birth certificates to individuals experiencing homelessness; appropriates $2 million.

A2315

ASSEMBLY, No. 2315

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LUANNE M. PETERPAUL

District 11 (Monmouth)

Assemblywoman MARGIE DONLON, M.D.

District 11 (Monmouth)

Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ

District 19 (Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Venezia

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Office of Homelessness Prevention to
contract with county agencies or nonprofits to issue certain identification and
birth certificates to individuals experiencing homelessness; appropriates $2
million.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

concerning the duties of the Office of
Homelessness Prevention, amending P.L.2019, c.73, and making an appropriation.

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

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2019,
c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� a.� There is hereby
established within the Department of Community Affairs an Office of
Homelessness Prevention to coordinate among State and local agencies and
private organizations that provide services to persons who are homeless or at
risk for homelessness, and to implement a Statewide strategy to address
homelessness.

���� b.��� The office shall be
under the immediate supervision of a director, who shall be a person qualified
by training and experience to direct the work of such office.� The Commissioner
of Community Affairs shall appoint the director, who shall serve at the pleasure
of the commissioner.� The director shall administer the work of the office
under the direction of the commissioner and shall perform such other functions
of the department as the commissioner may prescribe.

���� c.���� In addition to other
functions, powers, and duties vested in the Department of Community Affairs by
P.L.2019, c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5 et al.) or by any other law, the Department of
Community Affairs shall, through the Office of Homelessness Prevention:

���� (1)�� Collect, maintain, and
make available information concerning persons who are homeless or at risk for
homelessness, including demographics information, current services and
resources available, the cost and availability of services and programs, and
the met and unmet needs of this population.� All entities that receive State,
county, or municipal funding shall provide the office access to all data they
maintain;

���� (2)�� Evaluate State and local
services and resources and develop, implement, and revise, as necessary, a
consolidated plan for addressing the needs of persons who are homeless or at
risk for homelessness;

���� (3)�� Explore, compile, and
disseminate information regarding public and private funding sources for State
and local programs serving persons who are homeless;

���� (4)�� Assess and provide
recommendations for coordinating the activities of State programs, including
multi-State programs, and local coalitions for persons who are homeless and
promote the effectiveness of programs addressing the needs of persons who are
homeless;

���� (5)�� Convene meetings and
workshops of State and local agencies, local coalitions and programs, and other
stakeholders for developing and reviewing policies, services, activities,
coordination, and funding of efforts to meet the needs of persons who are homeless,
including training, counseling, and navigation services essential to enable
persons who are homeless to make the transition to permanent housing;
[
and
]

���� (6)�� Conduct or promote
research on the effectiveness of programs addressing the needs of persons who
are homeless
; and

����
(7)�� In each county of the
State, contract with a county agency or nonprofit that administers homelessness
programs to issue personal identification, in a form and manner as determined
by the director, and to coordinate provision of copies of birth certificates to
individuals experiencing homelessness.� A county agency or nonprofit shall be
permitted to directly access and issue a birth certificate maintained by the
State Office of Vital Statistics and Registry and shall notify the State Office
of Vital Statistics and Registry of each issuance
.

���� d.��� All State, county, and
municipal departments and agencies shall, upon request, make every reasonable
effort to assist the Office of Homelessness Prevention in carrying out the
office's functions, powers, and duties.

���� e.���� (1) On the effective
date of P.L.2019, c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5 et al.), the Office of Homelessness
Prevention shall have access to all information in the Homeless Management
Information System administered in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance
Agency.

���� (2)�� The Homeless Management
Information System, administered in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance
Agency, including any personnel charged with administering and maintaining the
Homeless Management Information System, may be transferred to the Office of
Homelessness Prevention.� If the Homeless Management Information System is
transferred pursuant to this paragraph, all appropriations, grants, and other
moneys available and to become available to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage
Finance Agency, which the agency uses for the maintenance and administration of
the Homeless Management Information System, shall be transferred to the Office
of Homelessness Prevention.

(cf:� P.L.2019, c.73, s.1)

���� 2.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund the sum of $2,000,000, which shall be divided among the
contracted county agencies or nonprofits pursuant to paragraph (7) of
subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.2019, c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5), prorated based
on the homeless population of each county, to the Office of Homelessness
Prevention in the Department of Community Affairs, to effectuate the purposes
of P.L.��� , c.��� (pending before the legislature as this bill).

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the Office
of Homelessness Prevention (OHP) in the Department of Community Affairs to contract
with a county agency or nonprofit in each county of the State that administers
homelessness programs to issue personal identification, in a form and manner as
determined by the director, and to coordinate provision of copies of birth
certificates to individuals experiencing homelessness.
�
A county agency
or nonprofit is to be permitted to directly access and issue a birth
certificate maintained by the State Office of Vital Statistics and Registry and
shall notify the State Office of Vital Statistics and Registry of each issuance.

���� This bill appropriates $2
million from General Fund, which shall be divided among the contracted county
agencies or nonprofits pursuant to the bill, prorated based on the homeless
population of each county, to the Office of Homelessness Prevention in the
Department of Community Affairs, to effectuate the purposes of the bill.