Establishes matching grant program in DCA to support community-based nonprofit organizations that provide shelter services during Code Blue alerts.

A4369

ASSEMBLY, No. 4369

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Assemblyman� AL BARLAS

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

Assemblyman� WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV

District 31 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Haider, Assemblymen Clifton and Bailey

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes matching grant program in DCA to support
community-based nonprofit organizations that provide shelter services during
Code Blue alerts.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
establishing the
Code Blue Shelter Matching
Grant Program
in the Department of Community
Affairs and supplementing
P.L.2009, c.123 (C.52:27D-287a et seq.)
.

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

���� 1.��� a.� There is established
in the Department of Community Affairs the Code Blue Shelter Matching Grant
Program to provide matching grants to community-based nonprofit organizations,
qualified for exemption from federal taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of
the federal Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. s.501(c)(3), that provide shelter
services during Code Blue alerts.

���� b.��� To be eligible for a
matching grant award, a community-based nonprofit organization shall submit an
application to the Commissioner of Community Affairs, in accordance with
application procedures and requirements prescribed by the commissioner.

���� c.���� A matching grant
application submitted pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall relate to
an underlying grant from a county or municipality received by the
community-based nonprofit organization not more than 12 months prior to the
date of application, and shall include information determined necessary by the
commissioner.� The grant application shall at a minimum include information
related to:

���� (1)�� the identity, finances,
and operations of the community-based nonprofit organization that received a
grant from a county or municipality in this State;

���� (2)�� the amount and
distribution date of the underlying grant to the community-based nonprofit
organization from the county or municipality; and

���� (3)�� plans for the proposed
uses for the county or municipal grant and the matching grant.

���� d.��� The department shall
award matching grants pursuant to this section based on review and analytical
criteria adopted by regulation of the department pursuant to the
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c. 410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).�
The department shall award matching grants to community-based nonprofit
organizations pursuant to this section in the order in which qualifying
applications are received.� The department shall maintain a record of
underlying grants provided by each county and municipality.� The department
shall not provide a matching grant for an application if an award of the amount
requested would result in the department awarding matching grants in an amount
exceeding $50,000, in a given calendar year, for applications related to
underlying grants provided by a particular county or municipality.� Except by
operation of the $50,000 limitation for matching grant awards related to underlying
grants provided by a particular county or municipality, the department shall
not establish or enforce a cap on the total number of matching grants or the
total amount that any individual community-based nonprofit organization may
receive from the department as matching grants.

���� e.���� The department may
require a community-based nonprofit organization to verify award or receipt of
an underlying grant from a county or municipality in this State in an amount
equal to the requested matching grant amount.

���� f.���� The commissioner shall
submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2
of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than three years after the
establishment of the matching grant program.� The report shall include, but
need not be limited to, information on the number of matching grant applicants,
the number and amounts of matching grant awards, an assessment of the
effectiveness of the matching grant program in addressing needs of individual
communities, homeless persons, and at-risk persons, and any recommendations
concerning continuing or expanding the matching grant program.

���� 2.��� The Commissioner of Community
Affairs, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968,
c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the
purposes of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the Code
Blue Shelter Matching Grant Program in the Department of Community Affairs
(department) to provide matching grants to nonprofit community-based nonprofit
organizations that provide shelter services during Code Blue alerts.�

���� To be eligible for a matching
grant award a community-based nonprofit organization is required to submit an
application to the Commissioner of Community Affairs (commissioner), in
accordance with application procedures and requirements prescribed by the commissioner.

���� A grant application is
required to relate to an underlying grant from a county or municipality
received by the community-based nonprofit organization not more than 12 months
prior to the date of application, and include information determined necessary
by the commissioner, and at a minimum include information related to:

���� (1)�� the identity, finances,
and operations of the community based organization;

���� (2)�� the amount and
distribution date of the grant to the community based organization; and

���� (3)�� plans for the proposed
uses for the grant and the matching grant.

���� The department is required to
award matching grants based on review and analytical criteria adopted by the
department.� The department is further required to award matching grants to
community-based nonprofit organizations in the order in which qualifying
applications are received.� The department is required to maintain a record of
underlying grants provided by each county and municipality, and is prohibited
from providing a matching grant for an application if an award of the amount
requested would result in the department awarding matching grants in an amount
exceeding $50,000, in that calendar year, for applications related to
underlying grants provided by a particular county or municipality.� The bill
also authorizes the department to require a community-based nonprofit
organization to verify award or receipt of an underlying grant from a county or
municipality in an amount equal to the requested matching grant amount.� The
bill also specifically prohibits the department from establishing or enforcing
a cap on the total number of matching grants or the total amount that any
individual community-based nonprofit organization may receive from the
department as matching grants.

���� Under the bill, the
commissioner is required to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature on
the effectiveness of the matching grant program in addressing the needs of
individual communities, homeless persons, and at-risk persons, and any
recommendations concerning continuing or expanding the matching grant program.