Establishes "Support for Victims of Domestic Violence Program"; incentivizes certain businesses to provide support to individuals who are victims of domestic violence.

A4603

ASSEMBLY, No. 4603

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes �Support for Victims of Domestic Violence
Program�; incentivizes certain businesses to provide support to individuals who
are victims of domestic violence.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

establishing a tax credit program for businesses that support individuals who
are victims of domestic violence, and supplementing various parts of the
statutory law.

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

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

���� "Advisory council"
means the Advisory Council on Domestic Violence

created pursuant to P.L.1979, c.337 (C.30:14-1 et seq.).

���� "Division" means the
Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families.

���� "Director" means the
Director of the Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families.

���� "Domestic violence"
means an act described in section 3 of P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-19), whether or
not the person alleging the commission of such conduct, or attempted conduct,
has reported the act to a law enforcement or prosecuting agency .

���� "Eligible business"
means a corporation; sole proprietorship; partnership; S corporation, or any
other business entity through which income flows as a distributive share to its
owners; limited liability company; or any other form of business organization
located within this State. A tax credit received pursuant to P.L. ,
c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) by a partnership, S corporation, or other
business entity shall be apportioned among the persons to whom the income or
profit of the partnership, S corporation, or other entity is distributed, in
the same proportions as those in which the income or profit is distributed.

���� "Eligible
individual" means a person who is recent victim of domestic violence,
sexual assault, or stalking, or a family member of any such person, based on
criteria established by the division, in consultation with the Advisory Council
on Domestic Violence. "Eligible individual" is to also include a
person who is a recent victim of attempted domestic violence, sexual assault,
or stalking.

���� "Law enforcement or
prosecuting agency" means any governmental, public or private person or
entity within this State charged with the collection, storage, or retrieval of
biological evidence, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies,
prosecutors' offices, courts, public hospitals, and crime laboratories.

���� "Program" means the
Support for Victims of Domestic Violence Program

established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill).

���� "Program agreement"
means an agreement entered into pursuant to section 3 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) between an eligible
business and the division through which the eligible business commits to
provide good and services to eligible individuals pursuant to the
Support for Victims of Domestic Violence Program
.

���� "Regional plan"
means a domestic violence safety net plan adopted pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� "Sexual assault"
means an act of sexual assault as described in N.J.S.2C:14-2, whether or not
the person alleging the commission of such conduct, or attempted conduct, has
reported the act to a law enforcement or prosecuting agency.

���� "Stalking" means an
act of stalking as described in section 1 of P.L.1992, c.209 (C.2C:12-10),
whether or not the person alleging the commission of such conduct, or attempted
conduct, has reported the act to a law enforcement or prosecuting agency.

���� 2.��� a.�� There is created a
program to be known as the "
Support for
Victims of Domestic Violence Program
," to be administered by the
division.� The purpose of the program is to incentivize businesses in New
Jersey to offer support in goods or services to individuals who have been
recent victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.�

���� b.��� The division shall, in
consultation with Advisory Council on Domestic Violence, establish at least
three support regions in New Jersey, including every county in New Jersey into
one of the regions, and adopt a domestic violence safety net plan for each region.�
Each regional plan adopted pursuant to this subsection shall consider the
existing governmental and nonprofit resources available to eligible individuals
in a region and set priorities for which goods and services are still needed in
that region, and consider how the public and private safety nets in each region
can best be enhanced by the availability and provision of goods and services by
eligible businesses.� The division shall, at a minimum, consider the provision
of: household essentials and clothing; technology security devices and
services; communications devices and services; and housing and emergency
accommodations in the development and approval of a regional plan.� A regional
plan shall rank the goods and services priorities for that region. The
division, in consultation with the advisory council, shall update and readopt a
regional plan at least once every three years.

���� c.���� The division shall
implement the regional plans by accepting applications for the program and
awarding tax credits under the program to eligible businesses that commit to
providing goods or services to eligible individuals, consistent with the
applicable regional plan.� The division shall develop program applications and
establish application procedures, application deadlines, and application
scoring measures that allow the division to strategically award tax credits to
eligible businesses that best support the implementation of each regional plan.

���� d.��� A business shall be
eligible for tax credits under the program if it timely submits a program
application and offers, pursuant to a program agreement consistent with a
regional plan, to supply goods or services to eligible individuals within a
region.

���� 3.��� a.�� The value of all
credits awarded by the division pursuant to the program in any State fiscal
year shall not exceed $25,000,000.� Of the annual $25,000,000 cap, the division
shall not approve the award of more than:

���� (1)�� $15,000,000 in tax
credits to businesses related to program agreements that provide for the
availability of housing and emergency accommodations to eligible individuals;�

���� (2)�� $10,000,000 in tax
credits to businesses related to program agreements for the provision of
household essentials and clothing, technology security devices and services,
and communications devices and services; and

���� (3)�� $3,000,000 in tax
credits to businesses related to program agreements for the provision of other
goods or services not in subsections (1) and (2), including transportation,
provided that the other goods or services are consistent with the established
priorities of a regional plan.

���� b.��� The division, in
consultation with the advisory council, shall develop tax credit allocation
formulas to establish separate tax credit award goals for each category of
support in each region of the State.�

���� c.���� The division may award
a tax credit to an eligible business in an amount up to 100 percent of the
value of the good or service provided by the eligible business to an eligible
individual, but the division shall prioritize awarding of tax credits under the
program in a manner that reliably provides for the greatest availability of
goods and services, consistent with an applicable regional plan, to all
eligible individuals.

���� d.��� As part of the
application, an eligible business shall:

���� (1)�� Agree to allow the
Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to share the employer�s
tax information with the division.� However, any information shared pursuant to
this paragraph (1) shall be confidential by law and privileged, and shall not
be subject to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.).

���� (2)�� Allow the division and
its agents access to limited and specific information necessary to monitor
compliance with program requirements.� Information accessed pursuant to this
paragraph (2) shall be confidential by law and privileged, shall not be subject
to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), and shall only be used for the stated
purpose of this section.

���� (3)�� Demonstrate that the
eligible business has the ability to satisfactorily provide goods or services
to eligible individuals under the program.

���� e.���� After reviewing an
application, the division shall tabulate the scores of each applicant based
upon the formulas established pursuant to section b. of this section for an
individual regional plan and rank eligible businesses for the award of tax
credits under the program based on the priorities contained in that regional
plan.� The division shall, in its discretion, enter into program agreements
with eligible businesses to award tax credits to eligible businesses that
receive the highest scores under individual categories in a manner that the
division determines would best meet the objectives of each regional plan.

���� f.���� A program agreement
shall, at a minimum, include:

���� (1)�� a requirement that the
eligible business not discriminate in the provisions of good or services to any
eligible individual based upon the race, creed, color, national origin,
ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status,
affectional or sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy or
breastfeeding, sex, gender identity or expression, or disability of the
eligible individual or any family member of the eligible individual;

���� (2)
��
a detailed description of the proposed goods or services that
the eligible business is to provide to eligible individuals under the program,
and under what conditions;

���� (3)�� a provision stipulating
that an eligible business is prohibited from claiming a tax credit for an
amount greater than the value of the goods and services that the eligible
business has actually provided to eligible individuals under the program;

���� (4)�� a provision stating the
eligibility period of the tax credits, including the first tax year or
privilege period for which the eligible business may claim a tax credit;

���� (5)�� a detailed description
of the information necessary to enable the division to administer the program,
and a requirement that the eligible business provide that information to the
division;

���� (6)�� a requirement that the
applicant make goods or services available to eligible individuals in a
particular region for the entire term of the agreement, and a provision to
permit the division to recapture all or part of any tax credits awarded, at its
discretion, if the eligible business does not remain in compliance with this
provision for the required term;

���� (7)�� a method for the
eligible business to certify that it has met the requirements of the program
agreement and to report annually to the division the number of eligible
individuals that the eligible business has provided goods or services to in the
prior year;

���� (8)�� a provision permitting
an audit of the records of the eligible business from time to time, as the
division deems necessary;

���� (9)�� a provision stipulating
any information that the eligible business is required to collect from an
eligible person prior to providing goods or services to the eligible individual
and a provision requiring that the eligible business provide certain information
on other resources available to eligible individuals within that region;

���� (10)��� a provision which
permits the division to amend the agreement; and

���� (11)��� a provision
establishing the conditions under which the agreement may be terminated.

���� g.��� The division shall, in
consultation with the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of
the Treasury, develop standards for the award of tax credits to eligible
businesses consistent with each program agreement, and develop procedures for the
content and issuance of tax credit certificates to be awarded under the
program.� The division shall, consistent with the standards and procedures
developed pursuant to this subsection, issue tax credit certificates to
eligible businesses as stipulated in individual program agreements.

���� h.��� The division shall
regularly collect and analyze information related to the efficacy of the
program in supplementing the government and nonprofit safety net of support for
individuals who are recent victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and
stalking.� The division shall annually submit reports to the Governor, and to
the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).� Each
annual report required pursuant to this subsection shall include
recommendations to the Legislature for any changes to the program that would
allow the division or eligible businesses to better support

individuals who are recent victims of
domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

���� 4.��� The director shall
annually provide to the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department
of the Treasury program information including, but not limited to, the number
of eligible businesses participating in the program, unique identifying information
for each eligible business, the value of all tax credits awarded by the
authority in the applicable year, the total dollar amount of claims for credit,
and the dollar amount of credit awarded to each eligible business and the years
in which the eligible business may claim the tax credits.

���� 5.��� The director, in
consultation with the advisory council and the Director of the Division of
Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, shall, pursuant to the
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.),
adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ).

���� 6.� a.� A taxpayer that is an
eligible business as defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) that has received a
tax credit certificate from the director shall be allowed a credit against the
tax imposed pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5), in an amount
equal to the amount shown on the tax credit certificate.

���� b.��� The amount of the credit
applied under this section against the tax imposed pursuant to section 5 of
P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5), for a privilege period, when taken together with
any other credits allowed against the tax imposed pursuant to section 5 of
P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5), shall not exceed 50 percent of the tax otherwise
due and shall not reduce the tax liability to an amount less than the statutory
minimum provided in subsection (e) of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162
(C.54:10A-5).� The priority in which credits allowed pursuant to this section
and any other credits shall be taken shall be determined by the Director of the
Division of Taxation.� The amount of the credit otherwise allowable under this
section which cannot be applied for the privilege period due to the limitations
of this subsection or under other provisions of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-1 et
seq.) may be carried over, if necessary, to the seven privilege periods
following the privilege period for which the credit was allowed.

���� 7.� a.� A taxpayer that is an
eligible business as defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) that has received a
tax credit certificate from the director shall be allowed a credit against the
tax otherwise due for the taxable year under the "New Jersey Gross Income
Tax Act," N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq., in an amount equal to the amount shown on
the tax credit certificate.

���� b.��� The amount of the credit
applied pursuant to this section for a taxable year, when taken together with
any other credits allowed against the tax imposed pursuant to N.J.S.54A:1-1 et
seq., shall not exceed 50 percent of the taxpayer's liability for tax for the
taxable year that bears the same proportional relationship to the total amount
of such liability as the amount of the taxpayer's gross income, derived from
New Jersey sources and attributable to the business or professional activity in
which the taxpayer employs the eligible individual during that taxable year,
bears to the taxpayer's entire gross income for that year. The amount of the
credit otherwise allowable under this section which cannot be applied for the
taxable year due to the limitations of this subsection may be carried over, if
necessary to the seven taxable years following the taxable year for which the credit
was allowed.

���� c.���� A business entity that
is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes shall not be
allowed a credit under this section directly, but the amount of credit of a
taxpayer in respect of a distributive share of entity income shall be determined
by allocating to the taxpayer that proportion of the credit acquired by the
entity that is equal to the taxpayer's share, whether or not distributed, of
the total distributive income or gain of the entity for its taxable year ending
within or with the taxpayer's taxable year.

���� d.��� A New Jersey S
corporation shall not be allowed a credit directly under the gross income tax,
but the amount of credit of a taxpayer in respect of a pro rata share of S
Corporation income shall be determined by allocating to the taxpayer that
proportion of the credit acquired by the New Jersey S Corporation that is equal
to the taxpayer's share, whether or not distributed, of the total pro rata
share of S Corporation income of the New Jersey S Corporation for its privilege
period ending within or with the taxpayer's taxable year.

���� 8.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall apply to privilege periods and taxable years beginning
on and after January 1 of the year next following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the �
Support for Victims of Domestic Violence Program
�
(program), to be administered by the Division on Women (division) in the
Department of Children and Families.� The purpose of the program is to
incentivize businesses in New Jersey to offer support in goods and services to
individuals who have been recent victims of domestic violence, sexual assault,
or stalking, or attempted domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
(eligible individuals).� The program allows the division to award tax credits,
to be applied against the Corporation Business Tax or the New Jersey Gross
Income Tax, to an eligible business in exchange for the eligible business�s
commitment to provide certain goods or services to eligible individuals.

���� The bill requires the
division, in consultation with Advisory Council on Domestic Violence (advisory
council), to establish at least three support regions in New Jersey and adopt a
domestic violence safety net plan for each region.� The regional plans are
required to give consideration to the existing governmental and nonprofit
resources available to eligible individuals in a region and set priorities for
which goods and services are still needed in that region, and consider how the
public and private safety nets in each region can best be enhanced by the
availability and provision of goods and services by eligible businesses.� Under
the bill, the division is required to consider, in developing each regional
plan, the provision of: household essentials and clothing; technology security
devices and services; communications devices and services; and housing and
emergency accommodations.� Under the bill, the division is required to accept
program applications and awarding tax credits to eligible businesses that
commit to providing goods or services to eligible individuals, consistent with
an applicable regional plan.

���� The value of all credits
awarded by the division pursuant to the program in any State fiscal year is not
to exceed $25,000,000.� In addition to the annual $25,000,000 cap, the bill
prohibits the division from approving the award of more than: $15,000,000 in
tax credits related to housing and emergency accommodations; $10,000,000 in tax
credits related to household essentials and clothing, technology security
devices and services, and communications devices and services, combined; and
$3,000,000 in tax credits related to other goods or services.� The bill
requires the division to develop tax credit allocation formulas to establish
separate tax credit award goals for each category of support in each region of
the State.� The bill also establishes program application requirements and
application review requirements.�

���� The bill requires that program
agreements include certain provisions, as specified in the bill.� The bill also
requires the division, in consultation with the Director of the Division of
Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, to develop standards for the award
of tax credits to eligible businesses consistent with each program agreement,
and develop procedures for the content and issuance of tax credit certificates
to be awarded under the program. The director of the division, in consultation
with the advisory council and the Director of the Division of Taxation in the
Department of the Treasury, is required to adopt rules and regulations to
effectuate the purposes of the bill.

���� The bill requires the division
to regularly collect and analyze information related to the efficacy of the
program in supplementing the government and nonprofit safety net of support for
individuals who are recent victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and
stalking. The bill further requires the division to submit annual program
reports to the Governor and to the Legislature.� Each annual report is required
to include recommendations to the Legislature for any changes to the program
that would allow the division or eligible businesses to better support
individuals who are recent victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and
stalking.

���� Under the bill, the amount of
the credits allowed against the taxes imposed are prohibited from exceeding 50
percent of the taxpayer's liability for tax, and may be carried over, if
necessary, to the seven privilege periods or taxable years.