Creates home purchase grant program in HMFA for certain veterans who served in federal active duty; appropriates $2 million.

S3652

SENATE, No. 3652

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� LINDA R. GREENSTEIN

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Senator� JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

SYNOPSIS

���� Creates home purchase grant program in HMFA for
certain veterans who served in federal active duty; appropriates $2 million.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
establishing a home purchase grant program for certain
veterans, supplementing and amending P.L.1983, c.530, and making an
appropriation.

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

���� 1.��� (New section)� a.� The
agency shall establish, in coordination with the Department of Military and
Veterans Affairs, a grant program to assist certain veterans in the purchase of
a home.� The grant program may be interfaced with any program administered by
the agency for first-time homebuyers, except that a veteran shall not be
required to meet the eligibility criteria of any other homebuyer program in
order to participate in the grant program established under this section.�

���� b.��� The grant program shall
provide matching grants, on the basis of available funds, to eligible veterans
on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis, up to a maximum of $10,000, except that
a recipient shall not receive more than one matching grant under the program.�
The funds may be applied to closing costs, equity payments, or for any other
purpose that assists the recipient in purchasing a home.

���� c.���� (1)� To qualify for the
grant program, a veteran shall provide to the agency, at the time of
application, proof of:

���� (a)�� at least 90 days of
service on federal active duty;

���� (b)�� legal residency in the
State of New Jersey; and

���� (c)�� the intent to purchase a
principal residence in the State of New Jersey.

���� (2)�� The agency shall not
establish income eligibility requirements for the grant program.� The agency
may give priority to any applicant who also qualifies for assistance under any
other home purchase assistance program administered by the agency, including
but not limited to the first-time homebuyer program.�

���� d.��� As used in this section:

���� �Veteran� includes any member of
the United States Armed Forces, the reserve components, or the New Jersey
National Guard.

���� 2.��� (New section) The
agency, in consultation with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs,
shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,�
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� 3.��� Section 5 of P.L.1983,
c.530 (C.55:14K-5) is amended to read as follows:

���� 5.��� In order to carry out
the purposes and provisions of this act, the agency, in addition to any powers
granted to it elsewhere in this act, shall have the following powers:

���� a.���� To adopt bylaws for the
regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;� to adopt an
official seal and alter the same at pleasure; to maintain an office at such
place or places within the State as it may designate;� to sue and be sued in
its own name;

���� b.��� To conduct examinations
and hearings and to hear testimony and take proof, under oath or affirmation,
at public or private hearings, on any matter material for its information and
necessary to carry out the provisions of this act;

���� c.���� To issue
[
subpenas
]

subpoenas

requiring the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers
pertinent to any hearing before the agency, or before one or more of the
members of the agency appointed by it to conduct a hearing;

���� d.��� To apply to any court,
having territorial jurisdiction of the offense, to have punished for contempt
any witness who refuses to obey a
[
subpena
]

subpoena
,
or who refuses to be sworn or affirmed to testify, or who is guilty of any
contempt after summons to appear;

���� e.���� To acquire by purchase,
gift, foreclosure or condemnation any real or personal property, or any
interest therein, to enter into any lease of property� and to hold, sell,
assign, lease, encumber, mortgage or otherwise dispose of� any real or personal
property, or any interest therein, or mortgage lien� interest owned by it or
under its control, custody or in its possession and� release or relinquish any
right, title, claim, lien, interest, easement or� demand however acquired,
including any equity or right of redemption, in� property foreclosed by it and
to do any of the foregoing by public or private sale, with or without public
bidding, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law;

���� f.���� To acquire, hold, use
and dispose of its income revenues, funds and moneys;

���� g.��� To adopt rules and
regulations expressly authorized by this act and such additional rules and
regulations as shall be necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes of
this act.� The agency shall adopt regulations which provide for consultation
with housing sponsors regarding the formulation of agency rules and regulations
governing the operation of housing projects and which require the agency to
consult with the affected housing sponsor prior to taking any and all specific
proposed agency actions relating to the sponsor's housing project.� The agency
shall publish all rules and regulations and file them with the Secretary of
State;

���� h.��� To borrow money or
secure credit on a temporary, short-term, interim or long-term basis, and to
issue negotiable bonds and to secure the payment thereof and to provide for the
rights of the holders thereof;

���� i.���� To make and enter into
and enforce all contracts and agreements necessary, convenient or desirable to
the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers under this act,
including contracts or agreements with qualified financial institutions for the
servicing and processing of eligible loans owned by the agency;

���� j.���� To appoint and employ
an executive director, who shall be the chief executive officer of the agency,
and additional officers, who need not be members of the agency as the agency
deems advisable, and to employ architects, engineers, attorneys, accountants,
construction and financial experts and other employees and agents as may be
necessary in its judgment and to determine their qualifications, terms of
office, duties and compensation; and to promote and discharge such officers,
employees and agents, all without regard to the provisions of Title 11 of the
Revised Statutes, Civil Service;

���� k.��� To contract for and to
receive and accept any gifts, grants, loans or contributions from any source,
of money, property, labor or other things of value, to be held, used and
applied to carry out the purposes of this act subject to the conditions upon
which the grants and contributions may be made, including, but not limited to,
gifts or grants from any department or agency of� the United States or the
State for payment of rent supplements to eligible families or for the payment
in whole or in part of the interest expense for a housing project or for any
other purpose consistent with this act;

���� l.���� To enter into
agreements to pay annual sums in lieu of taxes to any political subdivision of
the State with respect to any real property owned or operated directly by the
agency;

���� m.�� To procure insurance
against any loss in connection with its operations, property and other assets
(including eligible loans) in the amounts and from the insurers it deems
desirable;

���� n.��� To the extent permitted
under its contract with the holders of bonds of the agency, to consent to any
modification with respect to rate of interest, time and payment of any
installment of principal or interest, security or any other terms of any loan
to an institutional lender, eligible loan, loan commitment, contract or
agreement of any kind to which the agency is a party;

���� o.��� To the extent permitted
under its contract with the holders of bonds of the agency, to enter into
contracts with any housing sponsor containing� provisions enabling the housing
sponsor to reduce the rental or carrying� charges to persons unable to pay the
regular schedule of charges where, by� reason of other income or payment from
the agency, any department or agency of� the United States or the State, these
reductions can be made without jeopardizing the economic stability of the
housing project;

���� p.��� To make and collect the
fees and charges it determines are reasonable;

���� q.��� To the extent permitted
under its contract with the holders of bonds of the agency, to invest and
reinvest any moneys of the agency not required for immediate use, including
proceeds from the sale of any obligations of the agency, in obligations,
securities or other investments as the agency deems prudent.� All functions,
powers and duties relating to the investment or reinvestment of these funds,
including the purchase, sale or exchange of any investments or securities may,
upon the request of the agency, be exercised and performed by the Director of
the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury, in accordance
with written directions of the agency signed by an authorized officer, without
regard to any other law relating to investments by the Director of the Division
of Investment;

���� r.���� To provide, contract or
arrange for, where, by reason of the financing arrangement, review of the
application and proposed construction of a project is required by or in behalf
of any department or agency of the United States, consolidated processing of the
application or supervision or, in the alternative, to delegate the processing
in whole or in part to any such department or agency;

���� s.���� To make eligible loans,
and to participate with any department, agency or authority of the United
States or of any state thereof, this State, a municipality, or any banking
institution, foundation, labor union, insurance company, trustee or fiduciary
in an eligible loan, secured by a single participating mortgage, by separate
mortgages or by other security agreements, the interest of each having equal
priority as to lien in proportion to the amount of the loan so secured, but
which need not be equal as to interest rate, time or rate of amortization or
otherwise, and to undertake commitments to make� such loans;

���� t.���� To assess from time to
time the housing needs of any municipality which is experiencing housing
shortages as a result of the authorization of casino gaming and to address
those needs when planning its programs;

���� u.��� To sell any eligible
loan made by the agency or any loan to an institutional lender owned by the
agency, at public or private sale, with or without bidding, either singly or in
groups, or in shares of loans or shares of groups of loans, issue securities,
certificates or other evidence of ownership� secured by such loans or groups of
loans, sell the same to investors, arrange for the marketing of the same; and
to deposit and invest the funds derived from such sales in any manner
authorized by this act;

���� v.��� To make commitments to
purchase, and to purchase, service and sell, eligible loans, pools of loans or
securities based on loans, insured or issued by any department or agency of the
United States, and to make loans directly upon the security of any such loan,
pools of loans or securities;

���� w.�� To provide such advisory
consultation, training and educational services as will assist in the planning,
construction, rehabilitation and operation of housing including but not limited
to assistance in community development and organization, home management and
advisory services for residents and to encourage community organizations and
local governments to assist in developing housing;

���� x.��� To encourage research in
and demonstration projects to develop new and better techniques and methods for
increasing the supply, types and financing of housing and housing projects in
the State and to engage in these research and demonstration projects and to
receive and accept contributions, grants or aid, from any source, public or
private, including but not limited to the United States and the State, for
carrying out this purpose;

���� y.��� To provide to housing
sponsors, through eligible loans or otherwise, financing, refinancing or
financial assistance for fully completed, as well as partially completed,
projects which may or may not be occupied, if the projects meet all the
requirements of this act, except that, prior to the making of the mortgage
loans by the agency, said projects need not have complied with sections 7a.(9)
and 42 of this act;

���� z.���� To encourage and
stimulate cooperatives and other forms of housing with tenant participation;

���� aa.�� To promote innovative
programs for home ownership, including but not limited to lease-purchase
programs, employer-sponsored housing programs,
[
and
]
tenant cooperatives
, and grant
programs for certain veterans established pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill)
;

���� bb.� To set aside and
designate, out of the funds that are or may become available to it for the
purpose of financing housing in this State pursuant to the terms of this act,
certain sums or proportions thereof to be used for the financing of housing and
home-ownership opportunities, including specifically lease-purchase
arrangements, provided by employers to their employees through nonprofit or
limited-dividend corporations or associations created by employers for that
purpose; and to establish priority in funding, offer bonus fund allocations,
and institute other incentives to encourage such employer-sponsored housing and
home-ownership opportunities;

���� cc.�� Subject to any agreement
with bondholders, to collect, enforce the collection of, and foreclose on any
property or collateral securing its eligible loan or loans to institutional
lenders and acquire or take possession of such property or collateral and sell
the same at public or private sale, with or without bidding, and otherwise deal
with such collateral as may be necessary to protect the interests of the agency
therein;

���� dd.� To administer and to
enter into agreements to administer programs of the federal government or any
other entity which are in furtherance of the purposes of this act;

���� ee.�� To do and perform any
acts and things authorized by this act under, through, or by means of its
officers, agents or employees or by contract with any person, firm or
corporation; and

���� ff.�� To do any acts and
things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted in
this act.

(cf: P.L.1983, c.530, s.5)

���� 4.��� There is appropriated
$2,000,000 from the General Fund to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance
Agency for the purposes of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes a grant
program to assist certain veterans, who served in active federal duty, in the
purchase of a home.� This grant program would be established by the New Jersey
Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency in coordination with the Department of
Military and Veterans Affairs.� The grant program may be interfaced with any
program administered by the agency for first-time homebuyers, except that a
recipient need not meet the eligibility criteria of any other homebuyer program
in order to participate in the matching grant program established pursuant to
the bill.��

����
Under the bill, the
grant program would provide matching grants to eligible veterans on a
dollar-for-dollar matching fund basis, up to a maximum of $10,000.� These funds
may be applied to closing costs, equity payments, or for any other purpose
which assists the recipient in purchasing a home.� The bill prohibits any
person from receiving more than one matching grant under the program

���� To qualify for the grant
program, a veteran would be required to provide, at the time of application,
proof of: (1) at least 90 days of service on federal active duty; (2) legal
residency in the State of New Jersey; and (3) the intent to purchase a principal
residence in the State of New Jersey.� Under the bill, the agency may not
establish income eligibility requirements for the grant program.� However, the
agency may give priority to those applicants who also qualify for assistance
under other programs administered by the agency, such as the first time
home-buyer program.

���� The bill defines �veteran� to
include any active member of any branch of the United State Armed Forces, any
member of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, and any
member of the New Jersey National Guard.

���� The bill also appropriates $2
million from the General Fund to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance
Agency to fund the grant program.