Requires Director of Division of Housing and Community Resources in DCA to establish program to reimburse municipality which provides services to nonresident homeless persons; requires participation in Homeless Management Information System; appropriates $10 million.

S4251

SENATE, No. 4251

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� BENJIE E. WIMBERLY

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Director of Division of Housing and
Community Resources in DCA to establish program to reimburse municipality which
provides services to nonresident homeless persons; requires participation in
Homeless Management Information System; appropriates $10 million.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning the reimbursement of agencies that provide
services to persons experiencing homelessness, supplementing chapter 12A of
Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes, amending P.L.2019, c.73 and P.L.2021,
c.440, and making an appropriation.

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

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

���� "Agency" means the
New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency established pursuant to section
4 of P.L.1983, c.530 (C.55:14K-4).

���� "Director" means the
Director of the Division of Housing and Community Resources in the Department
of Community Affairs.

���� "Division" means the
Division of Housing and Community Resources in the Department of Community
Affairs.

���� "Homeless Management
Information System" means the system� administered by the New Jersey
Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, or the Office of Homelessness Prevention
if the Homeless Management Information System is transferred pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subsection e. of section 1 of P.L.2019, c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5),
to provide real-time information about the occupancy status of available
shelter beds.

���� "Municipally-operated
emergency shelter for the homeless" means an emergency shelter for the
homeless as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1985, c.48 (C.55:13C-2),
and that is operated by a municipality, or by a nonprofit organization in
partnership with a municipality.

���� "Program" means the municipally-operated
emergency shelter for the homeless reimbursement program established pursuant
to section 2 of in P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature
as this bill).

���� 2.��� (New section) a.�������� The
director shall establish a cost-sharing program to reimburse a
municipally-operated emergency shelter for the homeless which provides services
to an individual who is homeless or at risk for homelessness when that person
seeks services at a municipally-operated emergency shelter for the homeless
that is not located in the person�s last-known municipality of residence.� The
purpose of the cost-sharing reimbursement formula shall be to:

���� (1)�� compensate
municipally-operated emergency shelters for the homeless which serve, in
addition to their own homeless population, the homeless population of other
municipalities; and

���� (2)�� require a municipality
to pay a portion of the costs, as determined by the director pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subsection b. of this section, when the homeless population of
their municipality seeks services at a municipally-operated emergency shelter
for the homeless of another municipality.

���� b.��� (1)������� The director
shall develop a list of municipal costs that are eligible for reimbursement,
including, but not limited to: emergency shelter, temporary housing, food,
clothing, transportation services, and any other costs the director deems
appropriate.

���� (2)�� Pursuant to paragraph
(1) of this subsection, the director shall establish a reimbursement formula
based on factors including, but not limited to: the number of nonresident
individuals served; the duration and type of services provided; regional cost
variations; and available program funding.� The reimbursement formula shall
include a cost-sharing component for a municipality that is not the person�s
last-known municipality of residence.�

���� (3)�� A municipally-operated
emergency shelter for the homeless shall not be eligible for the reimbursement
of costs if:

���� (a)�� the individual seeking
services voluntarily relocated to the municipality for either employment or
family reasons;

���� (b) the individual�s
last-known municipality of residence cannot be verified; or

���� (c)�� the individual has lived
in the municipality where the municipally-operated emergency shelter is located
for more than 12 consecutive months.

���� c.���� To participate in the
reimbursement program established pursuant to subsection a. of this section, a
municipally-operated emergency shelter for the homeless shall submit an
application to the division in a manner and on such forms as determined by the
director.� An application shall include information detailing the shelter�s
costs that are eligible for reimbursement, pursuant to subsection b. of this
section, and include verification that the last known municipality of residence
of the person who received the listed services is a municipality other than a
municipality in which the municipally-operated emergency shelter for the
homeless which provided those services is located.

���� d.��� The director shall
encourage regional coordination among municipally-operated emergency shelters
for the homeless to improve efficiency, reduce the duplication of services, and
enhance the outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness.� Nothing in
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
shall be construed to authorize or require the relocation, transfer, or
displacement of an individual experiencing homelessness based solely on
municipal residency or an individual�s prior connection to a municipally-operated
emergency shelter for the homeless.

���� 3.��� (New section)� a.������� Each
municipally-operated emergency shelter for the homeless shall utilize the
Homeless Management Information System administered by the New Jersey Housing
and Mortgage Finance Agency, or the Office of Homelessness Prevention if the
Homeless Management Information System is transferred pursuant to paragraph (2)
of subsection e. of section 1 of P.L.2019, c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5) to provide
real-time information about the occupancy status of available shelter beds.

���� b.��� In addition to the
information required to be recorded and delineated for persons who are homeless
or at risk for homelessness under the Homeless Management Information System pursuant
to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5), each municipally-operated
emergency shelter for the homeless shall catalog the last-known municipality of
residence for each person who is homeless or at risk for homelessness and is
seeking services from the shelter through official records including, but not
limited to:

���� (1)�� State identification;

���� (2)�� prior address records;

���� (3)�� social services
documentation; or

���� (4)�� if the individual�s
last-known municipality of residence cannot be verified.

���� c.���� In the event that an
individual who is homeless or at risk for homelessness seeks services at a municipally-operated
emergency shelter for the homeless in a municipality other than the person�s
last known municipality of residence during the previous 12 months, the municipally-operated
emergency shelter shall be authorized to seek reimbursement from the
individual�s last-known municipality of residence for the provision of those
services, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill).

���� 4.��� 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
]

the
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.

���� 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.

����
(3)�� The New Jersey
Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, or the Office of Homelessness Prevention
if the Homeless Management Information System is transferred pursuant to
paragraph (2) of this subsection, shall adopt rules and regulations to require
all State and local agencies and private organizations that provide services to
persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness to participate in the
Homeless Management Information System and delineate necessary information
reporting requirements as part of this participation.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.73, s.1)

���� 5.��� Section 1 of P.L.2021,
c.440 (C.55:14K-5.5) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� The New Jersey Housing
and Mortgage Finance Agency
, or the Office of Homelessness Prevention if the
Homeless Management Information System is transferred pursuant to paragraph (2)
of subsection e. of P.L.2019, c.73 (C.52:27D-287.5),
shall
[
allow
]

require
all
operators of shelters for the homeless and selected local information
and referral providers who place persons in the shelters to
[
have access to
]

use the
Homeless Management Information System and to provide
real-time information
about the occupancy status of shelter beds in the State, as collected by the
Homeless Management Information System, in order to determine the availability
of shelter beds in the community or within a certain geographic area.� Shelter
operators shall update information in the Homeless Management Information
System about the availability of shelter beds not later than one hour after a
bed becomes available, or an available bed has been filled.

���� The provisions of this section
shall not apply to shelters for victims of domestic violence.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.440, s.1)

���� 6.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Division of Housing and Community Resources in the
Department of Community Affairs, the sum of $10,000,000 to effectuate the
purposes of this act, including: �

���� a.���� reimbursing a municipally-operated
emergency shelter for the homeless for eligible costs under the program
established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill); and

���� b.��� requiring each emergency
shelter for the homeless in operation to utilize the Homeless Management
Information System pursuant to section 3 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill). �

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Director of Division of Housing and Community Resources (director) in DCA to
establish a cost-sharing program to reimburse a municipally-operated emergency
shelter for the homeless which provides services to an individual who is homeless
or at risk for homelessness when that person seeks services at a
municipally-operated emergency shelter for the homeless in a municipality other
than the person�s last-known municipality of residence.� The purpose of the
cost-sharing reimbursement formula is to:

�

compensate municipally-operated emergency shelters for the
homeless which serve, in addition to their own homeless population, the
homeless population of other municipalities; and

�

require a municipality to pay a portion of the costs, as
determined by the director, when the homeless population of their municipality
seeks services at a municipally-operated emergency shelter for the homeless of
another municipality.

���� Under the bill, the director
is required to develop a list of municipal costs that are eligible for
reimbursement, including, but not limited to: emergency shelter, temporary
housing, food, clothing, transportation services, and any other costs the director
deems appropriate.

���� Factors that do not qualify
for reimbursement include if: the individual seeking services voluntarily
relocated to the municipality for either employment or family reasons; the
individual�s last-known municipality of residence cannot be verified; or the individual
has lived in the municipality in which the municipally-operated emergency
shelter is located for more than 12 consecutive months.

���� Under the bill, in addition to
the information required to be recorded and delineated for persons who are
homeless or at risk for homelessness under the Homeless Management Information
System, each municipally-operated emergency shelter for the homeless is
required to catalog the last-known municipality of residence for each person
who is homeless or at risk for homelessness through official records including,
but not limited to: State identification; prior address records; social
services documentation; or if the individual�s last-known municipality of
residence cannot be verified.

���� The bill appropriates $10
million from the General Fund to the Division of Housing and Community
Resources in the Department of Community Affairs to effectuate the purposes of
the bill.�