New Jersey S 1529: Permits certain portion of municipal development trust funds to be spent on housing affordability assistance to veterans.

Bill Text

S1529 

SENATE, No. 1529 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator CARMEN F. AMATO, JR.

District 9 (Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Greenstein, Holzapfel and Turner

SYNOPSIS

���� Permits certain portion of municipal development 
trust funds to be spent on housing affordability assistance to veterans.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

��

An Act concerning affordable housing for veterans and amending 
P.L.2008, c.46.

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

���� 1.��� Section 8 of P.L.2008, 
c.46 (C.52:27D-329.2) is amended to read as follows:

���� 8.��� a.� The council may 
authorize a municipality that has petitioned for substantive certification, or 
that has been so authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction, and which has 
adopted a municipal development fee ordinance to impose and collect development 
fees from developers of residential property, in accordance with rules 
promulgated by the council.� Each amount collected shall be deposited and shall 
be accounted for separately, by payer and date of deposit.

���� A municipality may not spend 
or commit to spend any affordable housing development fees, including Statewide 
non-residential fees collected and deposited into the municipal affordable 
housing trust fund, without first obtaining the council's approval of the 
expenditure.� The council shall promulgate regulations regarding the 
establishment, administration and enforcement of the expenditure of affordable 
housing development fees by municipalities.� The council shall have exclusive 
jurisdiction regarding the enforcement of these regulations, provided that any 
municipality which is not in compliance with the regulations adopted by the 
council may be subject to forfeiture of any or all funds remaining within its 
municipal trust fund.� Any funds so forfeited shall be deposited into the 
"New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund" established pursuant to 
section 20 of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-320).

���� b.��� A municipality shall 
deposit all fees collected, whether or not such collections were derived from 
fees imposed upon non-residential or residential construction into a trust fund 
dedicated to those purposes as required under this section, and such additional 
purposes as may be approved by the council.

���� c.���� (1)� A municipality may 
only spend development fees for an activity approved by the council to address 
the municipal fair share obligation.

���� (2)�� Municipal development 
trust funds shall not be expended to reimburse municipalities for activities 
which occurred prior to the authorization of a municipality to collect 
development fees.

���� (3)�� A municipality shall set 
aside a portion of its development fee trust fund for the purpose of providing 
affordability assistance to low and moderate income households in affordable 
units included in a municipal fair share plan, in accordance with rules of the 
council.

���� (a)�� Affordability assistance 
programs may include down payment assistance, security deposit assistance, low 
interest loans, common maintenance expenses for units located in condominiums, 
rental assistance, and any other program authorized by the council.

���� (b)�� Affordability assistance 
to households earning 30 percent or less of median income may include buying 
down the cost of low income units in a municipal fair share plan to make them 
affordable to households earning 30 percent or less of median income. The use 
of development fees in this manner shall not entitle a municipality to bonus 
credits except as may be provided by the rules of the council.

���� (c)�� Up to 30 percent of 
the funds dedicated to affordability assistance may be utilized for a program 
to assist first-time homebuying veterans with grants for downpayment 
assistance, provided that no individual participant shall be granted more than 
$15,000.� For the purpose of this subparagraph, veterans shall mean all persons 
having veteran status as enumerated in section 1 of P.L.1983, c.391 
(C.43:16A-11.7).� No payment or grant received by a veteran under this subsection 
shall be considered as income or resources for the purpose of determining the 
eligibility or extent of eligibility of any person for assistance under any 
State law or for the purposes of the State's corporation tax law, State income 
tax, or other tax laws.� The payment shall not be considered as income or 
resources of any recipient of public assistance and the payment shall not be 
deducted from the amount of aid to which the recipient would otherwise be 
entitled.

���� (4)�� A municipality may 
contract with a private or public entity to administer any part of its housing 
element and fair share plan, including the requirement for affordability 
assistance, or any program or activity for which the munic