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By Steven Rodas
Legislators plan to introduce a new bill Thursday that would provide mortgage relief and foreclosure forbearance for New Jersey families in need more than three years after the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit the state, NJ Advance Media has learned.
The news comes just over a week after Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed a different piece of legislation that would have done the same: Provide qualifying residents a 1-year break from making mortgage payments and stalled foreclosures for homeowners not able to keep up with mounting bills.
By introducing the new bill, Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-Middlesex) and Senator Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) — among the lawmakers leading the charge on the latest act — are skirting the conditional veto in favor of helping more families.
Advocates with the New Jersey Organizing Project, who have joined dozens of residents in rallying for the financial relief in Trenton, on Wednesday afternoon said action is needed right away.
“Unlike under the Governor’s conditional veto — this new bill will actually help me and the majority of our members,” said Leanna Jones, an advocate with New Jersey Organizing Project.
Jones, an Ida storm survivor, is also a single mother of two.
“We’ve had no help from the state whatsoever in recovering from Hurricane Ida after 3 years — we need a hand to keep a roof over our heads,” Jones said. “Some breathing room on my mortgage would allow me to get my head back above water.”
Singleton on Wednesday said he believed the new proposal addressed the governor’s worries while helping homeowners in dire straits.
“We will continue to take whatever steps are necessary to help the victims of this storm,” Singleton said.
Lopez on Wednesday also highlighted that the conditional veto language would have only served “to reduce the pool of eligible applicants and water down the valuable assistance the legislation is offering.”
In partnership with Singleton’s office, Lopez said the new version of the bill accounts for concerns over fraud but keeps in mind all the families in need.
Initially, Murphy said he did not sign the legislation over fears the new Ida relief program — as sketched out — could be abused or face legal challenges later.
The conditions the governor’s administration set forth, suggested changes to the bill, would shrink the pool of people set to benefit from the help. It is not clear how many would qualify for the program or how many could be impacted by the proposed changes to the bill’s language.
Still, a draft of the recommended adjustments from Murphy’s office appears to specifically define “storm-impacted homeowners” as people who are participating in the Homeowner Assistance and Recovery Program, or have applied to — and are pending an award from — the Mitigation Assistance Program. Both are administered by the state.
A draft of the newest bill, obtained by NJ Advance Media on Wednesday, describes people impacted by the storm as “a mortgagor who, as of Aug. 31, 2021, occupied the residential property as their primary residence and received federal disaster assistance for needs related to damage sustained from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.”
Groups like the New Jersey Organizing Project have long fought for this kind of housing assistance to be provided here regardless of the natural disaster. They also emphasize how signing up for one type of aid can also at times mean foregoing — sometimes unknowingly — another later. Today, relief continues to be considered storm by storm, and financial lifelines are often delayed or slow-moving.
“It has been three years — three long years — since Hurricane Ida ravaged communities and homes. I believe this new proposal addresses the Governor’s concerns while more importantly, still providing much needed mortgage relief to impacted homeowners,” Singleton said.
The new bill, a final version expected to be available opens in a new windowonline Thursday afternoon, would still need to passed by the legislative bodies and signed by Murphy before families can get help.