Murphy conditionally vetoes Ida mortgage relief bill

Murphy conditionally vetoes Ida mortgage relief bill / NJ Spotlight / September 12, 2024

By Briana Vannozzi, Michael Sol Warren, Brenda Flanagan

Homeowners still recovering from flood damage three years after the remnants of Hurricane Ida drenched New Jersey must continue to make mortgage payments on properties that in many cases are still uninhabitable, after Gov. Phil Murphy Thursday conditionally vetoed a bill that would have offered them forbearance.

Storm-affected homeowners who met certain financial eligibility requirements would be able to receive forbearance by sending a written request to their mortgage servicer, according to the measure.

The bill ( opens in a new windowS-1443/A-2294), which state lawmakers passed unanimously in June, would have also stayed foreclosure proceedings.

Storm recovery advocates have said the bill is critical to helping many around the state get back on their feet.

In explaining his opens in a new windowconditional veto, Murphy said there were concerns the bill was written in a way that could be easily abused.

“I am concerned that the current bill, which requires mortgage servicers to grant a forbearance on nothing more than a homeowner’s word that they qualify for the program, is not appropriately tailored to ensure that the relief it provides focuses on those who continue to have difficulty paying their mortgage due to Ida-related damage to their homes and does not contain adequate oversight measures or safeguards to prevent abuse and to ensure compliance with the law,” Murphy wrote in his conditional veto.

Murphy has asked lawmakers to add more guardrails to the bill, specifically to require homeowners seeking relief to enroll in a state disaster recovery program and have their application reviewed before forbearance is awarded. “With these changes to the program, I am confident that the State can provide targeted and appropriate relief to residents who are still burdened by damage caused by Hurricane Ida,” Murphy wrote.

Singleton ‘greatly disappointed’

The bill now goes back to state lawmakers to consider Murphy’s changes. It’s the latest twist in a legislative saga that dates to February 2023, when Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) introduced the first version of the bill.

In a statement to NJ Spotlight News, Singleton said he was surprised and “greatly disappointed” by the veto, which came after he had previously rewritten the bill to compromise with the governor’s office.

“After three long years, families whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Ida remain financially burdened from the effects of the storm. Every day, week, month and year of inaction, is more time these families suffer financially and emotionally,” Singleton said.

The New Jersey Organizing Project, which works to help storm survivors and has advocated for this bill, called Murphy’s proposed changes unnecessary and said they would ultimately lead to fewer Ida survivors getting relief.

“These are our homes we’re talking about. I’ve had no help from the state or federal government. And now Governor Murphy can’t do the bare minimum of giving my kids and I some relief,” Leanna Jones, a Milford resident and organizer for New Jersey Organizing Project, said in a statement. “The requested changes to this bill mean we don’t qualify. I’ve been to Trenton so many times testifying for this bill, and now I won’t even qualify. I feel betrayed. I feel sick, actually. This is what disaster recovery programs and mortgage forbearance are supposed to be there for. Instead, 3 years later, I’m drowning.”

Sen. Doug Steinhardt (R-Somerset), is another sponsor of the bill and represents Manville, which was particularly hard-hit by Ida’s floods. In a statement, he pointed out that other policies from the Murphy administration on how federal recovery aid is dispersed have prevented opens in a new windowManville residents from repairing and elevating their homes.

Steinhardt also criticized the governor’s proposed changes to the bill as serving only to create more hurdles for Ida survivors. “As written, the bill would have given instant relief to those who have been ignored, overlooked, and unassisted for three long years since Hurricane Ida, without all the bureaucratic red tape that the Governor’s recommendations would require. I urge the Legislature to return to Trenton as soon as possible to get these residents the help that they so desperately need.”