Bill > A2494

Introduced Session

This bill would provide an additional source of funding for affordable housing in cities of the first class, which are cities having a population of over 150,000 persons. The bill would require the governing body of a county in which a city of the first class is located, by ordinance or resolution as appropriate, to impose a surcharge of not less than $3 nor more than $10 on documents required to be recorded that pertain to real property located in the city of the first class. The bill requires the surcharges to be returned to the business administrator of the city of the first class on a quarterly basis, and to be deposited by the business administrator into that municipality's affordable housing trust fund. Currently, Newark and Jersey City are the only cities of the first class in the State. Those cities have much in common. Besides a large population (according to 2019 data, Newark's at 281,054 and Jersey City's at 261,940), they each have they have a large amount of older housing stock, and according to 2019 data, they each have a poverty rate (Newark's at 27.4 percent, and Jersey City's at 17.2 percent), that indicates that housing affordability may be an issue for a significant portion of their respective populations. The purpose of this bill is to provide these cities, the two largest municipalities in the State, with an additional source of revenue to be used to rehabilitate or purchase existing housing to create affordable housing units, or to construct new affordable housing, so that their residents have access to safe and affordable places to live.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

John Allen (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document