Bill > S2129

Introduced Session

This bill provides that beginning with the State fiscal year starting on July 1, 2018, the Board of Public Utilities (board) is to dedicate $25 million from available balances collected through the societal benefits charge, to provide grants to help pay the electric and gas public utility (utility) bills of households seeking temporary assistance from a Statewide nonprofit energy assistance organization with a network of no less than 200 partner organizations throughout all 21 counties in this State, providing secure, online or in-person grant application access, with a board of directors comprised of not less than five utility representatives, with an on-site customer service call center providing access to assistance offered in a minimum of 150 languages, as designated by the board. Within one year after the board completes the disbursement of grant monies to the Statewide nonprofit energy assistance organization, the organization is to issue a report to the board providing the number of applicants applying for household utility assistance grants, the number of households receiving utility assistance grants, the average amount of assistance provided, the average gross income of households receiving assistance, the methods and procedures used for the verification of income or hardship, and any other information the board requires. The provisions of this bill are to expire upon the 30th day after the submission of the report to the Governor and the Legislature.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

John Armato (D)*,  Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D)*,  Yvonne Lopez (D)*,  Vincent Mazzeo (D)*,  Shirley Turner (D)*,  Benjie Wimberly (D)*,  Daniel Benson (D),  Jon Bramnick (R),  Chris Brown (R),  Anthony Bucco (R),  Tony Bucco (R),  John Burzichelli (D),  Clinton Calabrese (D),  Ralph Caputo (D),  Linda Carter (D),  Annette Chaparro (D),  Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D),  Robert Clifton (R),  Herbert Conaway (D),  Joe Danielsen (D),  Wayne DeAngelo (D),  BettyLou DeCroce (R),  Chris DePhillips (R),  John DiMaio (R),  Roy Freiman (D),  Thomas Giblin (D),  Linda Greenstein (D),  Amy Handlin (R),  Jamel Holley (D),  Mila Jasey (D),  Gordon Johnson (D),  Patricia Jones (D),  Sean Kean (R),  Jim Kennedy (D),  R. Bruce Land (D),  Greg McGuckin (R),  John McKeon (D),  Angela Mcknight (D),  Pedro Mejia (D),  Gabriela Mosquera (D),  Raj Mukherji (D),  Carol Murphy (D),  Erik Peterson (R),  Nancy Pinkin (D),  Eliana Pintor Marin (D),  Annette Quijano (D),  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D),  Gary Schaer (D),  Holly Schepisi (R),  Parker Space (R),  Bill Spearman (D),  Shanique Speight (D),  Adam Taliaferro (D),  Britnee Timberlake (D),  Cleopatra Tucker (D),  Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D),  Anthony Verrelli (D),  Harold Wirths (R),  David Wolfe (R),  Andrew Zwicker (D), 

Received in the Assembly on Concurrence with Gov. Recommend. (on 05/16/2019)