S 1838 — Codifies Bringing Veterans Home Initiative.

S1838 1R [First Reprint] SENATE, No.

SenatorSenators DiegnanDiegnan, Beach, Amato, Moriarty and Johnson         SYNOPSIS      Codifies Bringing Veterans Home Initiative.

  CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT      IntroducedAs Pendingreported Technicalby Reviewthe bySenate LegislativeBudget Counsel.and Appropriations Committee on June 24, 2026, with amendments.

     f.  administer and maintain the Bringing Veterans Home Initiative launched in the Department of Community Affairs and1[and] , in coordination with1 the Department of Military and Veterans AffairsAffairs, in 2024;

and      g.  establish and operate any other goals and programming deemed appropriate by the Office1[Office of Homelessness Prevention, upon consultation with thethe]1 Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to effectuate the goals of the Bringing Veterans Home Initiative.

       2.  The Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.140 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).  The Commissioner of Community Affairs and the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall publish on their respective Internet websites the standardized referral form established pursuant to subsection c.

       3.  This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth1[sixth] 12th1 month next following enactment.

    STATEMENT        On Veterans’ Day of 2024, Acting Governor Tahesha Way announced the launch of Bringing Veterans Home (initiative), to be led by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs.  This bill codifies the initiative in statute.

     The bill establishes statutory language concerning the initiative and requires the DCA to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of the bill.  The goal of the initiative is to provide access to safe and stable housing to every unhoused or homeless veteran in the State.

     Specifically, the bill directs the Office of Homelessness Prevention in the DCA to:

(1) establish and maintain six regional hubs to be tasked to accelerate housing outcomes for veterans in the region;

(2) utilize State data concerning veteran homelessness to determine areas of need and effective interventions;

(3) establish, maintain, and publish a standardized referral form;

(4) adopt one or more classifications of veterans eligible for participation in, and receipt of different forms of assistance under, the initiative;

(5) assist veterans, to the extent feasible, in accessing appropriate benefits and housing placement programs;

(6) maintain the Department of Community Affairs and Department of Veterans Affairs Bringing Veterans Home Initiative launched in 2024;

and (7) establish and operate any other goals and programming deemed appropriate by the Office of Homelessness Prevention.  The bill would take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following enactment.