Conditional veto of Hurricane Ida-relief bill vexes residents still struggling to recover

Altagracia Gonzalez surveyed her damaged possessions on Sept. 2, 2021, after her Elizabeth home flooded during Hurricane Ida. (Photo by Daniella Heminghaus for the New Jersey Monitor)

Gov. Phil Murphy this week vetoed a bill that would have set foreclosure protections for residents whose homes were ravaged by Hurricane Ida, saying he would sign it only if legislators amend the bill to tighten oversight.

The bill would have put Ida-impacted homeowners’ mortgage payments on hold for a year and insulated them from foreclosure during that time — goals Murphy said he supports. But it does not require residents to verify their eligibility nor allow mortgage companies to seek documentation, he noted in a conditional veto statement Thursday.

“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,” the governor wrote.

The veto infuriated storm survivors, who say relief remains elusive and their homes are still uninhabitable or not fully fixed three years after the September 2021 storm that killed 30 people in New Jersey and caused billions in damages.

“I understand wanting to make sure that this goes to people who need it most. Well, that’s exactly what they’re not doing with this CV, because now the people who need it most are not going to get it,” said Leanna Jones, an Ida survivor from Milford and an organizer with the New Jersey Organizing Project.

In his veto statement, Murphy urged lawmakers to restrict the foreclosure protections the bill offers to Ida survivors who participate in two state programs that have identified homes still needing repair, reconstruction, elevation, or mitigation work.

But many people whose homes sit in flood-prone areas are excluded from those programs, under a controversial state policy change adopted last year to discourage residents from rebuilding in flood-prone areas. That policy, which focuses relief efforts on neighborhoods not in floodplains, has driven many Ida-impacted residents to apply to the state to buy their homes for demolition and conversion to green space , rather than to elevate and repair them on their own dime , advocates say .

“We absolutely are being bullied and forced into a buyout,” said Debby Josephs, whose Manville home was ravaged by Ida.

Even residents who would welcome a buyout say they’ve encountered delays that have left them in a limbo that Murphy’s veto worsened.

“I applied last summer, and I’m still waiting,” said Jones, a single mother of two who bought her home just two months before Ida hit. “I’m trying to get my head above water to prepare for whatever is happening next, and this mortgage forbearance would mean so much and give us a little bit of breathing room.”

The bill already has fraud protections, in that only people who received Federal Emergency Management Agency relief are eligible for forbearance , Jones added . The state also could require homeowners to provide documentation of Ida’s impact as they did for insurance coverage, rather than restrict the protections to people in the state-administered programs, Josephs said.

Murphy’s timing also irked bill supporters because he vetoed the bill the same day it would have automatically become law. The bipartisan bill went to the governor’s desk in June after passing almost unanimously in both chambers and their committees, with Assemblyman John Azzariti (R-Bergen) the lone no vote. It would have become law Thursday, had Murphy not issued the veto.

“The fact that the governor chose at the last minute, after having this on his desk for months, to pull the rug from underneath us was a slap in the face,” Josephs said. “Waiting until the last minute to do this shows no empathy to us, as survivors.”

Legislators irritated

Under the changes Murphy recommends, only residents participating in the state’s homeowner assistance and recovery program and mitigation assistance program could apply to the state Department of Community Affairs for “certifications of eligibility for forbearance.”

Homeowners denied certification could appeal and file a complaint with the state Department of Banking and Insurance, which could then investigate and decide whether to reverse the denial , Murphy wrote .

“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.

Bill sponsor Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) said he is “greatly disappointed and frankly surprised” by Murphy’s misgivings, especially because he previously worked with the governor’s office on “compromise language.”

“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.

He said he would review the veto statement to determine next steps.

Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-Middlesex), another bill sponsor, said Murphy’s requested changes would “only serve to diminish the population of eligible recipients and add layers of bureaucracy to the assistance process.”

Sen. Doug Steinhardt (R-Warren), a bill co-sponsor, said lawmakers should return to Trenton as soon as possible to pass an amended bill.

Legislation wouldn’t have been necessary if the Murphy administration hadn’t changed its relief rules two years into Ida recovery, leaving those living in flood zones in the lurch , Steinhardt said .

“That’s not assistance, that’s abandonment,” he said. “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.”

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX