More than a million New Jersey customers are behind on paying their gas and electric bills. And unless something changes, they are at risk of having their service turned off. New Jersey’s moratorium on utility shut-offs is due to end on March 15 and it will not be extended, according to Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso. Those customers who are behind on their payments owe a collective $821 million. The state has set aside millions of dollars in a fund to help people pay their utility bills. But few people have sought help.
A new report from New Jersey Policy Perspective recommends that the state put a child tax credit in place. The report cites the success of the expanded federal child tax credit at keeping children out of poverty. That program provided millions of families with monthly payments last year, but Congress has failed to extend the program into this year. If the state enacted its own program, according to New Jersey Policy Perspective, it would cost about $100 million.
Some state lawmakers say it is time to reopen New Jersey’s one-stop career centers, closed during the pandemic. Republican lawmakers in the 1st Legislative District have drafted a bill directing the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development to reopen those centers as soon as March 1. Angela Delli-Santi, a spokeswoman for the labor department, says the state is working toward providing some in-person unemployment assistance at select one-stop locations, adding that all of the department’s services can be accessed online and over the phone. The lawmakers propose reducing the salaries of some top labor department employees if the offices don’t reopen by March.
