Bill A-1814 and NJ SHARES

REMARKS OF BLOSSOM A. PERETZ, ESQ.

DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF THE RATEPAYER ADVOCATE

PRESENTED BY BRIAN T. HOPE

LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, DIVISION OF THE RATEPAYER ADVOCATE

BEFORE THE NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE

ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

State House Annex Room 11, Fourth Floor

February 7, 2000 1 p.m.

Good afternoon Chairman Bagger and members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

The Division of the Ratepayer Advocate supports bill A-1814, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Bagger and Assemblywoman Carol Murphy. This bill provides supplemental funding for the non-profit energy assistance organization NJ SHARES. The Ratepayer Advocate supported the establishment of NJ SHARES and is pleased that utilities’ resources are being used to assist low-income customers. Because utility services are basic lifeline necessities in our modern world, all New Jersey consumers should have uninterrupted access. We support this legislation because we agree that people in crisis should have somewhere to turn in their hour of need to ensure that essential energy services are not disrupted. NJ SHARES helps provide this assurance to households in need of short-term assistance paying their energy bills, and their efforts to continue providing this vital aid should be strengthened through this bill.

Another important aspect of the NJ SHARES program is that its agencies may, where appropriate, refer families to other community resources and services. This referral component helps ensure that a family’s short-term need will not turn into a long-term hardship requiring large amounts of charitable or government financial assistance. The diverse groups that support NJ SHARES programs range from large utility companies like PSE&G and GPU Energy to social service organizations like the Association for Children of New Jersey and the Salvation Army.

This legislation is important because it would provide an additional permanent source of funding for this important statewide non-profit energy assistance organization. (Funding would be derived from the unclaimed property held by New Jersey’s electric and gas utilities that is currently transferred to the State under the "Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.") Accordingly, the Division of the Ratepayer Advocate supports this worthwhile legislation and respectfully asks this committee and the Legislature to enact it into law, as quickly as possible.