52:15D-7 Development, maintenance of website relative to recovery, rebuilding programs; reports by department.

5. a. Within 180 days of the effective date of P.L.2015, c.102 (C.52:15D-3 et seq.), the department shall develop and maintain an Internet website or webpage providing information concerning recovery and rebuilding programs. At a minimum, the website shall:

(1) Allow an applicant to a recovery and rebuilding program to submit securely through the website a request for specific information on the current status of his or her application for assistance from a recovery and rebuilding program, to which the department shall respond by phone or by email within two business days.

(2) Provide a plain language explanation of every recovery and rebuilding program, all requirements to apply for and receive benefits, how to file appeals, and a description of the process necessary to correct any deficiency with an application.

(3) Provide contact information for each builder in the qualified contractor pool, including each builder's telephone number and Internet website address, and identify any builders that have been removed from the qualified contractor pool.

(4) Provide and update information regarding the expenditure of recovery and rebuilding program funds and related contracts on the Internet website on a monthly basis. A full and current explanation of the criteria and process by which recovery and rebuilding program applications are prioritized shall also appear on the website. Changes to program policy, information on new contractor awards, and the status of work performed pursuant to the contractor awards shall be posted on the Internet website.

(5) Provide information on how all recovery and rebuilding program funding has been and will be allocated on the Internet website, including information about the allocation process for all rounds of funding distribution; and:

(a) the total number of applications submitted for recovery and rebuilding program funding;

(b) the number of applicants that have received 50 percent or more of the recovery and rebuilding program grant money that the department has awarded them;

(c) the number of applicants that have received 100 percent of the recovery and rebuilding program grant money that the department has awarded them;

(d) the number of applicants that have completed recovery and rebuilding program-funded construction or elevation projects in compliance with local, State, and federal building codes and regulations; and

(e) the number of applicants that have received a final certificate of occupancy and grant closeout.

b. The department shall develop and publish on the Internet website a description of how it developed the timelines for the disbursement of recovery and rebuilding program assistance developed pursuant to sections 3, 7, and 8 of P.L.2015, c.102 (C.52:15D-5, C.52:15D-9, and C.52:15D-10). The department shall allow an applicant to request his or her individualized timeline for the disbursement of program funding, developed pursuant to sections 3, 7, and 8 of P.L.2015, c.102 (C.52:15D-5, C.52:15D-9, and C.52:15D-10), through the website, to which the department shall respond by phone or by email within two business days.

c. The department shall publish on the Internet website its quarterly goals for the disbursement of recovery and rebuilding program assistance developed pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2015, c.102 (C.52:15D-6).

d. The department shall publish on the Internet website the commissioner's report on the use of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds and other funds that may be available for similar purposes for interim assistance submitted to the Governor and Legislature pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2015, c.102 (C.52:15D-8).

e. In addition to publishing the information as required in this section, the department may distribute the information by any other method it deems appropriate.

f. (1) By the first day of the sixth month next following enactment of P.L.2017, c.15, the department shall publicly report:

(a) The reason for each application denial and wait-list placement from the RREM, TBRA, and LMI programs since the beginning of the recovery effort;

(b) After conducting a reasonable effort to contact withdrawn applicants, the reason for each withdrawal by an applicant from the RREM, TBRA, and LMI programs since the beginning of the recovery effort; and

(c) Concerning application denials, wait-list placements, and withdrawals from the RREM, TBRA, and LMI programs since the beginning of the recovery effort, information on where the associated funding has been allocated.

(2) On a quarterly basis, beginning with the enactment of P.L.2017, c.15, and continuing through the end of 2018, the department shall publicly report:

(a) The reason for each new application denial and wait-list placement from the RREM, TBRA, and LMI programs;

(b) After conducting a reasonable effort to contact withdrawn applicants, the reason for each new withdrawal by an applicant from the RREM, TBRA, and LMI programs; and

(c) Concerning new application denials, wait-list placements, and withdrawals from the RREM, TBRA, and LMI programs, information on where the associated funding is instead being allocated.

L.2015, c.102, s.5; amended 2017, c.15, s.3.