Assembly committee releases bill to pilot 24/7 public-housing hotline

The Assembly Housing Committee on Monday voted to release Assembly Bill A4458, which directs the Department of Community Affairs to create a three-year pilot for a 24-hour, seven-day toll-free hotline through the Bureau of Housing Inspection for residents of select public housing authorities.

Sponsor Assemblywoman Broewind urged the committee to back the measure, saying it would give residents an anonymous, multilingual way to report hazards such as mold, broken elevators and heating outages and provide data to hold housing authorities accountable. "This is a concise, low-cost, high-impact tool for accountability," Broewind said, pointing to unresolved problems at Stanley Homes in Atlantic City that prompted federal intervention.

Under the bill, DCA would select one housing authority from each of the northern, central and southern regions as pilot sites. The hotline would be staffed to provide general and individualized information about laws, regulations and referral options; DCA must publish annual reports and a final assessment on whether to continue or expand the program.

A committee member asked whether a 24/7 hotline would produce on-the-ground repairs overnight and raised concerns about overtime and spoofed or false anonymous calls. Broewind acknowledged those risks and said guardrails and implementation details would be addressed as the pilot is designed.

The committee approved a motion to amend and release A4458; recorded votes show committee members voted in favor and the bill was released to the next stage.

The bill’s next step is to be scheduled for further legislative consideration and any implementing rules from DCA would follow if the measure advances.