8. a. Monies in the Community Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program Revolving Loan Fund (1) shall be used in accordance with the provisions of the STORM Act and sections 1 through 8 of P.L.2023, c.63 (C. 58:11B-20.3 et al.) for the purpose of providing loans or other financial assistance for hazard mitigation and resilience projects undertaken by State entities, local government units, and nonprofit organizations, and (2) shall be supplemental to, and not intended to take the place of, funding that otherwise would be appropriated to State agencies, local government units, or nonprofit organizations for hazard mitigation and resilience projects.

b. The bank may provide loans or other financial assistance from the fund to local government units and nonprofit organizations to (1) supplement, as allowable under federal law, rule, or regulation, funding received from other federal resilience grant programs, including the Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC) program, the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Mitigation program, and (2) participate in the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ Flood Risk Management Program.

c. (1) The bank may provide loans or other financial assistance from the fund to local government units for the purpose of establishing a program to provide loan funds to private property owners to use for hazard mitigation and resilience projects for a building. Hazard mitigation projects for private property owners shall include, but not be limited to, wind retrofit, flood mitigation elevation, floodproofing, fire retrofit mitigation, hurricane retrofit mitigation projects, and any other eligible projects pursuant to the STORM Act.

(2) Repayment of a loan provided by a local government unit to a private property owner may be collected in the same manner as property taxes and shall be collateralized by a lien on the real property that is the site of the hazard mitigation and resilience project. A property owner may sell property after receiving a loan pursuant to this subsection, provided that the property owner repays the loan.

(3) To the extent permitted by federal law, a local government unit that provides loans to private property owners pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall establish a graduated loan forgiveness program that shall, at minimum:

(a) provide full loan forgiveness for eligible households with income between 80 percent and 50 percent of the median income for the municipality in which the property to which the loan applies is located;

(b) provide 50 percent loan forgiveness for eligible households with income between 80 percent to 100 percent of the median income for the municipality in which the property to which the loan applies is located; and

(c) provide additional loan forgiveness percentages for households not covered by subparagraph (a) or (b) of this paragraph, based on:

(i) the number of private property owners with loans issued pursuant to this subsection that are outstanding;

(ii) the availability of funding; and

(iii) any other factor that the local government unit, in consultation with the State Office of Emergency Management, finds reasonable and necessary.

d. The bank may provide grants or other financial assistance to nonprofit organizations for hazard mitigation and resilience projects.

e. The bank shall, taking into consideration and in accordance with the requirements of the STORM Act, establish, in consultation with the State Office of Emergency Management, application procedures and eligibility criteria for State entities, local government units, and nonprofit organizations to receive loans or other financial assistance from the fund. The eligibility criteria shall require that an applicant demonstrate:

(1) the need for the loan or other financial assistance to address hazard mitigation; and

(2) the ability to repay the loan or other financial assistance, if required, at a later date.

f. Long-term loans provided from the fund shall be for a fixed loan period and shall comply with all applicable requirements of the STORM Act and any rules, regulations, or guidelines adopted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency governing funding provided pursuant to the STORM Act. The bank shall establish terms for providing assistance from the fund, including short-term loans for planning, design, and construction, below-market interest rates, deferred payment schedules, and other provisions that will enable these funds to be used effectively.

L.2023, c.63, s.8.