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S 3812

Provides for tenant responses to applications for a major capital improvement rent increase

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Gustavo Rivera

The bill prevents the PFRS Board from withholding retirement or death benefits solely due to ongoing civil litigation, with limited exceptions.

REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
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Bill Summary · S 3812

Summary — S-3812 (Rivera)

Title: An Act concerning certain limitations on the receipt of retirement or death benefits granted under the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) and supplementing P.L.1944, c.255 (C.43:16A-1 et seq.)

Purpose / Intent

S-3812 narrows the circumstances under which the PFRS Board of Trustees may withhold (hold in abeyance) retirement or death benefits for members. It is intended to prevent the Board from withholding benefits solely because a member is party to pending civil litigation related to their employment, while preserving withholding authority for criminal and certain administrative cases and allowing benefit adjustments after litigation concludes.

Key provisions

  • Prohibits the PFRS Board from withholding retirement or death benefits solely because a member is a party to ongoing civil litigation.
  • Carve-out (floor amendment / reprint): the Board may withhold benefits where the civil litigation is the member’s challenge to a final Board determination that denied or adjusted the member’s benefits.
  • Preserves existing authority to withhold benefits when a member:
    • Is subject to criminal charges, or
    • Was dismissed from public employment due to administrative charges.
  • Codifies the Board’s authority to adjust retirement or death benefits based on the disposition of any legal proceeding involving the member.
  • Effective immediately upon enactment.

Who would be affected

  • Members and beneficiaries of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (active, retiring, and deceased-member beneficiaries).
  • PFRS Board of Trustees and the Department of the Treasury (which administers the system).
  • Potentially municipalities and employers who interface with PFRS cases and benefit determinations.

Fiscal and practical impact

  • Office of Legislative Services (OLS) fiscal estimate: Indeterminate potential annual loss of interest income to PFRS from undisbursed pension payments. Because fewer benefits may be held in abeyance, the system may lose interest income it previously earned on amounts awaiting litigation resolution. OLS could not quantify the amount due to lack of data on affected members, amounts, and litigation durations.
  • The bill leaves intact the Board’s ability to adjust benefits after legal outcomes, which could affect eventual outlays.

Procedural status & timeline (selected)

  • Introduced: Oct 21, 2024 (Senate).
  • Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee; reported favorably Dec 19, 2024.
  • Reported out of Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee: Mar 17, 2025.
  • Senate Amendment (Ruiz) adopted: Jun 2, 2025 (added carve-out for challenges to Board determinations).
  • Substituted by A5049 (2R): Jun 30, 2025.
  • Current listed status: Referred to Housing, Construction and Community Development (as of Jan 30, 2025 entry in bill history).

Sponsor and related measures

  • Primary sponsor: Sen. Gustavo Rivera.
  • Companion / related bills: A-5049 (companion; substituted), A-5533 (companion), prior-session measures A-8755, S-5317, S-3328, S-5659.

Notes

  • The bill expressly does not limit withholding for criminal charges or administrative dismissals.
  • The immediate effective date means any enactment would apply as soon as signed into law.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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