NJ Senate Considers Affordable Housing Overhaul

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- The New Jersey Senate is set to consider a bill to overhaul New Jersey's affordable housing laws.

The bill would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing, eliminate a 2.5 percent fee on commercial development and reduce some municipalities' obligations to provide housing for low- and moderate-income families.

The Senate and Assembly versions are not identical, so if the Senate passes it Monday, it must still be reconciled before final passage.

New Jersey has struggled with how to provide low- and moderate-income housing since a 1975 court case known as the Mount Laurel decision successfully challenged exclusionary zoning in the Garden State.

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