TRENTON -- A bipartisan pair of state senators have teamed up to take on New Jersey's worst landlords, crafting a bill that would deny them subsidies for egregious safety or sanitary violations, according to a report.

State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex) and state Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) have drafted what they call the Safe Subsidized Rental Housing Bill of Rights, which would deny government payments to slumlords exploiting those on public assistance.

Beck told NJ 101.5 FM on Wednesday that the two lawmakers have seen rental "housing where rats, cockroaches, fecal matter, urine, strewn across these living arrangements where little children and families are trying to make a life" while landlords continue to get paid subsidies by the federal or state government regardless.

The new bill, which has moved out of the community and urban affairs committee unanimously, would allow the state to withhold a portion or all of the rent for any unit so that the landlord is forced to take action, or failing that, allow tenants to use it to make the repairs themselves.

The legislation would also deny slumlords the ability to hide behind shell corporations and post offce boxes, and would mandate that contact information be provided so that "local code enforcement, state and federal inspectors can track down the people who own the properties" that are responsible for remediation.

The bill now heads to the full senate for consideration.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.