Russ Zimmer

@RussZimmer

UPDATE: The Legislature won't be meeting today, as all state offices are closed because of the weather. This means the deadline for Christie to take action on the Sandy foreclosure bill is pushed to Monday, the next day the Assembly and Senate are scheduled to be in session.

Time is running out on financially strapped prospective beneficiaries of the Sandy relief bill.

The owners of at least 2,800 New Jersey homes being rebuilt after superstorm Sandy — and possibly tens of thousands more whose properties were less impacted — would be eligible for foreclosure protection under legislation on Gov. Chris Christie's desk, with a Thursday deadline for action.

One of the bill's co-sponsors, state Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, sounded pessimistic.

"I think the fact that it hasn’t been signed yet signals that he may have some issues with it," Beck told the Asbury Park Press Tuesday afternoon.

In a flurry of activity Monday, Christie signed or vetoed 19 bills. Not included in that bunch was A-333, which was sent to his office on Dec. 19.

Christie must make up his mind by noon on Thursday. If he does nothing, the bill becomes law without his participation. He could also sign it, or issue a conditional veto or outright veto. The governor's spokesman declined to comment ahead of the deadline.

The measure would offer temporary foreclosure protection to Sandy victims who have been approved for assistance through the state's Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) and RREM's sister program for low- and moderate-income homeowners — so long as they were current on their mortgage payment as of August 2015. People who received rental assistance from FEMA would also be eligible.

It's the inclusion of that last group that has raised the eyebrows of the state's banking sector. More than 61,400 households received rental assistance from FEMA after Sandy.

“Under this bill, it’s very, very broad, it offers relief for people who don’t need relief," said Mike Affuso, a lobbyist for the New Jersey Bankers Association. "We don’t necessarily have a problem with it if you’re going to narrowly tailor (the bill), if you're going to focus on actual harm that is happening right now.”

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Forced from their homes by the floodwaters, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of displaced Shore homeowners found the addition of monthly rent — for their post-storm home — to their monthly mortgage bill became toxic to their financial health.

More than 300 homes in Sandy-affected zones in Monmouth and Ocean counties slipped into foreclosure in 2014 alone, according to a Press analysis. One homeowner talks about the bill-paying struggles brought about by the storm in the video above.

Joe Karcz, a Stafford man who has been a frequent critic of Christie since the storm wrecked his home, said he's been ripped off and tapped out during his endeavor to rebuild. The foreclosure moratorium in this bill would give him some breathing room, he said.

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"I'm sleeping on a bed made out of cinder blocks and plywood," he told the Press this week. "Last month I couldn't pay my mortgage. This bill would give me a break — I'd be able to help finish the work, get some furniture, and get home."

More than 7,600 properties have advanced to at least the construction phase of RREM, with 4,800 of those having been rebuilt at this point. The remaining 2,806 would be among the primary beneficiaries of A-333.

This is the second time a foreclosure protection bill for Sandy victims has been presented to the governor for his signature. He conditionally vetoed the last one, saying that judges should decide whose mortgage qualifies for the program, not the state Department of Community Affairs.

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The current proposal retains the involvement of the DCA: Homeowners would apply to the DCA commissioner for certification to stop any foreclosure actions.

Thursday marks the 1,565th day since Sandy charged ashore and changed the Jersey Shore forever. Ocean and Monmouth counties were ground zero for the destruction.

Beck, who sponsored a similar bill last year, was hopeful that the state could still help to provide some foreclosure relief, but she also acknowledged that it is coming late in the game.

"This legislation should have been done four and a half years ago," she said. "I'm not saying it's not impactful now; it is, but (this) should have advanced after the hurricane."

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com