New Jersey panel clears bill for Sandy aid repayments

New Jersey lawmakers are working on ways to help protect Superstorm Sandy victims who are told they received too much financial assistance and must pay it back.

A committee on Monday approved a bill that would require the Department of Community Affairs to notify homeowners who were overpaid. The bill establishes clear options for repayment, sets limits based on income and allows the agency to consider hardships. It also creates an appeals process.

The bill’s sponsors say they learned about the repayments during a hearing that examined the storm’s aftermath and how the state administered more than $1 billion in federal Housing and Urban Development funds.