Urges federal government to revise official poverty measure to account for high cost of living, non-discretionary expenses, and cash and noncash income.

This New Jersey Senate Resolution (SR 48) urges federal agencies to update the official poverty measure, which has used a 1960s methodology unchanged for decades. The current measure only considers cash income against a food-cost-based threshold, ignoring regional cost-of-living differences, non-discretionary expenses (like medical costs or childcare), and noncash benefits (such as housing or food assistance). The resolution requests that the federal government revise the official measure to align with the existing Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which accounts for these factors. This would directly affect how poverty levels are calculated nationwide, influencing eligibility for federal and state assistance programs. The resolution has been referred to the Senate Health Committee and carries no binding effect.