As dinosaurian computer languages go, COBOL is probably from the Triassic era. But it's also an example of, "If it's not broke, don't fix it." COBOL became so useful and ubiquitous that users kept using their existing programs instead of reinventing the wheel.
Thing is, at some point, probably well over a decade ago, users should have rewritten, verified, and alpha-tested functions written in COBOL before user volume or other stresses "broke" the COBOL program, resulting in an emergency situation in which haste would almost certain cause waste, if not chaos. I seriously doubt NJ is the only state or institution that let this major update effort slide.
As I posted long ago on a techie discussion site, by the time the can everybody kept kicking down the road hits the wall, the people who kept kicking it down the road are in higher offices or retired, where they won't have to deal with the problem of the can.