Bill Text: NJ A2811 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits four-year public and independent institutions of higher education from requiring students to purchase meal plans and permits the institutions to only offer meal plans in the form of a spending allowance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-12-01 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [A2811 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A2811-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman CELESTE M. RILEY
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Assemblyman VINCENT MAZZEO
District 2 (Atlantic)
Assemblywoman NANCY J. PINKIN
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits four-year public and independent institutions of higher education from requiring students to purchase meal plans and permits the institutions to only offer meal plans in the form of a spending allowance.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning meal plans at four-year institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A four-year public institution of higher education or independent institution of higher education shall not require any student enrolled in the institution to purchase a meal plan.
b. A four-year public institution of higher education or independent institution may only offer a meal plan in the form of a spending allowance, which performs as a debit system. Any funds remaining in the student's spending allowance at the end of a semester shall be either refunded to the student or applied to the student's spending allowance for the next semester.
c. This section shall not apply to any four-year independent institution of higher education with a total endowment of more than $1,000,000,000.
2. This act shall take effect immediately but shall first apply to students in the 2014-2015 academic year.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits any four-year public or independent institution of higher education from requiring any student enrolled in the institution to purchase a meal plan. In addition, the bill provides that the only type of meal plan that an institution may offer its students, is a one designed as a spending allowance, which works similar to a bank debit card. Each time the student makes a purchase the total would be subtracted from the balance of the student's account. At the end of the semester, if there are any funds remaining in the account, a student would have the option of either receiving a refund or having the remaining funds "rolled over" into the student's spending allowance for the following semester.
The provisions of this bill would not apply to Princeton University.
