Bill Text: NJ A4485 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires newly appointed members of boards of trustees of county colleges to complete training program concerning duties of board member.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A4485 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A4485-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Requires newly appointed members of boards of trustees of county colleges to complete training program concerning duties of board member.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the members of boards of trustees of county colleges and supplementing chapter 64A 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. An appointed member of the board of trustees of a county college who is appointed after the effective date of this act shall be required to complete a training program that is designed to clarify the roles and duties of a board of trustees member. The training program shall be developed or certified by the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education, and shall be at least six hours in length.
b. The training shall be completed no later than two years after the date that the person is first appointed as a member of the board of trustees of a county college.
c. The council, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education, shall:
(1) prescribe the subject matter of the training which shall include, but need not be limited to, governance responsibilities, ethical standards, due diligence, the requirements of the "Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.), and P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), the "County College Contracts Law," P.L.1982, c.189 (C.18A:64A-25.1 et seq.), applicable tenure statutes, budget development and approval processes, and a review of other types of financial, organizational, legal, and regulatory issues that a member of a board of trustees may be required to understand and consider in the course of discharging the member's governance responsibilities;
(2) provide the training directly or arrange for, or specify, the entity or entities to provide the training. The training may be delivered through in-person, online, or hybrid formats;
(3) conduct a periodic review of the prescribed subject matter of the training to ensure that the training includes information on relevant changes to State or federal law and other information deemed necessary to enable board of trustees members to serve effectively; and
(4) certify completion of the training for each appointed board of trustees member upon receipt of documentation thereof.
d. An appointed member of the board of trustees of a county college who does not complete the training program within the time period required under subsection b. of this section shall be ineligible for reappointment to the board or continued service after the expiration of the appointment term.
2. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires an appointed member of the board of trustees of a county college who is appointed after the bill's effective date to complete a training program developed or certified by the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education. The training program will be designed to clarify the roles and duties of a board of trustees member and will be at least six hours long.
Under the bill, the council, in consultation with the secretary, will prescribe the subject matter of the training which will include, but need not be limited to, information concerning the following: governance responsibilities, ethical standards, due diligence, the requirements of the "Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act," and the open public records law, the "County College Contracts Law," applicable tenure statutes, budget development and approval processes, and the types of financial, organizational, legal, and regulatory issues that a board of trustees member may be required to understand and consider in the course of discharging the member's governance responsibilities. The council may provide the training directly or arrange for, or specify the entity or entities to provide the training. The council will also certify completion of the training for each appointed board of trustees member.
The bill provides that the training must be completed no later than two years after the date that the person is first appointed as a member of the board of trustees. An appointed member of the board of trustees of a county college who does not complete the training program within the required time period will be ineligible for reappointment to the board or continued service after the expiration of the appointment term.
