Bill Text: NJ S3388 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Redirects $300 million in certain federal funds under FY 2023 appropriations act to create competitive capital project grant program in Office of Secretary of Higher Education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-12-15 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [S3388 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2022-S3388-Introduced.html

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SENATE, No. 3388

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

220th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED DECEMBER 15, 2022

 

 

Sponsored by:

Senator  MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Redirects $300 million in certain federal funds under FY 2023 appropriations act to create competitive capital project grant program in Office of Secretary of Higher Education.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  

An Act amending P.L.2022, c.49, the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

 

Whereas, The fiscal year 2023 appropriations act includes an overabundance of special appropriations that benefit specifically-named public and private organizations and groups; and

Whereas, These special, direct appropriations are included in the appropriations act without providing similar organizations and groups across the State the opportunity to earn these public dollars; and

Whereas, The fiscal year 2023 appropriations act inappropriately authorizes $300 million in federal funds to be allocated to Rutgers University for undisclosed capital needs while other institutions of higher education and postsecondary schools throughout the State have legitimate infrastructure needs that have been ignored; and

Whereas, These federal funds can be more fairly and efficiently allocated if the State makes them available to all institutions of higher education and other postsecondary schools on a competitive basis, which recognizes the needs of all of these educational entities and seeks regional balance in the distribution of monies; and 

Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper that the State redirect the $300 million currently available only to Rutgers University for its capital needs, to create a competitive grant program that can make monies available to all institutions of higher education in the State; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The language provisions in section 1 of P.L.2022, c.49, the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, are amended to read as follows:

 

FEDERAL FUNDS

Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, moneys are appropriated from the federal "Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund" (SFRF) established pursuant to the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," Pub. L. 117-2, in the following amounts for the following purposes without the additional approval by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee:

Program	Agency	Appropriation
TOTAL	[$1,763,447,000] $1,463,447,000
[Rutgers University - Capital Needs	State	$300,000,000]
Water Infrastructure	DEP	300,000,000
Home Lead Paint Remediation	DCA	170,000,000
UPK Facilities Fund (SDA)	DOE	120,000,000
Rebuild by Design Hoboken	DEP	100,000,000
Liberty State Park	IDA	50,000,000
Capital Improvements, Statewide	IDA	50,000,000
Enrollment Based Payment Extension	DHS	48,000,000
Resident Services Upgrades	OIT	40,000,000
Railroad and Bus Operations (NJ Transit Improvements)	DOT	40,000,000
Overlook Medical Center - Emergency Department Renovation	DOH	35,000,000
Child Care Facilities Fund	EDA	30,000,000
Real Estate Projects Fund - Property Assemblage	EDA	30,000,000
Revolutionary War State Owned Historic Sites	Treasury	25,000,000
Greenway Planning, Development, and Remediation	DEP	20,000,000
Maternal and Infant Health Center Capital	EDA	20,000,000
Middlesex County College	Treasury	20,000,000
Middlesex County Improvement Authority	DCA	20,000,000
Union County Improvement Authority	DCA	20,000,000
Kean University Science Buildings	State	20,000,000
Arts Support and Placemaking	EDA	15,000,000
Unemployment Processing Modernization and Improvements	DOL	15,000,000
IHE Mental Health Provider Grants	OSHE	15,000,000
State Building Electrification Pilot	Treasury	10,000,000
Increased County Jail Population due to COVID	DOC	10,000,000
RWJ Barnabas Health - Mobile Health Division	DOH	10,000,000
Gap Financing - Real Estate Projects Funding	EDA	10,000,000
Telehealth Mental Health Supports	OSHE	10,000,000
Resident Services Upgrades	MVC	9,000,000
Capital Health - Satellite Emergency Department, Trenton	DOH	8,000,000
Paulsboro Port Road Paving	DOT	8,000,000
Virtua Health - Hospital Infrastructure and Workforce Education	DOH	8,000,000
Ferry Terminal Support - Carteret	NJT	8,000,000
Ferry Terminal Support - South Amboy	NJT	8,000,000
Irvington Park	DCA	7,500,000
Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit	DCA	7,500,000
School Linked Services Federal Revenue Planning	DCF	6,500,000
Newark Pedestrianization	DCA	6,500,000
Universal Newborn Home Visitation	DCF	6,000,000
Office of Eviction Prevention	DCA	5,500,000
Assertive Community Treatment Pilot	DCF	5,000,000
New Jersey Performing Arts Center - Community Center	IDA	5,000,000
Centralized Advertising Budget	DHS	5,000,000
South Toms River Landfill	DEP	5,000,000
Elizabeth, Storm Recovery Support	DCA	5,000,000
Atlantic County Airport	DCA	5,000,000
Stormwater Drainage Repair & Replacement - NJ State Prison	DOC	5,000,000
Inspira Health - Hospital Infrastructure and Workforce Education	DOH	5,000,000
Cooper University Hospital - Ronald McDonald House Southern New Jersey	DOH	5,000,000
Carrier Clinic - Inpatient Behavioral Health Expansion	DOH	5,000,000
St. Peter's Hospital - Family Health Center	DOH	5,000,000
Coriell Institute for Medical Research - New Research Facility	DOH	5,000,000
Rowan University-Rutgers Camden Board of Governors	State	5,000,000
The New Valley Hospital - Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness	DOH	5,000,000
COVID Respite Services	DCF	4,300,000
County Area Agencies on Aging	DHS	4,000,000
Port Liberte Ferry Terminal	NJT	4,000,000
Developing Resiliency with Engaging Approaches to Maximize Success (DREAMS)	DOE	3,600,000
Educator and Staff Training Initiatives	DOE	3,300,000
Hudson County Jail	DOC	3,200,000
Worker Experience & Service Delivery	OOI	3,200,000
Veterans Haven North HVAC System	MVA	2,930,000
Teen Mental Health First Aid Pilot	DHS	2,700,000
Neighborhood Preservation Program	DCA	2,500,000
Potable Water Treatment Improvements - New Lisbon/Hunterdon	DHS	2,417,000
Higher Education Peer Counseling	DHS	2,400,000
State Police - Storage Warehouses	LPS	2,200,000
Manufacturing Initiative - Workforce Development	DOL	2,000,000
CareWell Health - Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Facility	DCA	2,000,000
United in Care	DCA	1,500,000
Mental Health First Aid	DHS	1,500,000
Society for Prevention of Teen Suicide	DCF	1,200,000
Employer Supports CC&R Agency Support	DHS	1,000,000
IHE MH Professional Development	OSHE	1,000,000
Former State Buildings Planning Study	Treasury	1,000,000

 

Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, $300,000,000 from funding allocated to the State from the federal "Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund" established pursuant to the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," Pub.L.117-2, is appropriated to the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education for the purpose of establishing a competitive capital project grant program without the additional approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee. Public and independent institutions of higher education and proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees shall be eligible to apply to the office for grant funds. The purpose of the grant program shall be to award funds that support eligible institutions or schools in addressing capital needs, with priority for funding given to capital projects that enhance student safety and those that prepare students for successful careers in high-growth jobs as determined by the office. An eligible institution or school shall apply to the office in accordance with application guidelines and procedures prescribed by the office. To the maximum extent possible, funds awarded under the grant program shall be allocated equally among the northern, central, and southern regions of the State. Funding for the capital project grant program shall be made available subject to a determination by the Executive Director of the Governor's Disaster Recovery Office that the proposed use of the funds is an eligible purpose under the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021," and subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting.

 

     2.  This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill redirects $300 million in federal funds, which are currently provided to Rutgers University for capital needs under the fiscal year 2023 appropriations act, to create a competitive capital project grant program in the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. The $300 million provided to Rutgers University is from funding allocated to the State from the federal "Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund" established pursuant to the federal "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021."

     The purpose of the grant program would be to award funds that support eligible institutions or schools in addressing capital needs, with priority for funding given to capital projects that enhance student safety and those that prepare students for successful careers in high-growth jobs. Under the bill, public and independent institutions of higher education, as well as proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees, would be eligible to apply for funds. The bill stipulates that funds awarded under the grant program would be allocated equally among the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, to the maximum extent possible.