Bill Text: NJ S3394 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs State Treasurer to debit from State operating aid allocated to public research university amount equal to costs incurred by institution in implementing agreements reached with certain student protestors.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-06 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [S3394 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3394-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JON M. BRAMNICK
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Directs State Treasurer to debit from State operating aid allocated to public research university amount equal to costs incurred by institution in implementing agreements reached with certain student protestors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning aid to public research universities and supplementing chapter 62 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. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the State Treasurer shall debit from a public research university's State operating aid an amount equal to the costs incurred by the institution in implementing any agreements reached with students protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on October 7, 2023, including, but not limited to, costs associated with:
(1) the institution's acceptance of, and any institutional aid provided for, displaced Gazan students;
(2) establishing an Arab Cultural Center;
(3) establishing an educational and collaborative partnership with Birzeit University;
(4) hiring senior administrators with cultural competency and knowledge about Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobia;
(5) hiring additional professors specializing in Palestine studies and Middle East studies;
(6) establishing a center for Palestinian studies and the departmentalization of Middle East studies;
(7) displaying the flags of a country or territory that is controlled by a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the United States Secretary of State pursuant to 8 U.S.C. s.1189; and
(8) providing amnesty to students, student groups, faculty, and staff involved in anti-Semitic protests on the campus of the institution.
b. As used in this section, "public research university" means the same as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1994, c.48 (C.18A:3B-3).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the State Treasurer to debit from a public research university's State operating aid an amount equal to the costs incurred by the institution in implementing any agreements reached with students protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict that began on October 7, 2023.
Under the bill, aid is to be reduced by the costs associated with: (1) the institution's acceptance of, and any institutional aid provided for, displaced Gazan students; (2) establishing an Arab Cultural Center; (3) establishing an educational and collaborative partnership with Birzeit University; (4) hiring senior administrators with cultural competency and knowledge about Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobia; 5) hiring additional professors specializing in Palestine studies and Middle East studies; (6) establishing a center for Palestinian studies and the departmentalization of Middle East studies; (7) displaying the flags of a country or territory that is controlled by a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the United States Secretary of State; and (8) providing amnesty to students, student groups, faculty, and staff involved in anti-Semitic protests on the campus of the institution.
This bill is in response to encampments on the lawns of Voorhees Mall at Rutgers University-New Brunswick by students demanding various actions from the institution in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The sponsor notes that Rutgers negotiated with the trespassing students and came to agreements with students supporting a terrorist organization. The sponsor also notes that, if implemented, the agreements will require the spending of taxpayer dollars.
