Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Appropriates $250,000 from societal benefits charge revenues for grants to community colleges and vocational schools to create training programs on electric, compressed natural gas, and liquefied petroleum vehicle conversions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act appropriating $250,000 from societal benefits charge revenues for grants to create training programs for electric, compressed natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas vehicle conversions.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any provisions of section 12 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60) to the contrary, or any rule, regulation, or order adopted pursuant thereto, in the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2014, of the amounts appropriated to the Board of Public Utilities from funds collected through the societal benefits charge imposed pursuant to that section, there shall be appropriated $250,000 to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to fund the payment of grants to community colleges and vocational schools located within the State for the creation of training programs which educate students about the conversion of vehicles into “zero emission vehicles” as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.2003, c.266 (C.26:2C-8.16), compressed natural gas vehicles, or liquefied petroleum gas vehicles, and about the maintenance of such vehicles. This grant program shall be administered by the department or an organization designated by the department with experience administering comparable grant programs.
Within one year after the department completes the disbursement of grant monies, the department shall issue a report to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), which provides the number of applicants applying for training program grants, the number of applicants receiving grants, the average grant amount awarded, the methods and procedures used to determine grant recipients, a description of the training programs awarded grants under the program, and any other information the department deems relevant in evaluating the grant program.
2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2014 and shall expire on the 30th day following submission to the Legislature of the report required to be issued pursuant to section 1 of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill appropriates $250,000 to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development from funds that are collected through the societal benefits charge and appropriated to the Board of Public Utilities. The $250,000 would be used by the department to provide grants to community colleges and vocational schools for the creation of training programs. The training programs would educate students about the conversion of vehicles to “zero emission vehicles” such as electric cars, compressed natural gas vehicles, or liquefied petroleum gas vehicles, and about the maintenance of such vehicles. The grant program would be administered by either the department or an organization designated by the department with experience running similar grant programs. The department is required to report to the Legislature, once the full $250,000 has been disbursed, on the number of applicants applying for training program grants, the number of applicants receiving grants, the average grant amount provided, the methods and procedures used to determine grant recipients, a description of the training programs that received grants, and any other information the department deems relevant in evaluating the grant program.