STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblyman EDWARD H. THOMSON
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Statewide Officials Committee to establish procedure allowing for more input from sports officials when setting fee schedule for officials.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution urging the Statewide Officials Committee to establish a procedure allowing for more input from sports officials when setting a fee schedule.
Whereas, By promoting sportsmanship and fair play, instilling the value of competition, fostering friendships and camaraderie, and providing healthy forms of exercise, interscholastic high school athletics often serve an important role in the development of students; and
Whereas, Although their contributions to interscholastic athletics are often overlooked, it is an undeniable fact that participation in interscholastic athletics would not be possible without the hard work, dedication, and commitment from the individuals who officiate the games; and
Whereas, Officials are passionate about the sports they represent and handle their responsibilities with the utmost professionalism, often having to pay for their own uniforms and drive great distances without reimbursement to officiate interscholastic athletic contests; and
Whereas, The Statewide Officials Committee, which is composed of representatives from every interscholastic athletic conference in New Jersey, develops and recommends a fee schedule for a three-year period for the officials of each high school sport which is then recommended for adoption by the athletic conferences; and
Whereas, The current three-year fee schedule for officials will come to a close at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. In its efforts to establish a new fee schedule, the committee asked that each sports officials’ organization submit a proposal for fees by August 1, 2016; and
Whereas, Although the committee solicited a fee proposal from each sports officials’ organization, the committee did not actually meet with the officials and it made its fee recommendations to each interscholastic athletic conference without any on-going dialogue with the sports officials’ organizations; and
Whereas, Many sports officials feel that the fee proposals submitted to the committee were not given due consideration prior to the committee making its fee recommendations, and there is currently no procedure in place for the sports officials’ organizations to appeal the committee’s recommendations; and
Whereas, Without a fair and adequate fee schedule, the ability to officiate scheduled games, and the ability to recruit and retain high quality sports officials, will be diminished, which will in turn negatively impact the otherwise positive experience of student athletes participating in interscholastic athletics; and
Whereas, The Statewide Officials Committee should establish a procedure when developing recommendations on fees that allows for more input from sports officials’ organizations and enables a sports officials’ organization to appeal the fee schedule developed by the committee for its sport prior to the recommendation of those fees to the interscholastic athletic conferences; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature urges the Statewide Officials Committee to establish a procedure when recommending fees for the officials who work at interscholastic athletic games which allows for more input from sports officials’ organizations and enables the organization to appeal the fee schedule developed by the committee prior to the recommendation of those fees to each interscholastic athletic conference.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to each member of the Statewide Officials Committee and to each public and nonpublic high school athletic director.
STATEMENT
This Assembly resolution urges the Statewide Officials Committee to establish a procedure when recommending a fee schedule for the officials who work at interscholastic athletic games, which allows for more input from sports officials’ organizations and enables the organization to appeal the fee schedule developed by the committee prior to the recommendation of those fees to each interscholastic athletic conference.
Although the contributions of sports officials to interscholastic athletics are often overlooked, it is an undeniable fact that participation in interscholastic athletics would not be possible without the hard work, dedication, and commitment from the individuals who officiate the games. Without a fair and adequate fee schedule, the ability to officiate scheduled games, and the ability to recruit and retain high quality sports officials, will be diminished, which will in turn negatively impact the otherwise positive experience of student athletes participating in interscholastic athletics.