STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Amends Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations act to include number of degrees awarded to veterans in Outcomes-Based Allocation funding for senior public institutions of higher education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act amending the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations act, P.L.2019, c.150.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The following language provision in section 1 of P.L.2019, c.150, the annual appropriations act for Fiscal Year 2020, is amended to read as follows:
74 DEPARTMENT OF STATE
30 Educational, Cultural, and Intellectual Development
36 Higher Educational Services
Higher Educational Services
GRANTS-IN-AID
Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, the amounts hereinabove appropriated for the Outcomes-Based Allocation program in each of the senior public institutions of higher education shall be allocated and distributed to eligible senior public institutions based on a funding rationale that takes into consideration: (1) the total number of degrees awarded by the institution, (2) the number of degrees awarded by the institution to individuals from underrepresented ethnic and racial minority groups, [and] (3) the percentage of students at the institution who qualify for need-based financial aid awards at the State and federal levels, and (4) the number of degrees awarded by the institution to veterans; provided, however, that institutions receiving awards shall be required to: (1) commit to the principles of the State Plan for Higher Education, (2) adopt a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet for all undergraduate students, (3) participate in good faith discussions led by the Secretary of Higher Education to improve future distribution of funding to institutions consistent with State priorities, (4) share program-level spending information to assist in the distribution of future funding, and (5) such other requirements determined to be appropriate by the Secretary of Higher Education, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting. Of the amounts hereinabove appropriated for the Outcomes-Based Allocation program in each of the senior public institutions of higher education, the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting may transfer such amounts among the senior public institutions of higher education as are determined to be necessary to effectuate the funding rationale for the Outcomes-Based Allocation program.
2. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 appropriations act includes a total of $35 million in Outcomes-Based Allocation grants to each of the senior public institutions of higher education in the State.
A language provision in the FY 2020 appropriations act stipulates that the Outcomes-Based Allocation grant for each institution is based on a funding rationale that takes into consideration the total number of degrees awarded by the institution, the number of degrees awarded to individuals from underrepresented ethnic and racial minority groups, and the percentage of students at the institution who qualify for State and federal needs-based financial aid awards. In practice, each institution’s FY 2020 Outcomes-Based Allocation is a proportional share of $35 million equal to its percentage of all institutions’ number of degrees awarded in FY 2018, its number of degrees awarded to individuals from underrepresented ethnic and racial minority backgrounds in FY 2018, and its number of federal Pell Grant recipients in the 2017-2018 academic year.
This bill would amend the language provision related to the Outcomes-Based Allocation program to include the number of degrees awarded to veterans as a factor in the funding rationale. The bill also provides that, of the amounts appropriated for the Outcomes-Based Allocation program in each of the senior public institutions of higher education, the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting may transfer such amounts among the senior public institutions of higher education as are determined to be necessary to effectuate the funding rationale for the Outcomes-Based Allocation program.