ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4315

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JULY 27, 2020

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4315.

      This bill designates the third Friday in June in each year as Juneteenth Day and establishes it as a State holiday.

      Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved people of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and of their freedom.  The announcement from General Granger led to celebration and jubilation, which has continued each year in various forms throughout the United States for over 150 years.

      As reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 4315 is identical to Senate Bill No. 19, which was amended and reported by the committee on this date.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that the addition of a new State holiday will result in annual State expenditure increases of approximately $3 million for overtime costs.  This estimate is based on the fiscal estimate provided by the Executive regarding the elimination of the former Lincoln and Washington holidays and combining them into one holiday pursuant to P.L.2008, c.89.  No information regarding local cost increases for overtime is available.  Increased overtime costs of federally funded employees would be paid by the federal government.

      The OLS notes that these costs may be higher as of FY 2020 due to differences in contracts negotiated since 2009, including changes in salary, cost of living adjustments, and overtime pay rates.  This estimate also assumes similar staffing levels and overtime policies as in 2009.

      The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously stated that any savings from the reduction in State employee holidays would result from reduced overtime costs in the Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services, Department of Military Veterans’ Affairs, and the Juvenile Justice Commission.  Conversely, the OLS assumes that the addition of a State employee holiday will result in increased overtime costs in those same departments.