ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY, No. 3027

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  JUNE 16, 2021

 

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 3027.

      This bill provides for a minimum allocation of $3 million from the Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills (SWFBS) to an account in that fund dedicated to the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development.  Currently, section 1 of P.L.2001, c.152 (C.34:15D-21) requires that 13 percent of all moneys appropriated to the fund, accumulated interested, and cash from other sources be allocated to the account for the consortium, but that 13 percent allocation has resulted in less than $3 million being available to the consortium. 

      Under the bill, if the 13 percent allocation is insufficient to raise $3 million for the consortium, an additional amount would be deposited into the account for the consortium such that the total available amount would be $3 million.  That additional amount would be transferred to the consortium account from the four accounts of the SWFBS for which 87 percent of moneys in the SWFBS are otherwise allocated for the use of: (1) basic skills training provided at one stop careers centers; (2) basic skills grants to individuals; (3) grants to other consortia providing basic skills training; and (4) expenses related to the administration of the fund as well as any other basic skills training and grant costs at the discretion of the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.

      This bill also expands the definition of basic skills within the context of the SWFBS to include new technology topics and topics for entry level managers.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.