SENATE, No. 3712

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED MAY 6, 2021

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  STEVEN V. OROHO

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

Senator  MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Thompson, O'Scanlon and Schepisi

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Amends provisions concerning federal emergency and economic stimulus funds in State appropriations act ending June 30, 2021.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act to amend the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations act, P.L.2020, c.97.

 

     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.2020, c.97, the annual State appropriations act for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2021, is amended to read as follows:

 

In addition to the federal funds appropriated in this act, there are appropriated the following federal funds, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting: [emergency disaster aid funds including grants for preventive measures;] pass-through grants to political subdivisions of the State over which the State is not permitted to exercise discretion in the use or distribution of the funds and for which no State matching funds are required; the first $500,000 of unanticipated grant awards plus an additional 25 percent of any remaining award amount that is greater than $500,000, and up to 25 percent of increases in previously anticipated grant awards for which no State matching funds are required except, for the purpose of this section, federal funds received by one executive agency that are ultimately expended by another executive agency shall not be considered pass-through grants; federal financial aid funds for students attending post-secondary educational institutions in excess of the amount specifically appropriated, and any such grants intended to prevent threats to homeland security up to 100 percent of previously anticipated or unanticipated grant award amounts for which no State matching funds are required, provided, however, that the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting shall notify the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer of such grants.

 

     2.    The following language provision in section 1 of P.L.2020, c.97, the annual State appropriations act for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2021, is repealed:

 

[Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, in addition to the federal funds hereinabove appropriated, there are appropriated to the appropriate executive agencies, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, such additional federal funds received during this fiscal year pursuant to any federal law authorizing a federal economic stimulus program or any other similar federal program for the purposes, projects, and programs set forth in such law; provided, however, that if the federal law does not delineate the specific purposes, projects, and programs to be funded by the federal funds, the purposes, projects, and programs to be funded by the federal funds shall be subject to the approval of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, and further provided, however, that the State Treasurer shall report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, and the Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee at least quarterly on the receipt and utilization of all additional federal funds received during this fiscal year pursuant to any federal law authorizing a federal economic stimulus program].

 

     3.    This act shall take effect immediately upon enactment and shall apply to the remainder of the of the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2021.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill amends provisions in the State appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 that appropriate money received from the federal government for emergency aid or economic stimulus. 

     The annual appropriations act provides appropriations for money anticipated to be received from the federal government for various purposes. Included in the annual appropriations act are provisions appropriating “emergency disaster aid” and “economic stimulus” that the State may receive from the federal government during the fiscal year. Except in broad terms, these two provisions do not provide a lot of specifics on how to spend such funding. In most fiscal years, the broad appropriation terms do not affect a significant amount of money, and when they do, the federal grants usually have their own limits in place that narrow the State’s discretion over the scope of the spending. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government granted billions of dollars more to the State than in prior years, and much of it with less specific requirements about what the funding may be used for. As a result, the broad appropriation for “emergency disaster aid” and “economic stimulus” covers significantly more funding than in most other years, and grants far greater latitude to the Governor than was anticipated when these language provisions were first included in a State appropriations act.

     In an effort to require a more specific appropriation of the additional billions of dollars of federal funding, this bill eliminates the broad appropriation provisions for “emergency disaster aid” and
“economic stimulus” from the appropriations act governing the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The spending of such funds would thus require additional Legislative enactment.