Sponsored by:
Senator PAUL A. SARLO
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Oroho, O'Scanlon, Thompson and Testa
SYNOPSIS
Appropriates $500,000 for USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee to support commissioning of boat and assigned personnel.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Supplement to the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations act, P.L.2021, c.133.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The following language is added to P.L.2021, c.133, the annual appropriations act for Fiscal Year 2022:
67 DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
10 Public Safety and Criminal Justice
14 Military Services
GRANTS-IN-AID
In addition to the amounts hereinabove appropriated, there is appropriated from the General Fund an amount not to exceed $500,000 for the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee, which amount shall be used by the committee to fund traditional Commissioning Week activities. The expenditure of the amount appropriated for the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee is subject to the approval of the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs of an itemized plan for the expenditure, as shall be submitted by the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee. Any amount unexpended shall be donated for the support of personnel and their families and for the funding of existing or the creation of new United States Navy scholarship programs.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill appropriates up to $500,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs for the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee. The appropriation is to support the commissioning of the USS New Jersey and the officers and crew assigned to the boat. A ship’s commissioning is an historic event that brings together our military, veterans, and local community with significant economic benefits for the surrounding region.
In May 2015, the Secretary of the Navy announced that the SSN-796, a Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine would be named after the State of New Jersey, becoming the third Naval vessel to carry the name. The BB-16, a Virginia-class battleship and a member of the Great White Fleet, was the first ship to bear the name the U.S.S. New Jersey and the BB-62, an Iowa-class battleship, better known as the Battleship New Jersey, the official State Ship, was the second ship to bear the name the U.S.S. New Jersey. The Battleship New Jersey is now a museum and memorial moored on the Camden City Waterfront.
The submarine is currently scheduled for delivery to the Navy in 2022. Contributions to the USS New Jersey Commissioning Committee support traditional Commissioning Week activities, visits to the State by crewmembers, and habitability upgrades to the boat for the crew.