ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5328

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 23, 2023

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5328.

      As amended, this bill provides that a school district that is subject to a reduction in State school aid under P.L.2018, c.67 (commonly referred to as “S2”) for the 2023-2024 school year will receive a one-time only amount of Supplemental Stabilization Aid. The aid provided under the bill would ensure that the district’s State school aid in the 2023-2024 school year is equal to 66 percent of the difference between the amount of aid received in the 2022-2023 school year and the amount of aid proposed for the 2023-2024 school year. To receive the aid provided under the bill, a school district is required to submit to the Commissioner of Education, in a manner and form to be prescribed by the commissioner, a written plan explaining how the district intends to fund operations in future school years in which the district does not receive Stabilization Aid or similar supplemental State school aid. A county vocational school district that receives vocational expansion stabilization aid in the 2023-2024 school year is not eligible to receive Supplemental Stabilization Aid under the bill.

      The amended bill appropriates a sum from the Property Tax Relief Fund to the Department of Education and provides a list of school districts eligible to receive additional aid under the bill as well as the amount of additional aid to be provided to each district. A total of 168 districts are eligible under the amended bill to receive a share of $103.0 million in additional aid.

      As reported by the committee, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No. 3732, which was amended and reported by the committee on this same date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to revise the list of districts eligible to receive Supplemental Stabilization aid, revise aid estimates for certain districts, and increase the appropriation from $102.8 to $103.0 million. The committee also amended the bill to revise the
effective date of the bill and to clarify that a county vocational school district that receives vocational expansion stabilization aid in the 2023-2024 school year is not eligible to receive Supplemental Stabilization Aid under the bill.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill is not certified as requiring a fiscal note.