SENATE MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1580

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 12, 2023

      The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1580.

      As amended, this bill provides that a member of the United States military or his dependent who lives in New Jersey and is attending a county college established by the county in which the member resides or is stationed must be charged the county resident tuition rate.  Currently, many military members and their dependents maintain out-of-county or out-of-State addresses.  As a result, these military members and their dependents do not qualify for the resident tuition rate at their local county college.  In most county colleges in the State, the county resident tuition rate is significantly lower than the nonresident tuition rate.

      Current law at N.J.S.A.18A:62-4.1 provides that those members of the military who are enrolled in public institutions of higher education are considered State residents for the purposes of qualifying for in-State tuition.  This benefit is also extended to the dependents of military members.  This bill will ensure that military personnel and their dependents receive a similar in-county tuition benefit.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

      The committee amended the effective date of the bill.  The amendment removed reference to the 2022-2023 academic year, and made the effective date the academic year beginning after the effective date of the bill.