LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE

[Second Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 3864

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

 

DATED: DECEMBER 26, 2025

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Synopsis:

Requires Commissioner of Education to establish employment web portal and virtual applicant profile system

Type of Impact:

Potential annual State expenditure increase.

Agencies Affected:

Department of Education.

 

 

Office of Legislative Services Estimate

Fiscal Impact

Year 1 

Year 2 and Thereafter 

 

Potential State Expenditure Increase

$100,000 to $500,000

Indeterminate

 

 

·       The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concludes that this bill may result in increased annual costs to the Department of Education for the establishment and maintenance of an educator employment web portal and a virtual applicant profile system through which an individual may seek employment in a public school.  Costs incurred by the department may be limited to the extent that it uses existing resources to reconstruct an existing website or portal, as permitted by the bill. 

·       If the department builds a new web portal or virtual applicant profile system without using existing resources, or contracts with a third-party vendor to do so, the OLS estimates initial startup costs in the range of $100,000 to $500,000.

·       Maintenance costs following the initial year of implementation are indeterminate.

 

BILL DESCRIPTION

 

      The bill requires the Department of Education to establish and maintain an educator employment web portal and virtual applicant profile system.  The web portal would aggregate job postings from public schools and approved private schools for students with disabilities across the State to allow educators to search for positions in one place and provide direct links to school-specific application systems for submission. The bill authorizes the department to contract with a private vendor to establish and maintain the web portal and the virtual applicant profile system.  The bill also allows for the department to reconstruct an existing website or web portal that it operates in order to meet the requirements of the bill for both the web portal and virtual applicant profile system.

 

 

FISCAL ANALYSIS

 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

 

      None received.

 

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES

 

      The OLS concludes that this bill may result in increased annual costs to the Department of Education for the establishment and maintenance of an educator employment web portal and virtual applicant profile system through which an individual may seek employment in a public school and certain private schools.  Costs as a result of the bill may be reduced to the extent the department uses existing resources and staff to reconstruct an existing website or portal, as permitted by the bill. 

      If the department builds a new web portal and virtual applicant profile system without using existing resources, or contracts with a third-party vendor to do so, the OLS estimates initial startup costs in the range of $100,000 to $500,000.  However, costs may be higher or lower than this range depending on the complexity of the features integrated into the web portal and virtual applicant system.  With respect to costs on the higher end of the range, the OLS researched the costs of various information technology projects implemented in the State and outside of the State.  The initial start-up expenditures for the Teen Summer Working Hours Database, which enables minors to register for work permits, totaled slightly over $513,000 in FY 2023.  The OLS found that the Louisiana Office of Technology Services spent approximately $700,000 to construct a comprehensive website that provides information to the public about data and reports of state expenditures, contracts, incentive expenditures, revenues, and other financial matters.  The OLS assumes that the web portal contemplated in the bill would not need this level of functionality.  On the other end of the spectrum, the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration estimated, in a recent fiscal note, the initial costs to create a state grant database at $135,000.  While it is not known how specifically these projects may compare to the web portal and virtual applicant system to be established under the bill, the OLS provides information on these various costs for informational purposes.  

      The costs to maintain the web portal and virtual applicant profile system following the initial year of implementation are indeterminate.  The magnitude of the maintenance costs again could vary depending on factors such as the extent to which current resources and staff are deployed to maintain an existing, reconstructed website or portal or, conversely, whether a new portal or virtual applicant profile system is maintained by departmental staff or by a contracted third-party vendor.

 

Section:

Education

Analyst:

Humphrey Akujobi

Assistant Fiscal Analyst

Approved:

Thomas Koenig

Legislative Budget and Finance Officer

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).