SENATE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4372

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  NOVEMBER 17, 2025

      The Senate Higher Education Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4372 with committee amendments.

      As amended, this bill permits educational research and service corporations to act as the lead agency or contracting unit for procurement of public works. 

      Under current law, a four-year public institution of higher education is permitted to join with other public or independent institutions to form an educational research and services corporation to be operated exclusively for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes in accordance with federal law.  Current law further permits an educational research and services corporation to act as a lead agency or contracting unit for the procurement of goods and services concerning educational technology systems and related services by the entities comprising the corporation. The bill permits the educational research and services corporation to act as a lead agency or contracting unit for the procurement of any goods or services and public works.

      As amended and reported by the committee, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No. 3396, which also was amended and reported by the committee on this date.  

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

· permit an educational research and services corporation to act as a lead agency or contracting unit for the procurement of any goods or services and public works; 

· remove a provision that would have permitted an educational research and services corporation to enter into an agreement with an institution of higher education which is a voting member of the educational research and services corporation to provide services, consulting, staffing, or goods concerning educational technology systems and related educational support services. That provision further  stipulated that these agreements were to be considered shared services agreements and would not be subject to any public bidding requirements under State law; and

· make a technical change to the bill’s synopsis.