ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 5211

To the General Assembly:

Pursuant to Article V, Section I, Paragraph 14 of the New Jersey Constitution, I am returning Assembly Bill No. 5211 with my recommendations for reconsideration.

This legislation requires the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development to operate the New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative (“Initiative”) with the goal of expanding economic mobility and driving economic growth.  It permits the Initiative to establish Centers for Workforce Innovation that offer career pathways in a variety of occupations.  The bill also mandates that the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development (“Department”) promote and support the implementation of the Initiative.

While I support the legislation’s aim of strengthening the community-college-to-employment pipeline, I am recommending amendments to remove the mandate on the Department to support and promote the Initiative.  The bill does not sufficiently identify the type of support required of the Department, nor does it provide the Department with the ability to objectively analyze the efficacy of the Initiative.

Therefore, I herewith return Assembly Bill No. 5211 and recommend that it be amended as follows:

Page 2, Section 2, Lines 22-27:    Delete in their entirety

Respectfully,

     [seal]

                              /s/ Philip D. Murphy

                              Governor

Attest:

/s/ Kate E. McDonnell

Chief Counsel to the Governor