ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5213

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 20, 2025

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5213.

      As amended and reported, this bill establishes the “New Economy Opportunity Skills System Pilot Program” (“system”) to strengthen the strategic alignment and collaboration between the operations of local workforce development boards community colleges, and county vocational school districts. 

      Under the bill, to establish the system, the State Employment and Training Commission is to initiate a pilot program in three local areas to strengthen strategic alignment and collaboration between the operations of local workforce development boards and community colleges.  The pilot program is to include:

      (1)  joint development and implementation of workforce training programs with an emphasis on industry-recognized credentials;

      (2)  collaborative efforts for branding, outreach, and marketing to increase awareness of available training and career services;

      (3)  integrated planning and coordination of funding resources to maximize the impact of State and federal support for workforce development; and

      (4)  performance evaluation based on appropriate metrics aligned with State and federal workforce development programs to assess participant outcomes, program effectiveness and other measures as required under federal law and applicable State laws.

      Further, the commission, in consultation with the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools, is required pursuant to the bill to develop a strategy for strengthening Statewide alignment and collaboration between local workforce development boards, community colleges, and county vocational school districts.  The strategy is to include a guideline for scaling the pilot program to other areas throughout the State, recommendations for changes needed to facilitate strategic alignment and collaboration, and an implementation timeline and resource plan for stronger Statewide strategic alignment and collaboration.  The commission is required to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on the progress and outcomes of the pilot program and the implementation of the system.

      Finally, the bill designates community colleges and county vocational school districts as the preferred providers of postsecondary education, workforce training, and adult literacy programs for State workforce development services.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

      (1)  include post-secondary programs in county vocational school districts as part of the “New Economy Opportunity Skills System Pilot Program;”

      (2)  include the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools in developing a strategy for strengthening Statewide alignment and collaboration between local workforce development boards, community colleges, and county vocational school districts;

      (3)  in addition to community colleges, include county vocational school districts as the preferred providers of postsecondary education, workforce training, and adult literacy programs for State workforce development services;

      (4)  define “county vocational school district” as any entity established pursuant to article 3 of chapter 54 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes for the purpose of providing efficient occupational, technical and academic education opportunities to secondary and postsecondary students;

      (5)  provide that there are appropriated such amounts as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, in consultation with the Executive Director of the State Employment and Training Commission;

      (6)  provide that if federal funds are not available to effectuate the purposes of this bill, State funds will first be appropriated from the New Jersey Workforce Development Partnership Fund and then from the Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills”; and

      (7)  make technical changes.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that the bill will result in an indeterminate three-year increase in State expenditures for the State Employment and Training Commission to undertake the New Economy Opportunity Skills System Pilot Program in three areas of the State.  The OLS lacks the informational basis to determine the size of the annual expenditure increase because the magnitude will depend on operational and administrative decisions to be made by the commission regarding the scope of the program.

      Certain community colleges and county vocational school districts are also likely to incur an indeterminate amount of cost increases during the three-year pilot program due to the development and implementation of workforce training programs, along with their other responsibilities under the program.  Moreover, the bill’s designation of community colleges and county vocational school districts as the preferred provider of postsecondary education, workforce training, and adult literacy programs for State workforce development services could lead to an indeterminate amount of additional cost increases for these community colleges and county vocational school districts.