ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 6319

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 8, 2026

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 6319.

      As reported, this bill supplements and amends the FY2026 Appropriations Act as follows:

Department of Agriculture:

      This bill appropriates $5 million for food security research and innovation to design and implement research projects, pilot programs, public-private partnerships, and grant programs within the State, as determined by the Office of the Food Security Advocate.

      Additionally, the bill clarifies the use of the existing 2.5 percent set-aside of the existing $20 million Working Class Families State Supplement appropriation for informational and outreach activities to increase awareness of the program.

Department of Community Affairs:

      This bill appropriates $750,000 in Grants-in-Aid funding, $500,000 to Family Food Relief of New Jersey (Tomchei Shabbos D’Lakewood) and $250,000 to Bridges Outreach, Inc.

      This bill also appropriates $54 million in State Aid to various counties:

· Bergen County Improvement Authority (Bergen New Bridge Medical Center Capital Improvements), $12 million;

· County-based projects or programs to achieve efficiencies and future cost savings in the provision of services at the local level, $10 million;

· Camden County (Construction of Southern New Jersey Regional Rehabilitation and Reentry Center), $13 million;

· Union County (Capital Improvements), $9 million;

· Middlesex County (Network Operations Center), $4 million;

· Mercer County (Mercer County Connection Building Renovation), $2 million;

· Burlington County (Homelessness Stabilization), $2 million;

· Gloucester County (Emergency Management Communications Center Enhancements and Vehicle Acquisition), $1.7 million; and

· Salem County (EMS Vehicles), $300,000.

Department of Education:

      This bill appropriates $10 million in State Aid to Hudson County Schools of Technology.

Department of Human Services:

      This bill appropriates $1 million to the LARC Norcross School for their special needs adult transportation program.

Department of State:

      This bill appropriates $5 million to Kean University for capital improvements.

Department of the Treasury:

      This bill appropriates $25 million to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to fund the supplementary infrastructure costs of an institution of higher education for hosting a new state-of-the-art supercomputer.

      This bill also appropriates $26 million to the EDA for event attraction and marketing, of which $20 million is to be allocated directly to the Host Committee to implement a series of events for promotion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

      Finally, this bill appropriates an additional $1.5 million to the Old Barracks Museum.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      This bill has not been certified as requiring a fiscal note.