SENATE LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 4012

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 12, 2025

      The Senate Labor Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 4012.

      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.  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.

      As reported by the committee with amendments, Senate Bill No. 4012 is identical to Assembly Bill No. 5213 (1R).

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.