JANET’S LAW: A-1608 (Bramnick)/S-157 (Singer, Vitale) “Janet’s Law,” in memory of Janet Zilinski, an 11-year old who died of sudden cardiac arrest following a cheerleading squad practice, requires that public school districts and non-public schools ensure that an automated external defibrillator (AED) is readily available and within reasonable proximity of school-sponsored athletic events or team practices. The bill stipulates that a team coach or other designated staff member trained in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an AED be present. NJEA supported the bill, which passed the Senate 40-0 and has been sent to the Governor.
SUPER-GROWTH DISTRICTS: A-2559(Burzichelli, Riley)/S-1792 (Sweeney) This bill passed the Assembly (48-26-5) and the Senate (24-13) and has been sent to the Governor’s Office. The legislation would provide a supplemental appropriation of more than $4 million from Property Tax Relief to the Department of Education to provide additional state aid to school districts that have experienced significant enrollment growth. NJEA supported the bill because it would utilize limited state resources in difficult economic times to provide needed financial support to at least some of the districts hit hard by the current administration’s haphazard distribution of state school aid. The additional aid to these qualifying districts would be used to restore programs and resources—including teachers and support personnel—to maintain the quality of education during difficult economic times.
BUILDING OUR FUTURE BOND ACT: A-3139 (Oliver, Bramnick Riley, Singleton, Coutinho, Giblin) was reported out of the Assembly Budget Committee and is on second reading in the Assembly. NJEA supported this bill which is a major bond referendum for institutions of higher education, the first since 1988. The bill requires public research universities and state colleges and universities, county college and independent institutions of higher education which receive capital project grants to provide institutional funds in an amount to support 25% of the cost of the project. The bonding money will be used for various projects throughout the state and will total $750,000,000. NJEA won a floor amendment reducing the amount of matching funds for county colleges from a 50% match to 25% match.
TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE CHILDREN OF NJ: A-3060 (Diegnan, Jasey, Caputo, Watson Coleman, Coughlin)/S-1455 (Ruiz) NJEA supported this bill, which would increase the length of time to receive tenure, change the evaluation system, and send tenure cases to an arbitrator. NJEA worked closely with Senator Ruiz on this bill to make remove several provisions, including the elimination of seniority, mutual consent, and a process that would allow a principal to remove an employee’s tenure yet keep the individual employed. The bill passed the Assembly 79-0, the Senate concurred with Assembly amendments and the bill now awaits the Governor’s signature.
BUDGET BILL: A-3200 (Prieto)/S-2013 (Sarlo) The FY 2013 budget bill (Appropriations Act) appropriates $31,741,467,000 or $404,167,000 less than the Governor’s proposed budget. The bill reduces spending to reflect the lower than anticipated revenues collected year-to-date. Copies of the bills and summary documents showing the specific changes from the governor’s proposed budget are available at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/.
According to the Office of Legislative Services, the bill maintains a closing balance of $303,635,000 and reserves $183,000,000 in the Property tax Relief Fund in anticipation of separate legislation being enacted later in the fiscal year to implement the Senate President’s proposed tax cut.
The Appropriations Act reduces Direct State Services funding for Education by $6.8 million and underfunds the School Funding Formula by about $400 million. Other specific changes from the governor’s proposed budget are:
- Nonpublic Technology Initiative gets an additional $4,000,000,
- School Choice is reduced by ($3,400,000),
- TPAF-non-Contributory Insurance reduced ($519,000),
- TPAF – Post Retirement Medical is increased by $58,610,000,
- School Construction and Renovation Fund Reduced ($61,043,000), and
- Social Security Tax – Employer Contributions are reduced ($4,500,000).
NJEA supported the budget bill.
BUILDING OUR FUTURE BOND ACT: A-3139 (Oliver, Bramnick Riley, Singleton, Coutinho, Giblin)/S-2500 (Sweeney, Kean) passed the Assembly 77-1-0 and the Senate 38-1. NJEA supported this bill which is a major bond referendum for institutions of higher education, the first since 1988. The bill requires public research universities and state colleges and universities, county college and independent institutions of higher education which receive capital project grants to provide institutional funds in an amount to support 25% of the cost of the project. The bonding money will be used for various projects throughout the state and will total $750,000,000. NJEA won a floor amendment reducing the amount of matching funds for county colleges from a 50% match to 25% match. The bill now awaits the Governor’s signature.