Legislative Update: Governor Takes Action on Pension and School Audit Bills; Lame Duck Session Continues

Last week, Governor Murphy issued two vetoes – one conditional and one absolute – on the final two education-related bills that were on his desk awaiting signature. These bills had been passed by the Legislature in June prior to its summer recess, and the governor was required to take action on them in advance of the Assembly returning to session on Monday, Nov. 17.

Several Senate committees also met on Thursday, Nov. 13, and considered pieces of legislation relevant to boards of education.

Absolute Veto

On Thursday, Nov. 13, Governor Murphy issued an absolute veto of the following bill:

Pension Boost for Extracurriculars A-3323/S-3713 would have required pay for extracurricular activities to be included in compensation for a teacher’s pension (i.e., TPAF) purposes. Such extra pay is not included in the current definition of pension compensation. Under the bill, extracurricular duties included preparation for and involvement in public performances, contests, athletic competitions, demonstrations, displays, and club activities. Current law defines compensation as the contractual salary for services provided as a teacher in accordance with the established salary policies of the member’s employer but does not include additional pay for extracurricular duties.

The governor issued an absolute veto of the bill, citing concerns over costs and parity between the state-administered pension systems, all of which currently prohibit including extra compensation for performing temporary or extracurricular duties beyond the regular workday or the regular work year. The governor’s full veto statement is available here.

The NJSBA was monitoring the bill. Unless two-thirds of both the Senate and Assembly vote to override the governor’s veto, the bill will not become law.

Conditional Veto

On Thursday, Nov. 13, Governor Murphy issued a conditional veto of the following bill:

School Audit Delay S-4608/A-5847, as previously passed by the Legislature, would have extended the deadline for the completion of a school district’s annual audit for the 2024-2025 school year. Under current law, the board of education of every school district is required to complete an annual audit no later than five months after the end of the school year. The school district’s accountant is required to file a report of the annual audit with the board of education, and within five days thereafter, the Commissioner of Education. This bill would have extended the audit completion deadline to Jan. 10, the audit summary completion deadline to Jan. 1, and the deadline to submit certified copies of the audit and recommendations to the commissioner to Jan. 15. The provisions of P.L.2023, c.305 similarly extended the deadline for the completion of a school district’s annual audit for the 2022-2023 and the 2023-2024 school years.

The governor conditionally vetoed the bill, citing a provision in P.L.2023, c.305 that required the New Jersey Department of Education to issue a report evaluating the impacts of extending audit deadlines. In that report, NJDOE recommended maintaining the existing statutory audit deadlines, arguing that audit data “is critical to developing responsible local budgets, informing the State budget, and helping the department identify school districts that may be experiencing or at risk of experiencing financial distress.” The governor’s veto recommendations include: 1) removing the extended audit dates for the 2024-2025 school year; 2) requiring boards of education to make all necessary financial books, accounts, and records available to the public school accountant by July 1 of each year for the purposes of completing the annual audit, and adding a provision that districts who fail to do so shall be subject to reduced scores in the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) evaluation system; 3) allowing the Commissioner of Education to provide limited flexibility with audit deadlines on an individual district basis due to specific hardships or extenuating circumstances; and 4) requiring the commissioner to evaluate whether technical modifications to the annual school audit process can facilitate earlier data collection. The governor’s full veto statement is available here.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill, which now returns to the Assembly and Senate for simple-majority votes to concur with the governor’s recommendations.

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee met on Thursday, Nov. 13, and – unless otherwise noted – approved the following bills relevant to boards of education:

Banning Single-Use Utensils S-3195 was HELD by the committee. While the bill was posted on the initial meeting agenda, the committee neither considered nor voted on the bill. As currently written, the bill would prohibit “food service businesses” in New Jersey from providing customers with access to single-use utensils or condiments, except in certain limited cases. As defined in the bill, food service businesses include schools. Any school with an on-site seating capacity for 50 or more customers would be required to provide its on-site customers with easy access to reusable, washable utensils that may be used while consuming meals on the premises, and which are to be returned to the school upon completion of the on-site meal so they can be cleaned and reused. The current version of the bill would provide schools with a five-year grace period, after which they would be required to abide by the stipulations of the bill. As introduced, the bill would have allowed food service businesses to provide “eco-friendly alternative utensils and condiments,” including those that are compostable, but that provision was deleted from the current draft. Finally, the bill includes progressive penalties – up to $5,000 per occasion – for noncompliance.

Prior to the committee holding the bill, the New Jersey School Boards Association submitted written testimony seeking an amendment to explicitly exempt schools. While supportive of sustainability initiatives, the NJSBA cited various operational and financial concerns with the bill. Among those concerns are the potential for increased costs associated with procuring reusable products, installing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure in each school building across the state, and hiring the necessary staff to ensure reusable utensils are cleaned in accordance with health and safety guidelines. The Association also expressed concerns about the potential physical harm the use of metal utensils could cause to students and staff.

The bill was previously approved by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee in Oct. 2024. It may return to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee prior to the end of the legislative session, either in its current or in an amended form.

Water Quality Notifications S-984/A-1400 would require the owner or operator of a public water system to immediately notify the governing body of a municipality and the chief administrator of every school located within the municipality whenever the public water system violates any drinking water quality standard. The bill would also require the owner or operator of the public water system to provide information on suggested remedies that a customer may take to address the violation.

The NJSBA supports the bill, which was passed by the Assembly in Sept. 2024 and will now head to the Senate floor for a vote following committee approval.

Out-of-School Time Advisory Commission S-3457 would establish a New Jersey Out-of-School Time Advisory Commission. The duty of the commission would be to assess the state’s out-of-school time programs by reviewing state policy governing these programs alongside existing research and best practices and to make recommendations to increase the accountability and quality of before-school, after-school and summer programs. The commission would be comprised of 22 members, including one representative of the NJSBA.

The NJSBA supports the bill, which now heads to the Senate floor for a vote following committee approval. Its counterpart in the Assembly, A-2414, was approved by the Assembly Education Committee in June.

Nonpublic Auxiliary and Remedial Aid S-4312/A-4854 would amend laws governing the allocation of state aid for auxiliary services and remedial services to non-public school students. It would require the commissioner of education to establish a process by which school districts are to be reimbursed for costs that are incurred to provide those services. The maximum per-service aid amounts established by the commissioner would be calculated by dividing the amount annually appropriated to provide services by the average number of documented services delivered in the prior three school years. The method by which the commissioner establishes the maximum per-service-aid amounts is required to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, the amounts annually appropriated for auxiliary services and remedial services are fully exhausted by the end of the school year. Finally, the bill would require the commissioner to conduct a survey, in the second full school year following the date of the bill’s enactment and every third school year thereafter, to collect information necessary to calculate the average and range of costs incurred to provide services. If enacted, the bill would go into effect for the 2026-27 school year.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill, which was passed by the Assembly in May and now heads to the Senate floor for a vote following committee approval.

Universal Financial Disclosure Forms S-2922 would require the development of a single form for use by persons required to file multiple financial disclosure statements with various public bodies. Under the bill, the State Ethics Commission, in consultation with the School Ethics Commission and the Local Finance Board, would develop a universal financial disclosure form within 90 days of the bill’s effective date. The universal form would be designed to enable any person who is required by law, regulation, or executive order to file a financial disclosure statement with more than one government entity to do so by completing and submitting that single form, including any additional addenda that may be required. Under the bill, the universal form would meet all content requirements for disclosure as stipulated by any applicable law, regulation, or executive order. Furthermore, the bill directs the State Ethics Commission, School Ethics Commission, and Local Finance Board to make the form available on their respective official websites.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill, which was previously approved by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee in March 2024 and now heads to the Senate floor for a vote following committee approval.

Revised Definition of Child Abuse and Neglect S-3751 would amend the definition of “child” in Section 1 of P.L.1974, c.119 (C.9:6-8.21) to mean: 1) any person less than 18 years of age alleged to have been abused or neglected; or 2) any person less than 21 years of age alleged to have been abused or neglected, or subject to exploitation by a teacher, employee, contractor, or volunteer, whether compensated or uncompensated, of an institution responsible for the care or supervision of that person, as regulated by the Department of Children and Families, including employees of day schools.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill, which was previously approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee in Oct. 2024, and now heads to the Senate floor for a vote following committee approval.

Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee

The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee met on Thursday, Nov. 13, and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:

Epinephrine Administration Mechanisms S-4545 would modify current law regulating the method in which epinephrine is administered in schools, institutions of higher education, and youth camps during emergency circumstances where an individual is experiencing anaphylaxis. Specifically, the bill would remove references in current law requiring the use of a pre-filled auto-injector mechanism to administer epinephrine and replace it with the term “single use dose epinephrine.” In doing so, this bill would expand the emergency use of epinephrine in these settings to include epinephrine nasal spray, as well as future advances in this area of medicine.

The NJSBA supports the bill.

To view the full text of any of the bills summarized above, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.