Bill Text: NJ A4310 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Public Education Innovation Fund; provides corporation business tax and gross income tax credits to businesses for making qualified education donations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A4310 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4310-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Public Education Innovation Fund; provides corporation business tax and gross income tax credits to businesses for making qualified education donations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the Public Education Innovation Fund and providing corporation business tax and gross income tax credits to businesses that make qualified education donations and supplementing P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-1 et seq.) and Titles 18A and 54A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established in the Department of Education the Public Education Innovation Fund. The purpose of the fund shall be to award grants to low-performing public schools in this State for the implementation of educational innovation programs. The Commissioner of Education shall award grants to low-performing public schools through a competitive application process, subject to the availability of monies in the fund and the requirements of subsection b. of this section.
b. (1) To receive a grant under this section, a low-performing public school shall submit an application to the commissioner describing the educational innovation program for which the grant is sought. In the application, the school shall set forth, in detail, the ways in which the educational innovation program would implement innovative strategies to mitigate or eliminate a barrier to academic achievement at the school. The application shall also include such other information as the commissioner may deem necessary.
(2) A school that receives a grant under this section shall submit a report to the commissioner no later than 90 days following the final day of the school year in which the school implements the educational innovation program. The report submitted pursuant to this paragraph shall set forth, in detail, the ways in which the program mitigated or eliminated a barrier to academic achievement at the school.
c. In addition to such other monies as may be appropriated by the Legislature, all qualified education donations made by businesses pursuant to sections 2 and 3 of P.L. , c. (C. and C. ) shall be deposited into the Public Education Innovation Fund.
d. As used in this section:
"Educational innovation program" means a program that implements innovative strategies to mitigate or eliminate one or more barriers to academic achievement at a public school.
"Low-performing public school" means a school located in New Jersey, under collegiate grade, that is operated by a school district or a charter school established pursuant to P.L.1995, c.426 (C.18A:36A-1 et seq.) and that meets either of the following criteria:
(1) among all students in that school to whom a State assessment was administered, the sum of the percent of students scoring in the not yet meeting expectations and partially meeting expectations categories in both the language arts and mathematics subject areas of the State assessments exceeded 40 percent in each of the prior two school years; or
(2) among all students in that school to whom a State assessment was administered, the sum of the percent of students scoring in the not yet meeting expectations and partially meeting expectations categories in either the language arts or mathematics subject areas of the State assessment exceeded 65 percent in each of the prior two school years.
2. a. A taxpayer, upon approval of an application to the Commissioner of Education for a tax credit certification, shall be allowed a credit against the tax due pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5) in an amount not to exceed the total amount of qualified education donations made by the business during the privilege period. In addition to any other information that the commissioner may deem appropriate, the application submitted by each business shall include documentation of each qualified education donation made by the business during the privilege period.
b. The order of priority of the application of the credit allowed pursuant to this section and any other credits allowed against the tax imposed pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5) for a privilege period shall be as prescribed by the director. The amount of the credit applied pursuant to this section against the tax imposed pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 43 (C.54:10A-5) shall not exceed 75 percent of the tax liability otherwise due and shall not reduce the tax liability to an amount less that the statutory minimum provided in subsection (e) of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.162 (C.54:10A-5).
c. The total value of tax credits that may be allowed pursuant to this section and section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not in the aggregate exceed $5,000,000 in a State fiscal year. The commissioner shall issue certifications for the tax credit pursuant to this section and section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) on a first-come, first-serve basis.
d. As used in this section, "qualified education donation" means a donation made by a taxpayer to the Public Education Innovation Fund established pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
3. a. A business entity, upon approval of an application to the Commissioner of Education for a tax credit certification, shall be allowed a credit against the tax otherwise due for the taxable year under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act," N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq., in an amount not to exceed $10,000 of the qualified education donations made by the business during the taxable year. In addition to any other information that the commissioner may deem appropriate, the application submitted by each business shall include documentation of each qualified education donation made by the business during the taxable year.
b. The order of priority of the application of the credit allowed pursuant to this section, and any other credits allowed against the tax imposed pursuant to N.J.S.54A:1-1 et seq. for a taxable year, shall be as prescribed by the director. The amount of the credit applied against the New Jersey gross income tax imposed pursuant to N.J.S.54A:1-1 shall not reduce a taxpayer's tax liability to an amount less than zero.
c. (1) A business entity that is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes shall not be allowed a tax credit pursuant to this section directly, but the amount of tax credit of a taxpayer in respect to a distributive share of entity income shall be determined by allocating to the taxpayer that proportion of the tax credit acquired by the entity that is equal to the taxpayer's share, whether or not distributed, of the total distributive income or gain of the entity for its taxable year ending within or with the taxpayer's taxable year.
(2) A New Jersey S Corporation shall not be allowed a tax credit pursuant to this section directly, but the amount of the tax credit of a taxpayer in respect of a pro rata share of S Corporation income shall be determined by allocating to the taxpayer that proportion of the tax credit acquired by the New Jersey S Corporation that is equal to the taxpayer's share, whether or not distributed, of the total pro rata share of S Corporation income of the New Jersey S Corporation for its privilege period ending within or with the taxpayer's taxable year.
d. The total value of tax credits that may be allowed pursuant to this section and section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not in the aggregate exceed $5,000,000 in a State fiscal year. The commissioner shall issue certifications for the tax credit pursuant to this section and section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) on a first-come, first-serve basis.
e As used this section, "qualified education donation" means a donation made by a business entity to the Public Education Innovation Fund established pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to implement the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to privilege periods and taxable years beginning on and after the January 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Public Education Innovation Fund ("fund") in the Department of Education and provides corporation business tax and gross income tax credits to businesses for making qualified education donations to the fund.
Under the bill, the Commissioner of Education would award grants from the fund to low-performing public schools in this State for the implementation of educational innovation programs. The commissioner would award grants to qualifying schools through a competitive application process, subject to the availability of monies in the fund. The bill defines "educational innovation program" as any program that implements innovative strategies to mitigate or eliminate one or more barriers to academic achievement at a low-performing public school. Under the bill, a "low-performing public school" is defined as a school located in New Jersey, under collegiate grade, that is operated by a school district or a charter school established pursuant to current law, and that meets the following criteria:
(1) among all students in that school to whom a State assessment was administered, the sum of the percent of students scoring in the not yet meeting expectations and partially meeting expectations categories in both the language arts and mathematics subject areas of the State assessments exceeded 40 percent in each of the prior two school years; or
(2) among all students in that school to whom a State assessment was administered, the sum of the percent of students scoring in the not yet meeting expectations and partially meeting expectations categories in either the language arts or mathematics subject areas of the State assessment exceeded 65 percent in each of the prior two school years.
The bill provides that business entities may apply to the commissioner for corporation business tax or gross income tax credits for the amount of qualified education donations made to the fund in any year. For a business entity that is a corporation business taxpayer, the bill caps the amount of the credit at 75 percent of the business's tax liability otherwise due for the privilege period. For a business entity that is a gross income taxpayer, the bill caps the amount of the credit at $10,000 of the business's qualified education donations made during the taxable year. The bill limits the total amount of tax credits approved under the bill at $5,000,000 for each State fiscal year.
