New Jersey-2024-A513-Introduced

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS

District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen Atkins, Sampson, Assemblywomen Drulis, McCoy and Assemblyman Venezia

SYNOPSIS

Provides tuition fee waiver for certain apprenticeship courses.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As reported by the Assembly Labor Committee on February 5, 2024, with amendments.

An Act concerning apprenticeship tuition fees and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

"Eligible person" means an individual whose gross aggregate household income at the time of admission to a New Jersey public institution of higher education or county vocational school providing post-secondary vocational education is below the State household median income.

"Gross aggregate household income" means the total annual income of all members of a household, from whatever source derived, including, but not limited to, pension, annuity, retirement, and Social Security benefits received during the taxable year.

"Registered apprenticeship" means an apprenticeship in a program providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, and registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor and meeting the standards established by that office.

"State household median income" means the point that divides the gross aggregate household income distribution into halves, one-half with income above the median and the other with income below the median as determined by the United States Census Bureau American Community Survey. The median is based on the income distribution of all households, including those with no income in the State.

"Tuition" means the charges imposed by a New Jersey public institution of higher education or county vocational school providing post-secondary vocational education for enrollment at the institution or school.

2. a. An eligible person shall be permitted to attend, tuition-free, courses available at any public institution of higher education or county vocational school which are qualified to serve as the classroom training or education component of a registered apprenticeship program in which the person is participating as a registered apprentice if:

(1) tuition costs are not covered by an employer through employment benefits;

(2) the person completes a Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year within the established deadlines and has exhausted all

financial aid assistance; and

(3) the person retains employment as an active registered apprentice under the registered apprenticeship program and maintains satisfactory academic progress to qualify for renewal of the tuition waiver.

b. The State shall provide funding to a public institution of higher education or county vocational school for the tuition cost of each eligible person who enrolls in the institution pursuant to the provisions of this section with any available funds provided to the State under the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. s.49 et seq.), or from funds that may be available from the ¹[$22,500,000] $27,500,000¹ which was appropriated pursuant to the annual appropriations act for State fiscal year ¹[2023] 2024¹ from the Workforce Development Partnership Fund for the purpose of funding the NJ Apprenticeship Network, the Career Accelerator Internship Program, the Workforce Development Policy and Evaluation Lab, the NJ Career Network, and such other priority workforce initiatives recommended by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the date of enactment.