Bill Text: NJ ACR194 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Expresses that the Legislature is not in agreement with the list of higher education projects submitted by the Secretary of Higher Education for funding under the "Building Our Future Bond Act."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-05-20 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Budget Committee [ACR194 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-ACR194-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 194
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED MAY 20, 2013
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHEILA Y. OLIVER
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Expresses that the Legislature is not in agreement with the list of higher education projects submitted by the Secretary of Higher Education for funding under the "Building Our Future Bond Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution expressing that the Legislature is not in agreement with the list of projects submitted by the Secretary of Higher Education for funding under the "Building Our Future Bond Act," P.L.2012, c.41.
Whereas, The "Building Our Future Bond Act," P.L.2012, c.41, approved on August 7, 2012, authorizes the issuance of $750,000,000 in State general obligation bonds, whose proceeds will be used to provide grants to New Jersey's public and private institutions of higher education to construct and equip higher education facilities; and
Whereas, The State had not approved a general obligation bond initiative to support the capital needs of institutions of higher education since 1988, and in the intervening years, the institutions have struggled to meet their capital maintenance needs, to provide the state-of-the-art facilities that are required to educate students in a global economy, to educate an increasing number of students who are seeking the benefit of a higher education, and to stem the outmigration of students to institutions of higher education located in other states; and
Whereas, All of these difficulties faced by the State's public and private institutions of higher education have had a systemic effect on the economic growth and development of New Jersey, as the research efforts conducted, and the education of its citizens provided, by the higher education sector are inextricably linked to the growth and well-being of the State's economy; and
Whereas, In light of the potentially significant impact that the projects which will receive funding through the "Building Our Future Bond Act" will have on the advancement of the interests of the State and its citizens, it is critical that funding awarded to higher education facilities projects be done with complete transparency so that the voters who approved the bond act may be assured that the most deserving projects will receive funding; and
Whereas, On April 29, 2013, the Secretary of Higher Education submitted to the presiding officers of each House of the Legislature as required under the provisions of the bond act a list of projects and the amount of the grant for each project as approved by the secretary for funding; and
Whereas, Since the submission of the list of projects, the secretary has refused to assist in the Legislature's review of the submitted list by providing information on why the projects on the list were selected as compared to other projects for which institutions of higher education submitted funding applications; and
Whereas, At the April 18, 2013 meeting of the Assembly Budget Committee on Higher Educational Services, the chairman of the committee asked the secretary to provide to the committee a list of all capital projects submitted for funding under the "Building Our Future Bond Act"; and
Whereas, In a written response to that request, the secretary simply forwarded a website address accompanied by the answer that the list of approved projects is provided on that website; and
Whereas, The website referenced by the secretary includes information only in regard to those projects which were approved by the secretary and included on the list submitted to the Legislature on April 29, 2013, and provides no information on any other projects for which institutions of higher education had submitted funding applications; and
Whereas, At the May 6, 2013 meeting of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Higher Educational Services, the secretary refused, despite the repeated requests of committee members, to provide information on other projects for which institutions of higher education had submitted funding applications or on what basis the secretary selected the projects on the list as opposed to other projects; and
Whereas, Included on the list of projects submitted by the secretary are two projects for Beth Medrash Govoha with total recommended funding of more than $10.6 million; and
Whereas, According to the website of the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, Beth Medrash Govoha is licensed by the secretary to offer a bachelor's degree in Talmudic Studies, a master's degree in Rabbinic and Talmudic Studies, an Advanced Graduate Talmudic Diploma, and a Graduate Talmudic Diploma; and
Whereas, The degrees conferred by the institution seem to be sectarian, and the operations of this institution may be viewed as being oriented significantly towards a sectarian rather than a secular education; and
Whereas, These grants may be subject to challenge under the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution as a violation of the separation of church and state; and
Whereas, Both the lack of transparency in the grant award process and the concerns regarding the constitutionality of the grant awards to Beth Medrash Govoha, raise questions on the integrity of the grant award process, make it impossible for the Legislature to exercise its oversight responsibility under the "Building Our Future Bond Act," and leave both Houses of the Legislature with no choice but to disapprove the list of projects and the grant awards for those projects included on the list submitted to the presiding officers of each House of the Legislature on April 29, 2013; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature, for the purpose of complying with subsection g. of section 5 of the "Building Our Future Bond Act," P.L.2012, c.41, expresses that it is not in agreement with the list of eligible projects along with the grant amounts of those projects submitted by the Secretary of Higher Education on April 29, 2013 to the presiding officers of each House of the Legislature.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this concurrent resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, and signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary thereof, shall be transmitted to the Governor and the Secretary of Higher Education of the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution expresses that the Legislature is not in agreement with the list of capital projects at public and private institutions of higher education and the grant amounts of those projects submitted by the Secretary of Higher Education on April 29, 2013 to the presiding officers of each House of the Legislature pursuant to the provisions of the "Building Our Future Bond Act," P.L.2012, c.41. Under the bond act, the list would be deemed to be approved in its entirety unless the Legislature adopts a concurrent resolution stating that it is not in agreement with the list within 60 days of transmittal of the list. This concurrent resolution expresses that disagreement.
When the voters of the State of New Jersey approved the issuance of general obligation bonds in November of 2012, those voters assumed that the process for the award of the grants to fund higher education facilities projects would be a transparent one, and also would have expected that grants would be awarded only to those institutions that are constitutionally eligible to receive public construction funds. The voters invested in the Legislature an oversight responsibility in the selection of projects and the awarding of the grants. Unfortunately, the Legislature is not able to perform that oversight as the information that is required for the Legislature to assure the integrity of the grant award process has not been provided. This leaves the Legislature with no choice but to disapprove in its entirety the list submitted by the Secretary of Higher Education on April 29, 2013.
