Bill Text: NJ S2234 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits students at public institutions of higher education to donate unused meal plan funds to emergency meal fund for distribution to New Jersey food banks.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [S2234 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2234-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Senator RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Permits students at public institutions of higher education to donate unused meal plan funds to emergency meal fund for distribution to New Jersey food banks.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning college meal plans and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is created in the Department of State a "New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund." The fund shall be credited with the funds donated pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of this act.
b. All funds donated to the New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund shall be provided to the New Jersey Federation of Food Banks for the purpose of providing and distributing food to the federation's network of food banks in the State of New Jersey.
2. a. A public institution of higher education that offers meal plans to students shall permit a student to voluntarily donate any unused funds remaining in the student's meal plan at the end of a semester to the New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund created under section 1 of this act. A public institution of higher education shall develop policies and procedures for verifying the amount of any unused funds remaining in a student's meal plan at the end of a semester and for facilitating the transfer of unused funds that have been donated by students from their meal plans to the New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund.
b. As used in this section, "unused funds" means direct money remaining in a student's meal plan at the end of a semester, or the amount of money that equates to the value of any unused meals or unused meal points that remain in a student's meal plan at the end of a semester.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill creates a new fund in the Department of State entitled the "New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund." The bill requires public institutions of higher education that offer meal plans to allow a student to voluntarily donate any unused funds that remain in the student's meal plan at the end of a semester to the New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund. All funds donated to the New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund will be provided to the New Jersey Federation of Food Banks for the purpose of providing and distributing food to the federation's network of food banks in the State of New Jersey.
The bill directs public institutions of higher education to develop policies and procedures for verifying the amount of any unused funds remaining in a student's meal plan at the end of a semester and for facilitating the transfer of unused funds that have been donated by students from their meal plans to the New Jersey Emergency Meal Fund. Under the bill, unused funds from a meal plan include direct money that remains in a student's meal plan at the end of a semester and the amount of money that equates to the value of any unused meals or unused meal points that remain in a student's meal plan at the end of a semester.
