Bill Text: NJ S3103 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Makes $3 million supplemental appropriation to Department of State for Per Capita Library Aid in FY 2014.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-12-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S3103 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S3103-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Makes $3 million supplemental appropriation to Department of State for Per Capita Library Aid in FY 2014.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Supplement to "An Act making appropriations for the support of the State Government and the several public purposes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014 and regulating the disbursement thereof," approved June 28, 2013 (P.L.2013, c.77).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In addition to the amounts appropriated under P.L.2013, c.77, there is appropriated out of the General Fund the following sum for the purpose specified:
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74 DEPARTMENT OF STATE 30 Educational, Cultural and Intellectual Development 37 Cultural and Intellectual Development Services 2541 Division of State Library
State aid |
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51-2541 Per Capita Library Aid ................................................... |
$3,000,000 |
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Total State Aid Appropriation, Division of State Library ............................................................................... |
$3,000,000 |
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State Aid: |
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51 Per Capita Library Aid ......................... |
($3,000,000) |
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2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill makes a supplemental appropriation of $3 million to the Department of State during Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 for the purpose of increasing Per Capita Library Aid. Per Capita Library Aid provides financial assistance to approximately 300 libraries on a per capita basis to ensure that libraries are funded at a level which meets certain minimum standards, including requirements related to the hours of operation, number of staff, and materials.
The supplemental appropriation in FY 2014 increases the current funding level from $3.676 million to $6.676 million, or by almost 84 percent. However, funding for per capita library aid has plummeted considerably in recent years, from $8.665 million in FY 2008 to the current $3.676 million level. According to the New Jersey Library Association, $9.876 million, or an additional $6.2 million, would be needed in FY 2014 to fully fund the Per Capita Library Aid program, which according to the association, has not been fully funded since FY 1990. The supplemental appropriation this bill provides would go a long way towards restoring funding to the program's pre-recession levels.
