The groundhog saw his shadow, and the Legislature is back to work with a new Administration and new committee assignments in place.
The Assembly Education Committee will continue to be led by Verlina Reynolds-Jackson as the Chair, and Rosaura (Rosie) Bagolie as Vice-Chair. Dawn Fantasia, Eric Simonsen and Lisa Swain are returning as Members of the Committee. New to the Assembly Education Committee this session are Katie Brennan and Michael Venezia.
Not returning to the Assembly Committee from the last session are: Sterley Stanley, Al Abdelaziz, Alexander Schnall, and Michele Matsikoudis, who lost her bid for reelection in November.
The Senate Education Committee will continue to be led by Chairman Vin Gopal and Vice-Chair Shirley K. Turner. Members of the Committee are Kristin M. Corrado, Owen Henry and Angela V. McKnight.
Neither Education Committee met this week, but several bills that we are tracking had hearings in other committees. On Thursday, February 5th, the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee heard a bill that would require new flooring for schools and child care centers to be certified mercury free (S-1370/A-1514). If this bill becomes law, any new flooring work will require proof that the materials are mercury-free, or that indoor air testing showing mercury levels are within safe limits. If your building has flooring on the State’s list of materials known or suspected to emit mercury (including some poured polyurethane floors from the 1960s–2000s) this bill may impact your school. Schools with identified flooring may need air quality testing, periodic retesting every three years, and public reporting of results. Districts may be required to make HVAC adjustments or remove the flooring if levels are too high. Responsibility falls on the building owner (the district if it owns the building), and results will be posted in a public state database. The law takes effect six months after enactment, giving time to prepare and follow forthcoming Department of Health guidance. NJPSA supported this bill as a student health and safety measure and had worked with the sponsor on several amendments to the bill.
Also before the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee was a bill that would require municipalities to share certain payments in lieu of property taxes with school districts (S-1807). The Committee advanced the bill by a vote of 4-0, with one member not voting. This bill has now been second-referenced to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for further review. If this bill were to become law, it would change how long-term property tax abatements and PILOT agreements work in New Jersey by requiring municipalities to share a portion of PILOT payments with local school districts, rather than keeping them entirely for municipal use. For residential projects, schools would receive funding tied to the number of school-age children living in the development, based on the State’s per-pupil amount; for non-residential or mixed-use projects, schools would generally receive 5% of the PILOT payment (or an equivalent in-kind contribution), unless the municipality, developer, and school district agree on specific school projects instead. The bill also increases transparency and school involvement by requiring early notice to school districts and counties when tax exemptions are proposed, giving schools a formal role in negotiations, and requiring key documents, audits, and agreements to be publicly posted by the State. Overall, the bill is intended to ensure that schools are not financially harmed by tax abatements and have a clearer seat at the table when these deals are made. NJPSA supports this bill.
Also on Thursday, February 5th, the Senate Labor Committee had a bill on its agenda that would seek to ban “ghost” job postings. This bill is aimed at reducing misleading or “ghost” job postings by requiring employers and third-party job boards to be more transparent and timely (S-2136). Any public job posting would have to clearly state whether the job is an actual open vacancy; if it is, the posting must include an estimated timeline for filling the position. If it is not, it must clearly disclose that there is no current opening and be removed after 90 days. Employers must take down job postings shortly after a position is filled and notify third-party sites to do the same. If an applicant is interviewed, the employer must follow up within the advertised timeframe to say whether the job has been filled or if the applicant is still under consideration, along with a projected decision date. The Department of Labor may audit compliance, and civil penalties apply for violations, with each week of a noncompliant posting treated as a separate offense. The bill contains monetary penalties for noncompliance. NJPSA opposes this bill as drafted, and is seeking an amendment that would exempt the education sector from the requirements of this bill. Other education stakeholder groups, including the NJ School Boards Association, were also there in opposition. The bill was pulled from the agenda and held for now. NJPSA will continue to seek those amendments.
Next week the NJPSA Government Relations team will be traveling to Washington D.C. with a small group of members to advocate for federal education programs on the Hill. Keep a look out for an update from our Nation’s Capitol!
Thank you for your advocacy, and for all that you do!