Legislation to Create a Task Force on Higher Education Governance and Funding Released from Committee
Higher Education in New Jersey is at a Crossroads and the Task Force Seeks to Develop a Long Term Strategy for Sustainability
Today A-1326 (Miller / Carter) was released from the Senate Higher Education Committee along party lines by a vote of 4-2. Voting in favor were Democratic Assemblymembers Morales, Carter, Miller and Kearney and voting against were Republican Assemblymembers Dunn and Myhre. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO supports the bill and thanks the legislators that voted in favor as well as AFT New Jersey for attending the hearing to testify in support of the bill.
New Jersey State AFL-CIO Legislative Director Eric Richard and AFT New Jersey President Jennifer Higgins testified in support of the legislation. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO participated in the hearing on this important bill to support and advocate for the position of AFT affiliated unions.
The bill would establish a task force to analyze adequacy of state funding and its impact on tuition, student outcomes, the role of county colleges and to what extent the state’s higher education’s institutions are meeting workforce needs, among other topics. The thirteen-member task force includes representatives from AFT New Jersey and the Council of New Jersey State College Locals, AFT.
At the hearing, the New Jersey State AFL-CIO stressed that higher education needs to be affordable for students and their families and the administrative bloat and excessive spending on non-academic programs, that is now common in most colleges and universities, must be reined in.
The Senate Companion (S-3788: Cryan) bill was released from committee last month. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO urges speedy passage of the bill so the work of the task force can begin to address the needs of students, the impact on taxpayers and the security and employees of the state’s higher education institutions.