Bill > A3633

Introduced Session

This bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), commencing at the end of the school year next following the bill's effective date, to establish and operate a School Plastics Upcycling Grant Program, the purpose of which would be to annually provide proportional grant funding to each eligible applicant school in the State, consistent with, based on, and in proportion to, each such school's annual, pro rata share of school-collected plastics, in order to enable each such school to purchase and acquire a fair, equitable, and proportional pro rata share of school-appropriate furnishings being annually produced, by authorized upcyclers, through the upcycling of school-collected plastics. The bill would appropriate $5 million, from the General Fund, to finance initial grant awards issued under the program. Pursuant to the bill's provisions, the School Plastics Upcycling Grant Program would be operated, by the commissioner, for an initial pilot period lasting for three years or until the funds appropriated under the bill are fully expended or are no longer sufficient to enable the issuance of proportional grant awards to all eligible applicant schools in any pilot year. Upon the conclusion of the pilot period and the commissioner's submission of a report, to the Governor and Legislature, recommending continuation of the program, the commissioner would be authorized to continue the program, in each year thereafter, within the limits of funds newly appropriated or otherwise made available for the program's purposes, and to the extent that such available program funds are sufficient, in each year of program operations, to provide for the issuance of proportional grant awards to all eligible applicant schools. In any year where the amount of available program funding is insufficient to enable all eligible applicant schools to receive a share of funding that is proportionate to each such school's pro rata share of collected plastics, the commissioner would be required to temporarily discontinue the program and suspend the issuance of grant awards thereunder in the current year. A school would be eligible for a program grant, in any year of program operations, if it establishes, in its grant application, that: (1) the school's students or staff were engaged in plastic collection activities, either at or on behalf of the school, during the school year immediately preceding the submission of the school's grant application; and (2) the plastics collected by school students or staff, during the immediately preceding school year, either have been or will be donated, by the school, to an authorized upcycler for upcycling purposes, consistent with the program's purposes. The commissioner would be required to develop and publish a list of authorized upcyclers to which school-collected plastics may be donated, and from which school-appropriate furnishings may be purchased, by eligible schools, for grant program purposes. The dollar amount of each grant award issued to an eligible applicant school, in each year of program operations, would be determined in accordance with a funding formula developed by the commissioner. The funding formula is to be designed to ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, the fair and equitable apportionment and distribution of available grant funds to all eligible applicant schools, in each year of program operations, based on each such school's pro rata share of school-collected plastics. To that end, the funding formula would be required to provide for each eligible applicant school to receive: (1) a minimum program grant award, in each year, in an amount that is sufficient to enable the school to purchase and acquire at least one piece of school-appropriate furniture produced by an authorized upcycler through the upcycling of school-collected plastics; and (2) a proportional increase in the grant funding being awarded thereto under the program, in each year, above and beyond the minimum funding amount required by the bill, if, and to the extent that, the commissioner determines that the eligible applicant school's pro rata share of school-collected plastics is proportionately higher than that of other similarly sized or similarly situated schools. The amount of enhanced grant funding authorized under the grant program may vary by eligible applicant school, but, in each case, is to be based on, proportional to, and consistent with, the school's pro rata share of school-collected plastics. A school receiving a program grant award, in any year, would be required to use at least 80 percent of the awarded grant funds to finance the costs incurred thereby in purchasing, from one or more authorized upcyclers, the school's pro rata share of school-appropriate furnishings produced through the upcycling of school-collected plastics. Up to 20 percent of the awarded grant funds may be used to finance the administrative or other incidental costs being incurred, by the school, either in association with its purchase of school-appropriate furnishings or in association with its successful acquisition of such purchased furnishings from an authorized upcycler, including, but not limited to, the costs associated with: (1) the temporary storage of plastics collected, or of school-appropriate furnishings purchased, by the school; (2) the transfer, between the school and authorized upcyclers, of any such collected plastics or school-purchased furnishings; or (3) the school's acquisition, maintenance, repair, replacement, or updating of equipment, vehicles, storage facilities, or supplies, or its employment and training of relevant staff, as may be necessary to ensure the school's cost-effective and efficient use of grant program funds. Each school receiving a program grant award, in any year, would be required to regularly submit, to the department, a grant fund expenditures report detailing the eligible costs being financed thereby with grant program funds. The commissioner would be required to adopt rules and regulations that, among other things, specify the procedures for the filing of such reports and the requisite information to be included therein. The commissioner would also be required to annually submit a written report, to the Governor and the Legislature, evaluating the success and effectiveness of the grant program and providing findings and recommendations regarding the necessity, appropriateness, and feasibility of continuing program operations on a permanent, ongoing, or year-to-year basis, within the limits of funds or otherwise made available to the department for the program's purposes.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Carol Murphy (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 02/12/2024)

Official Document