Bill > S4216

Introduced Session

This bill requires the Director of Division of Housing and Community Resources (director) in the Department of Community Affairs to establish a competitive grant program to encourage municipalities to develop recreational sports and athletics programs and STEM programs for children. The bill provides that the STEM programs are to be youth-based, recreational programs and that focus on creative, age-appropriate and entertaining activities, including but not limited to, robot-building, 3D printing toys, and Lego programs. Under the bill, to participate in the grant program, the governing body of a municipality is required to submit an application to the division with information detailing the municipality's proposed plans for the grant funding, including, but not limited to: · identifying the specific recreational sports and athletic programs or STEM programs that the municipality intends to develop and administer;· the amount of the grant funding being sought by the municipality; · the proposed sources of matching funding to be used by the municipality to offer the recreational sports and athletic programs or STEM programs; and· a description of how the grant funding will be used to develop and administer the recreational sports and athletic programs and STEM programs. Under the bill, after reviewing the applications, the director, in consultation with the Commissioner of Community Affairs, will select municipalities in each of the northern, southern, and central regions of the State, to participate in the program and is required to seek a cross section from urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State. The director is required to develop a list of municipal costs that are eligible for matching grant funds including, but not limited to, sports and athletics equipment, field and equipment maintenance, insurance, lighting, salary for the program supervisor, volunteer training, and any other costs the director deems appropriate. Within one year of receiving a grant, each participating municipality is required to submit a report to the director, detailing:· the expenditures of the grant funds under the program; · the total number of recreational sports and athletics programs and STEM programs that have been: developed and are operational; developed, but are not yet operational; and the total number of additional recreational sports and athletics programs and STEM programs the municipality intends to develop and administer; and· the impact, if determinable, that the development and administration of recreational sports and athletics programs and STEM programs has had in increasing participation of children in those municipal programs. The bill requires the director to compile the reports submitted for inclusion in a comparative profile of the participating municipalities and to post the profile for public inspection on the division's Internet website in an easily accessible location. The bill further requires the director to report to the Governor and the Legislature on the grant program. The bill specifies that, notwithstanding the provisions of any Green Acres program for the purchase of land for recreation and conservation purposes, any Green Acres bond act, and P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et al.), a municipality may not charge a participation fee for any person participating in a recreational sports and athletics program or STEM program for local children established pursuant to this bill. However, the bill specifies that the director may establish a list of premium services for which the municipality may charge a specialty fee, including, but not limited to, use of a scoreboard, a public address system, or nighttime lighting of fields.

Committee Categories

Benjie Wimberly (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 03/03/2025)

Official Document