Bill

Bill > A715


NJ A715

NJ A715
Requires State aid reduction to municipalities and school districts by amount of accumulated absences paid to employees upon their retirement.


summary

Introduced
01/13/2026
In Committee
01/13/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead

Introduced Session

2026-2027 Regular Session

Bill Summary

This bill would require each municipality to report to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services annually, as part of its budget, the amount paid by a municipality to its employees for accumulated absences upon their retirement in the previous budget year. The bill also would require the State Treasurer to reduce the total amount of financial assistance provided to each municipality in the next succeeding State fiscal year from Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid, Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Aid, Extraordinary Aid or Transitional Aid to Localities, or any combination thereof, by the amount of those unused sick leave payments. Similarly, the bill requires that the Commissioner of Education reduce a school district's State aid by the amount paid to the district's employees for accumulated absences upon retirement, as identified in the district's most recent annual audit. The purpose of this bill is to ensure that a municipality or school district does not use State aid as a means to pay its employees for egregious amounts of accumulated absences accrued over long careers in government. The sponsor believes that if municipalities and districts choose to have policies that require payment for accumulated absences at the end of an employee's career, the property taxpayers of those entities should cover those costs.

AI Summary

This bill requires municipalities and school districts to report the amounts they pay to employees for accumulated absences, such as unused sick days, upon their retirement. The Director of the Division of Local Government Services will oversee this reporting for municipalities, and this information will be forwarded to the State Treasurer. Subsequently, the State Treasurer will reduce the amount of state aid provided to municipalities, including funds like Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid and Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Aid, by the amount paid out for these accumulated absences. Similarly, the Commissioner of Education will reduce a school district's state aid by the amount paid to its employees for accumulated absences upon retirement, as determined by the district's annual audit. The intention behind this legislation is to prevent municipalities and school districts from using state aid to cover what the bill's sponsor considers excessive payments for accumulated absences accrued over long careers, suggesting that such costs should be borne by local property taxpayers if these payout policies are maintained.

Committee Categories

Education

Sponsors (1)

Last Action

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 01/13/2026)

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