Bill > SCR128

Introduced Session

This proposed amendment to the New Jersey Constitution would prohibit the State from directly appropriating funds to non-State agencies on a discretionary basis unless the funding is distributed on a competitive basis or in accordance with a formula or process established by law. Under the constitutional amendment, the State may not appropriate State funds directly to a non-State agency on a discretionary basis, outside a formula or process established by law, unless certain conditions are met in the law appropriating the funds. Specifically, any law appropriating funds to a non-State agency would be required to set forth the specific purpose of the appropriation and the manner in which the appropriation would be distributed to one or more non-State agencies. The amendment also requires that any funds appropriated for non-State agencies to be distributed on a competitive basis, pursuant to programmatic, merit-based criteria, or based on a formula or process established by law. The amendment also provides that the recipient of the funds may not be specifically named in the law making the appropriation. For purposes of this amendment, a "State agency" includes any department or agency within any branch of State government, including any division or other agency therein. A "State agency" also includes any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency, including any public institution of higher education; the State Legislature, any office, board, bureau, or commission created by the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial branch of State government. The amendment defines a "non-State agency" as any entity that is not a State agency, including political subdivisions of the State, any combination of political subdivisions of the State, instrumentalities of political subdivisions, such as local authorities and commissions, private institutions of higher education, or any other non-governmental agency. Political subdivisions include, but are not limited to, counties, municipalities, and school districts. This constitutional amendment is intended to address the lack of public transparency and oversight concerning the appropriation of State funds for certain non-State purposes. These appropriations are often added to the annual appropriations bill as special, ear-marked funds, for the sole benefit of specifically designated entities, including local governmental units, school districts, and non-profit organizations, without public oversight concerning the actual needs for such funding. By preventing the Legislature from appropriating funds directly to specifically named recipients, this constitutional amendment will ensure that public funds are distributed under general, programmatic, merit-based criteria, based on the purpose for which the appropriation was made, not according to unannounced arrangements known only by certain members of the Legislature and the recipients of the State funds and without public input.

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Mike Testa (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee (on 03/12/2026)

Official Document