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A1772
ASSEMBLY, No. 1772
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Dunn
SYNOPSIS
���� Provides tuition benefits at public institutions of
higher education for dependents of certain veterans.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning higher education benefits for the dependents
of certain veterans and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey
Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� For the purposes of this
act:
���� �Child� means an individual
between the ages of 17 and 26 who is the child of a veteran.
���� �Partner� means a veteran�s
partner in a civil union as defined in section 2 of P.L.2006, c.103
(C.37:1-29), or a veteran�s domestic partner as defined in section 3 of
P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3).
���� �Permanently and totally
disabled� means a veteran who has been honorably discharged or released under
honorable circumstances from active service and who has been declared by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor to have a service-connected
total or 100 percent permanent disability.
���� �Student fee� means any
amount, other than tuition, which appears on a student tuition bill as a
separately assessed item and which is a mandatory charge of the institution.
���� �Veteran� means a citizen and
resident of this State who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United
States, a Reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Guard, or a Reserve component of the National Guard.
���� 2.��� a.� A spouse, partner,
or child of a veteran who was killed in the line of duty during active military
service, or who has been declared to be a prisoner of war or a person missing
in action by the United States Department of Defense, or who is permanently and
totally disabled, or who has died from a service-connected disability after
being honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from
active service, shall be eligible to receive free undergraduate tuition and
student fees at a public institution of higher education, provided that:
���� (1)�� the veteran was a
resident of New Jersey at the time of entry into active duty;
���� (2)�� the spouse, partner, or
child is a resident of New Jersey;
���� (3)�� the spouse, partner, or
child has been accepted to pursue a course of undergraduate study at a public
institution of higher education and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in
good standing at that institution; and
���� (4)�� the spouse, partner, or
child has applied for all available State student grants and scholarships and
all available federal student grants and scholarships for which the spouse,
partner, or child is eligible.
���� The maximum tuition benefit
under this act for an eligible individual attending a public four-year
institution of higher education shall not exceed the total number of credits
necessary to complete a baccalaureate degree program at the institution, as determined
by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.� The maximum tuition
benefit under this act for an eligible individual attending a county college
shall not exceed the total number of credits necessary to complete an associate
degree program at the college, as determined by the Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority.
���� b.��� In the case of a spouse
or partner of a veteran, eligibility for benefits under this act shall be
limited to a period of 10 years from the date of the death, determination of
permanent and total disability, or determination of prisoner of war or missing in
action status of the veteran.� A spouse or partner of a veteran is ineligible
for benefits upon a remarriage or entry into a new civil union or domestic
partnership.
���� 3.��� The Higher Education
Student Assistance Authority, in consultation with the Department of Military
and Veterans Affairs, shall develop procedures to determine the eligibility of
an applicant for benefits under this act.� Upon the approval of an application
for benefits, the authority shall notify the applicant and the public
institution of higher education at which the applicant is enrolled of
eligibility.
���� 4.��� The State shall
reimburse a public institution of higher education for the cost of tuition and
student fees which have been waived for each eligible spouse, partner, or child
of a veteran pursuant to the provisions of this act.
���� 5.��� The Higher Education
Student Assistance Authority shall adopt regulations pursuant to the
�Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary
to effectuate the provisions of this act.
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year
beginning after the effective date of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill provides free
undergraduate tuition and student fees at public institutions of higher
education to the child, spouse, civil union partner or domestic partner of
certain New Jersey veterans.� The benefits will apply to a child, spouse, civil
union partner or domestic partner of a New Jersey resident who served on active
duty in the Armed Forces of the United States or a Reserve component, or the
National Guard or a Reserve component, and who: (1) was killed in the line of
duty during active military service; (2) has been declared to be a prisoner of
war or a person missing in action by the United States Department of Defense;
(3) has been honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances
from active service and has been declared by the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs to have a service-connected total or 100 percent permanent
disability; or (4) has died from a service-connected disability after being
honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active
service.� The maximum tuition benefit under the bill for an eligible individual
attending a public four-year institution of higher education will not exceed
the total number of credits necessary to complete a baccalaureate degree
program at the institution, as determined by the Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority (HESAA).� The maximum tuition benefit for an eligible
individual attending a county college will not exceed the total number of
credits necessary to complete an associate degree program at the college, as determined
by HESAA.�
���� In order for a child, spouse,
or partner of a veteran to be eligible for benefits under the bill, the
following conditions must be met: (1) the veteran was a resident of New Jersey
at the time of entry into active duty; (2) the spouse, partner, or child is a
resident of New Jersey; (3) the spouse, partner, or child has been accepted to
pursue a course of undergraduate study at a public institution of higher
education and is enrolled as an undergraduate student in good standing at that
institution; and (4) the spouse, partner, or child has applied for all
available State and federal student grants and scholarships for which he is
eligible.
���� The child of a veteran must be
between the ages of 17 and 26 to be eligible for benefits under the bill.� In
the case of a spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner of a veteran, eligibility
for benefits is limited to a period of 10 years from the date of the death,
determination of permanent and total disability, or determination of prisoner
of war or missing in action status of the veteran.� A veteran�s spouse or
partner is ineligible for benefits upon a remarriage or entry into a new civil
union or domestic partnership.�
���� The bill provides that HESAA, in
consultation with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, will develop
procedures to determine the eligibility of an applicant for benefits. The State
will reimburse a public institution of higher education for the cost of tuition
and student fees that have been waived for each eligible spouse, partner, or
child of a veteran pursuant to the bill�s provisions.