Requires public institutions of higher education to enroll certain students impacted by automation in job training courses without payment of tuition.

A4389

ASSEMBLY, No. 4389

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

.Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires public institutions of higher education to
enroll certain students impacted by automation in job training courses without
payment of tuition.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning unemployment tuition waivers for displaced
workers and amending P.L.1983, c.469 and P.L.1983, c.470.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� Section 2 of P.L.1983,
c.469 (C.18A:64-13.2) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.�� Each public institution
of higher education shall permit a person who has been in the labor market for
at least two years and is unemployed or has received a layoff notice as a
result of a factory or plant closing
or automation
to enroll without
payment of tuition in a job training course, provided that the person is not
eligible for any available State or federal student financial aid and that
available classroom space permits and that tuition paying students constitute
the minimum number required for the course.� Nothing herein shall preclude a
public institution of higher education from requiring a registration fee not to
exceed $20.00 per academic term.�

(cf: P.L.1992, c.45, s.2)�

���� 2. Section 2 of P.L.1983,
c.470 (C.18A:64A-23.2) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.�� Each county college shall
permit a person who has been in the labor market for at least two years and is
unemployed or has received a layoff notice as a result of a factory or plant
closing
or automation
to enroll without payment of tuition in a job
training course, provided that the person is not eligible for any available
State or federal student financial aid and that available classroom space
permits and that tuition paying students constitute the minimum number required
for the course.� Nothing herein shall preclude a county college from requiring
a registration fee not to exceed $20.00 per academic term.�

(cf: P.L.1992, c.45, s.4)�

���� 3. This act shall take effect
immediately.�

STATEMENT

���� This
bill requires public institutions of higher education to enroll certain
students impacted by automation in job training courses without payment of
tuition.�

���� Under current law, each public
institution of higher education is required to permit a person who has been in
the labor market for at least two years and is unemployed or has received a
layoff notice as a result of a factory or plant closing to enroll without
payment of tuition in a job training course, provided that the person is not
eligible for any available State or federal student financial aid and that
available classroom space permits and that tuition paying students constitute
the minimum number required for the course.� This bill extends this benefit to
individuals who lost employment due to automation.�

����
According to a 2020 ALICE report from United Way of New
Jersey, 84 percent of jobs paying less than $20 per hour and 42 percent of jobs
paying more than $20 per hour in the State are at high risk of becoming
automated, based on data from 2018.� The sponsor notes that Ocean County is
among the State�s counties with the highest rates of these types of jobs,
leaving many of the county�s residents and families vulnerable to the impact of
job loss due to automation.�