Extends eligibility for Military Dependents Scholarships to students enrolled in approved career and technical education programs and to dependents of certain military members who served in Operation Freedom's Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve.

A4589

ASSEMBLY, No. 4589

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Angelozzi

SYNOPSIS

���� Extends eligibility for Military Dependents
Scholarships to students enrolled in approved career and technical education
programs and to dependents of certain military members who served in Operation
Freedom�s Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning scholarships for military dependents
and amending P.L.2015, c.117.

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

���� 1.� Section 3 of P.L.2015,
c.117 (C.18A:71B-100) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3.��� a.� The board of
trustees of the Military Dependents Scholarship Fund shall consist of the State
Adjutant General, or a designee, the State Treasurer, or a designee, the
executive director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, or a
designee, the Secretary of Higher Education, or a designee, and nine public
members appointed as follows: two by the President of the Senate, who shall not
be of the same political party, two by the Speaker of the General Assembly, who
shall not be of the same political party, and five by the Governor, with the
advice and consent of the Senate, no more than three of whom shall be of the
same political party.� At least five of the public members shall be persons who
were directly affected by Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom,
Operation Iraqi Freedom,
Operation Freedom�s Sentinel, Operation Inherent
Resolve,
or Operation New Dawn.� Two of the public members shall be named
by the Governor to serve as co-chairpersons of the board.

���� b.��� Each public member of
the board shall serve for a term of three years and until a successor shall
have been appointed and qualified; except that of the first members appointed,
two shall serve for one year, three shall serve for two years and four shall serve
for three years.� Any vacancy in the membership of the board shall be filled in
the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the unexpired
term.

���� c.���� Members of the board
shall serve without compensation. Reasonable expenses of the board shall be
paid out of the fund proceeds, subject to approval by the State Treasurer.

���� d.��� The board shall have the
following duties and responsibilities:

���� (1)�� determine eligibility
for a scholarship from the fund;

���� (2)�� determine the amount of
each scholarship award;

���� (3)�� report annually to the
Governor and the Legislature on the performance of its duties in accordance
with the provisions of this act;

���� (4)�� solicit and raise
private funds to finance the Military Dependents Scholarship program; and

���� (5)�� receive and disburse
such contributions to the fund as may be forthcoming from private and public
sources.

(cf: P.L.2015, c.117, s.3)

���� 2.��� Section 4 of P.L.2015,
c.117 (C.18A:71B-101) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4.��� a.� The board of
trustees is authorized to award scholarships from the fund for the costs of
undergraduate study at a public or independent institution of higher education
or
for the costs of attending a career and technical education program approved by
the board
to the spouse, child, or other eligible dependent of a New Jersey
resident who is killed, officially listed as "Missing in Action" by
the United States Department of Defense, or totally and permanently disabled as
certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as a consequence
of Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom,
Operation
Freedom�s Sentinel, Operation Inherent Resolve,
or Operation New Dawn.

���� b.��� Scholarships from the
fund may be awarded annually upon proper application by any student who
qualifies under the criteria established by the authority.

(cf: P.L.2015, c.117, s.4)

���� 3.��� Section 5 of P.L.2015,
c.117 (C.18A:71B-102) is amended to read as follows:

���� 5.��� a.� A Military
Dependents Scholarship shall not be awarded to an applicant unless the
applicant has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the board that the applicant:

���� (1)�� will be or is enrolled
in a full-time undergraduate program of study leading to a degree at an
institution of higher education
, or will be or is enrolled in a career and
technical education program approved by the board of trustees of the Military
Dependents Scholarship Fund
; and

���� (2)�� has complied with all
rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this act for the award, regulation
and administration of scholarships from the fund.

���� b.��� Eligibility for a
Military
[
Survivors
]

Dependents
Scholarship, in the case
of a spouse or other eligible dependent, shall be limited to a period of
[
15
]

21
years from the date of death of the person, the date the person is
officially listed as "Missing in Action" or the date upon which the
person is certified to have been totally and permanently disabled for initial
receipt of the benefits under the program.� In the case of a dependent child,
eligibility shall be limited to a period of eight years following graduation
from high school.

(cf: P.L.2015, c.117, s.5)

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill extends eligibility
for Military Dependents Scholarships to students enrolled in approved career
and technical education programs and to dependents of certain military members
who served in Operation Freedom�s Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve.

���� P.L.2015, c.117 established
Military Dependents Scholarships for the costs of undergraduate study at a
public or independent institution of higher education to the spouse, child, or
other eligible dependent of a New Jersey resident who is killed, officially
listed as "Missing in Action" by the United States Department of
Defense, or totally and permanently disabled as certified by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs as a consequence of Operation Noble Eagle,
Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation New Dawn.� As
of November 2021, no scholarships have been awarded through this law.�
Additionally, the Military Dependents Scholarship Fund has not yet been
established, as no State appropriations or private donations have been made for
such fund.� The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority will establish
the fund when an initial appropriation or donation is received for the fund�s
purpose.���

���� This bill extends eligibility
for Military Dependents Scholarships to students enrolled in a career and
technical education program approved by the board of trustees of the Military
Dependent Scholarship Fund.� The bill updates the list of qualifying military
engagements referenced in the law to include the most recent engagements,
Operation Freedom�s Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve.�

���� Several years have passed
since the enactment of the law and no scholarships have been awarded in the
intervening years.� Accordingly, in the case of a spouse or other eligible
dependent, the bill increases the eligibility period for a Military Dependents
Scholarship from 15 years to 21 years from the date of death of the person, the
date the person is officially listed as �Missing in Action,� or the date upon
which the person is certified to have been totally and permanently disabled for
initial receipt of the program�s benefits.�

���� Operation Noble Eagle
officially began on September 12, 2001, and is the name given to military
operations to support homeland security and support federal, State, and local
agencies in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.�

���� Operation Enduring Freedom,
the official name for the Global War on Terrorism, began in October 2001.� This
operation primarily refers to the War in Afghanistan, although additional
missions are included in the operation.� Operation Enduring Freedom was completed
in 2014.� Subsequent operations in Afghanistan by the United States military
were completed under the official name Operation Freedom�s Sentinel.� Operation
Freedom�s Sentinel was a coalition mission to train, advise, and assist Afghan
National Defense and Security Forces and to conduct counterterrorism operations
against the remnants of al Qaeda.�

���� Operation Iraqi Freedom began
in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States led coalition which
overthrew the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein, and continued through 2011 as
the collation forces fought an insurgency in Iraq.� Operation Inherent Resolve,
begun in 2014, is the name given to United States military and coalition forces
united to support the Iraqi Security Force operations and to complete military
campaigns in Iraq, Syria, and Libya.