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A4590
ASSEMBLY, No. 4590
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes �Supporting Educational and
Entrepreneurial Development (S.E.E.D.) Program� in Office of Secretary of
Higher Education.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing the �
Supporting Educational and
Entrepreneurial Development (S.E.E.D.) Program�
and
supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.�
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� There is established a
�Supporting Educational and Entrepreneurial Development (S.E.E.D.) Program� in
the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.� The purpose of the S.E.E.D.
Program shall be to support original student-led projects through the awarding of
grants from the fund established pursuant to section 4 of this act.� Awards
made through the program shall provide the initial funding necessary to support
the development of promising new concepts, products, or companies led by the
next generation of researchers.�
���� 2.��� a.�� The S.E.E.D.
Program shall be implemented by a board that consists of seven members
including the Secretary of Higher Education, or a designee; a representative of
the New Jersey Business and Industry Association appointed by the Governor; and
five public members.� The five public members shall be appointed as follows:
one by the President of the Senate; one by the Minority Leader of the Senate;
one by the Speaker of the General Assembly; one by the Minority Leader of the
General Assembly; and one by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Senate.� The Secretary of Higher Education, or a designee and the
representative of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association shall serve
as co-chairpersons of the board.
���� b.��� Each member of the
board, other than the secretary who shall serve ex-officio, shall serve for a
term of four years and until a successor is appointed and qualified; except
that of the members first appointed, one shall be appointed to serve for one
year, one for two years, two for three years, and two for four 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 but shall be entitled to be reimbursed for all
reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.
���� 3.��� a.�� The board shall
establish a competitive application process for receipt of a S.E.E.D. grant
that considers objective factors which shall include, but need not be limited
to: the intellectual merit of the proposed project; the overall feasibility of
the proposal; and the qualifications of the applicant.� A successful proposal
shall address the use of the S.E.E.D. grant toward the sustainability of the
project, either through strengthening the student�s application for upcoming
State, federal, or foundation grants, or for development of a self-sustaining
program through fee-for-services or generation of receipt revenue.���
���� b.��� The board shall award
S.E.E.D. grants from the fund established pursuant to section 4 of this act to
qualified applicants enrolled in each public institution of higher education,
within the limits of available funds allocated to each institution.� The board
shall determine the amount of each grant awarded under the program and may
award multi-year grants.
���� 4.��� a.�� There is hereby
created a special fund in the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education which
shall be entitled the "S.E.E.D. Fund."� The fund shall be maintained
in a separate account and administered by the board established pursuant to
section 2 of this act. The monies in the fund shall be used to provide S.E.E.D.
grants.
���� b.��� The fund shall consist
of all moneys appropriated by the State for the purposes of the fund and all
interest and investment earnings received on moneys in the fund.
���� 5.��� In each of the first
three years of the S.E.E.D. Program, the State shall appropriate to the
S.E.E.D. Fund for each public institution of higher education an amount equal
to the sum of $2,500 x (ENRF / 500) and $2,500 x (ENRP / 1,000), where ENRF is
the number of full-time students enrolled in the institution, and ENRP is the
number of part-time students enrolled in the institution.�
���� In the event that the funds
available for an institution of higher education are not awarded as S.E.E.D.
grants in any of the first three years of the program, the board may either
allocate those funds to the institution in a subsequent year or reallocate
those funds to other institutions of higher education.�
���� In each subsequent year, the
State appropriations to the S.E.E.D. Fund for each institution shall be
determined with consideration of the outcomes of the projects of the prior
years� grantees.� In the event that an independent institution of higher
education opts to participate in the program, a State appropriation shall be
made to the fund in accordance with the guidelines established herein.���
���� 6.��� The board shall submit a
report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), four years after the establishment of the S.E.E.D.
Program.� The report shall include, but need not be limited to, information on
the number of applicants, the number of awards, and a description of the
proposals for and outcomes of each grant awarded.
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes a
�Supporting Educational and Entrepreneurial Development (S.E.E.D.) Program� in
the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.� The purpose of the S.E.E.D.
Program will be to support original student-led projects through the awarding of
grants. Awards made through the program will provide the initial funding
necessary to support the development of promising new concepts, products, or
companies led by the next generation of researchers.�
���� Under the bill, the S.E.E.D.�
Program will be implemented by a seven member board that includes the Secretary
of Higher Education, or a designee; a representative of the New Jersey Business
and Industry Association; and five public members.� The board will establish a
competitive application process for receipt of a S.E.E.D. grant that considers
objective factors which include, but need not be limited to: the intellectual
merit of the proposed project; the overall feasibility of the proposal; and the
qualifications of the applicant.� The bill directs the board to award S.E.E.D.
grants from the fund to qualified applicants enrolled in each public
institution of higher education, within the limits of available funds.� The
board will determine the amount of each grant awarded under the program and may
award multi-year grants.
���� The bill creates a special
fund in the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education entitled the "S.E.E.D.
Fund," consisting of all moneys appropriated by the State for the purposes
of the program and all interest and investment earnings received on moneys in
the fund. The fund will be used to provide S.E.E.D. grants.� The bill provides
that in each of the first three years of the S.E.E.D. �Program, the State must
appropriate to the S.E.E.D.� Fund for each public institution of higher
education an amount equal to $2,500 per each 500 full-time student cohort and
$2,500 per each 1,000 part-time student cohort.� In the event that the funds
available to an institution are not awarded as S.E.E.D. grants in any of the
first three years of the program, the board may either allocate those funds to
the institution in subsequent years or reallocate those funds to other
institutions of higher education.�
���� Under the bill, in each
subsequent year, the State appropriations to the S.E.E.D.� Fund for each
institution will be determined with consideration of the outcomes of the
projects of prior years� grantees. In the event that an independent institution
of higher education opts to participate in the program, a State appropriation
must be made to the fund in accordance with the guidelines established
herein.���
���� Finally, the bill directs the
board to submit a report to the Governor, and the Legislature four years after
the establishment of the S.E.E.D. Program on its implementation and outcomes.