Amends State Constitution to prohibit State appropriations to non-State agencies unless based upon competitive criteria or statutory process.

ACR128

ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 128

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 9, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� AURA K. DUNN

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Amends State Constitution to prohibit State
appropriations to non-State agencies unless based upon competitive criteria or
statutory process.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

A
Concurrent Resolution
proposing to amend
Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the State of New
Jersey.

����
Be It
Resolved
by the General Assembly of the State
of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

���� 1.��� The following amendment to the
Constitution of the State of New Jersey is agreed to:

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

���� Amend Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 2 to
read as follows:

����
2. �
a.
� No money shall be
drawn from the State treasury but for appropriations made by law. All moneys
for the support of the State government and for all other State purposes as far
as can be ascertained or reasonably foreseen, shall be provided for in one general
appropriation law covering one and the same fiscal year; except that when a
change in the fiscal year is made, necessary provision may be made to effect
the transition. No general appropriation law or other law appropriating money
for any State purpose shall be enacted if the appropriation contained therein,
together with all prior appropriations made for the same fiscal period, shall
exceed the total amount of revenue on hand and anticipated which will be
available to meet such appropriations during such fiscal period, as certified
by the Governor.�

����
b.� (1) Except as otherwise provided in this
subparagraph, no moneys shall be appropriated on a discretionary basis, outside
of a formula or process established by law, for use by, or distribution to, a
non-State agency, unless the law in which the appropriation is made sets forth:

����
(a) the specific purpose of the
appropriation, of which no amount shall be distributed to a non-State agency
specifically named in the law; and

����
(b) the manner in which the moneys shall be
distributed to one or more non-State agencies, which distribution shall be made
on a competitive basis, pursuant to programmatic, merit-based criteria, or in
accordance with a formula or process established by law.

����
(2) As used in this subparagraph:

����
�Non-State agency� means any entity not
defined as a State agency in sub-subparagraph, including, but not limited to,
any political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions;
any division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality, or
agency created by a political subdivision or combination of political
subdivisions; private institutions of higher education, or any other
non-governmental agency.

����
�State agency� means any of the principal
departments in the Executive Branch of State government, and any division,
bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or created by such
department; the Legislature of the State, and any office, board, bureau, or
commission created by the Legislative Branch; the Judicial branch of State
government; and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality,
or agency, including any public institution of higher education.

(cf: Art.VIII, Sec.II, par. 2, effective Jan. 1,
1948)

���� 2.��� When this proposed
amendment to the Constitution is finally agreed to pursuant to Article IX,
paragraph 1 of the Constitution, it shall be submitted to the people at the
next general election occurring more than three months after the final
agreement and shall be published at least once in at least one newspaper of
each county designated by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
General Assembly and the Secretary of State, not less than three months prior
to the general election.

���� 3.��� This proposed amendment
to the Constitution shall be submitted to the people at that election in the
following manner and form:

���� There shall be printed on each
official ballot to be used at the general election, the following:

���� a. In every municipality in
which voting machines are not used, a legend which shall immediately precede
the question as follows:

���� If you favor the proposition
printed below make a cross (X), plus (+), or check (
a
) in the square opposite the word "Yes." If you are
opposed thereto make a cross (X), plus (+) or check (
a
) in the square opposite the
word "No."

���� b. In
every municipality the following question:

CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT TO PREVENT DIRECT APPROPRIATION OF STATE FUINDS TO NON-STATE
AGENCIES

YES

�� Do you approve amending the
State Constitution to prevent the direct appropriation of State funds to
non-State agencies?�

�� The amendment forbids
discretionary appropriations to non-State agencies, unless certain conditions
are met as set forth in the law making the appropriation.

�� The amendment requires a law
making an appropriation to a non-State agency to explain the specific purpose
of the appropriation.� The law is to set forth a competitive or merit-based
distribution or a formula or process.� No funds may be distributed to a
non-State agency that is named in the law.

INTERPRETIVE
STATEMENT

NO

� �The amendment prohibits certain
direct appropriations of State funds to non-State agencies.

�� This amendment limits what can
be provided in a law to appropriate discretionary funds to non-State
agencies.� The law would be required to explain the specific purpose of the
appropriation.� The funds may not be paid to a non-State agency that is
specifically named in the law.

�� The law would also be required
to set forth the process by which the funds are to be distributed to eligible
non-State agencies.� The process would be based on competitive, merit-based
criteria or based on a formula or process, set forth in law.�

�� This amendment does not apply
to appropriations made to support the operations of a State agency.

�� Non-State agencies are
counties, municipalities, school districts, non-profit organizations, private
universities, or any other non-governmental agency.

STATEMENT

���� 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.