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S3201
SENATE, No. 3201
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JANUARY 28, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes the New Jersey State Government and Civil
Service Student Internship Program; appropriates $750,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing the New Jersey State Government and
Civil Service Student Internship Program, supplementing Title 11A of the New
Jersey Statutes and making an appropriation.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� There is established in
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development the New Jersey State
Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program.� The program shall aim
to attract to State government service outstanding students from a variety of academic
disciplines from institutions of higher education who have an interest in, and
commitment to, public service.
���� 2.� a.� The New Jersey State
Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program shall be open to any
full-time or part-time student currently attending any accredited institution
of higher education.
���� b.� The program shall be open
to students in undergraduate level and graduate level programs, with the
exception of juris doctorate and PhD programs.
���� c.� Students who are residents
of New Jersey, or who are attending institutions of higher education located
within New Jersey, shall be granted priority over other applicants to the
program.
���� d.� Participants shall be
required to complete two work periods of 240 hours each with a State government
department or agency.
���� e.� Participants shall be
required to work no more than 20 hours per week, but may voluntarily work no
more than 30 hours per week, during periods when semester classes are in
session.
���� Participants shall be required
to work no more than 40 hours per week during periods when semester classes are
not in session.
���� f.� A participant who
successfully completes 480 hours of an internship with the program in the same
State department, or agency shall be granted preference to the extent allowable
by law when applying for an entry-level civil service position within two years
of their graduation date with the degree which they were pursuing during the
course of their internship, if the position encompasses the same or substantially
similar work completed during their internship.� Disabled veterans and veterans
who participate in the program shall be given the highest priority for
preference to the extent allowable by law; otherwise, preference for disabled
veterans and veterans, pursuant to N.J.S.11A:5-5 and N.J.S.11A:5-6, shall be
maintained.
���� Preference for a participant
who successfully completes the program shall expire upon acceptance of a
suitable position and shall not apply for consideration for promotions.�
Employers may consider a participant�s successful completion of the program when
considering a potential candidate for promotion.
���� g.� There shall be no penalty
if a participant leaves the program before completion.� If a participant leaves
the program before completing the 480-hour requirement, the participant shall
not receive the post-graduation preference for an entry-level civil service
position.
���� h.� At no time shall any
portion of the hours worked during an internship with the program qualify for
preference in hiring for any position in State government which requires a
juris doctorate or PhD.
���� i.� When a participant
completes the 480-hour program requirement the State government department or
agency may elect to retain the participant for an additional 240 hours if the
participant agrees to continue their internship.
���� 3.��� There is established a
New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program
Advisory Committee.� The committee shall consist of the commissioners of each
Executive Branch department, or their designees.
���� The advisory committee shall
appoint a director of the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student
Internship Program, established pursuant to section 1 of this act,
P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill), who shall administer the
program and, in cooperation with the advisory committee, develop eligibility
criteria, the application process, recruit, and select the program
participants.� The director need not be a commissioner, or a designee, of an
Executive Branch department.
���� The director of the program,
shall identify and help create internship opportunities across all, or as many Executive
Branch departments and agencies, as possible.
���� The director of the program
shall assist program participants in receiving credit from the higher education
institution for the internship, when such credits are available to the
participant.
���� In the event that a program
participant who successfully completes the 480-hours program requirement is
denied an entry level civil service position and that position was filled by a
disabled veteran or veteran, the director shall attempt to identify a suitable
qualifying open position for the participant.� In the event that no such
position is available, the two-year post-graduation period of subsection f. of
section 2 of this act, P.L.��� , c.�� (C.������ ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill), shall be extended until such time as a suitable
qualifying position becomes available and the participant is offered
employment.
���� 4.� a.� Students selected to
participate in the New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student
Internship Program established pursuant to section 1 of this act,
P.L. , c. (C. )(pending
before the Legislature as this bill), shall receive a stipend of $2,500 for
every 240 hours of participation in the program.� The stipend shall be prorated
and paid bi-weekly.
���� b.�� There shall be
appropriated in each State fiscal year for the stipends provided to program
participants pursuant to section 3 of this act, P.L.�� , c.�� (C.�� )(pending
before the Legislature as this bill), such sums as may be necessary, but not to
exceed an amount as shall be determined by the Director of the Division of
Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury, to effectuate the
purposes of the program established in accordance with section 1 of this act,
P.L.��� , c.�� (C.������ ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
���� 5.��� There is hereby
appropriated $750,000 from the State General Fund to the Department of Labor
and Workforce Development for the purposes of the New Jersey State Government
and Civil Service Student Internship Program established pursuant to section 1
of this act, P.L.�� , c.��� (C.���� ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill).
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the New
Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program within the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development which will aim to attract to
State government service students from a variety of academic disciplines from
institutions of higher education who have an interest in public service.
���� The program will be open to
any full-time or part-time student currently attending any accredited
institution of higher education and will be open to students in undergraduate
level and graduate level programs, with the exception of juris doctorate and
PhD programs.
���� Students who are residents of
New Jersey, or who are attending institutions of higher education located
within New Jersey, will be granted priority over other applicants to the
program.
���� Participants will be required
to complete two work periods of 240 hours each with a State government
department or agency.� Participants will be required to work no more than 20
hours per week, but may voluntarily work no more than 30 hours per week, during
periods when semester classes are in session.� Participants will be required to
work no more than 40 hours per week during periods when semester classes are
not in session.
���� This bill establishes that a
participant who successfully completes 480 hours of an internship with the
program in the same State department, or agency will be granted preference to
the extent allowable by law when applying for an entry-level civil service
position within two years of their graduation date with the degree which they
were pursuing during the course of their internship, if the position
encompasses the same or substantially similar work completed during their
internship.� Disabled veterans or veterans who participate in the program will
be given the highest priority for preference to the extent allowable by law;
otherwise, employment preference for disabled veterans and veterans will be
maintained.
���� This bill establishes that
preference for a participant who successfully completes the program will expire
upon acceptance of a suitable position and will not apply for consideration for
promotions.� However, Employers may consider a participant�s successful
completion of the program when considering a potential candidate for promotion.
���� This bill establishes no
penalty if a participant leaves the program before completion.� However, if a
participant leaves the program before completing the 480-hour requirement, the
participant will not receive the post-graduation preference for an entry-level civil
service position.
���� This bill establishes that when
a participant completes the 480-hour program requirement the State government
department or agency may elect to retain the participant for an additional 240
hours if the participant agrees to continue their internship.
���� Hours worked during an
internship with the program will not qualify for preference in hiring for any
position in State government which requires a juris doctorate or PhD.
���� This bill also establishes a
New Jersey State Government and Civil Service Student Internship Program
Advisory Committee.� The committee will consist of the commissioners of each
Executive Branch department, or their designees.
���� The advisory committee will
appoint a director of the program who will administer the program and, in
cooperation with the advisory committee, develop eligibility criteria, the
application process, recruit, and select the program participants.� The director
need not be a commissioner, or a designee, of an Executive Branch department.
���� The director of the program,
will identify and help create internship opportunities across all, or as many Executive
Branch departments and agencies, as possible.
���� The director of the program
will assist program participants in receiving credit from the higher education
institution for the internship, when such credits are available to the
participant.
���� This bill directs that, in the
event that a program participant who successfully completes the 480-hours
program requirement is denied an entry level civil service position and that
position was filled by a disabled veteran or veteran, the director will attempt
to identify a suitable qualifying open position for the participant.� In the
event that no such position is available, the two-year post-graduation period
will be extended until such time as a suitable qualifying position becomes
available and the participant is offered employment.
���� This bill also establishes
that students selected to participate in the program will receive a stipend of
$2,500 for every 240 hours of participation in the program.� The stipend will
be prorated and paid bi-weekly.
���� This bill directs that money
to pay for the program will be appropriated in each State fiscal year for the
stipends provided to program participants in such sums as may be necessary, but
not to exceed an amount as will be determined by the Director of the Division
of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury.
���� This bill appropriates
$750,000 from the State General Fund to the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development for the purposes of the program.