Establishes "New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust."

S3215

SENATE, No. 3215

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JANUARY 28, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� TROY SINGLETON

District 7 (Burlington)

Senator� RAJ MUKHERJI

District 32 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes �New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
establishing the �New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust�
and supplementing Title 38A of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.� There is hereby
created and established, in but not of the Department of Military and Veterans
Affairs, a body corporate and politic with corporate succession, to be known as
the New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust.� The trust is hereby constituted an
instrumentality exercising public and essential government functions, and the
exercise by the trust of the powers conferred by P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be deemed and held to be an
essential governmental function of the State.

���� b.� The powers and duties of
the New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust shall vest in and be exercised by a
board of trustees.� The board of trustees shall consist of 14 members as
follows:

���� (1) �the Deputy Commissioner
for Veterans Affairs in the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, who
shall serve as the chair;

���� (2) �the Commissioner of Human
Services, or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (3) �the Commissioner of
Health, or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (4) �the Commissioner of Labor
and Workforce Development, or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (5) �the Commissioner of
Community Affairs, or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (6) �the Commissioner of
Transportation, or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

���� (7) �the Adjutant General of
the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, or a designee, who shall serve
ex officio;

���� (8) �a member of the public
appointed by the Governor, who shall be a representative of a veterans service
organization;

���� (9) �a member of the public
appointed by the Governor, who shall be a representative of a nonprofit
organization that serves veterans;

���� (10) a member of the public
appointed by the Governor, who shall be a representative of the business
community;

���� (11) �one member of the
General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly;

���� (12) �one member of the Senate
appointed by the Senate President;

���� (13) �one member of the
General Assembly appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly; and

���� (14) �one member of the Senate
appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

Members of the public appointed by
the Governor shall represent the northern, central, and southern geographic
regions of the State.�

���� c.� Trustees appointed by the
Governor shall serve for four-year terms provided, however, that of the first
members appointed, two shall be appointed for a term of two years.� Each
trustee shall hold office for the term of the appointment and until a successor
shall have been appointed and qualified.� Trustees appointed by the Speaker of
the General Assembly, the Senate President, the Minority Leader of the General
Assembly, and the Minority Leader of the Senate shall serve during the two-year
legislative term in which the appointment is made. A trustee shall not serve
more than two terms.

���� d.� Trustees shall serve
without compensation but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in
the performance of their duties.� The board shall meet at the call of the
chairperson at the times and places the chairperson may deem appropriate and
necessary to fulfill the board�s duties, except that the board shall meet a minimum
of two times per calendar year.� A majority of trustees shall constitute a
quorum.� The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs shall provide staff,
supplies, and office space for the board.

���� 2.� The New Jersey Veterans
Assistance Trust shall have the power to:

���� a.� solicit and accept any
gift, grant, legacy, or endowment of money from the federal government, State
government, local government, or any private source in furtherance of the
trust;

���� b.� maintain the fund, which
shall consist of any gift, grant, legacy, or endowment provided to the trust under
subsection a. of this section;

���� c.� expend money from the fund
to provide grants or loans to: veterans, families of veterans, public and
private programs that support veterans and their families, or any other
programs that the trust considers to be within the purpose for which the trust
is established, as provided under section 3 of this act, P.L.��� , c.���
(C. );

���� d.� develop projects for
sponsorship by corporate and business organizations or private individuals;

���� e.� make, execute, and enter
into any contract or other legal instrument;

���� f.� receive appropriations as
provided in the State budget;

���� g.� acquire, hold, use,
improve, and convey property;

���� h.� lease and maintain an
office at a place within the State that the trust designates;

���� i.� adopt bylaws for the
regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business;

���� j.� take any other action as
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the trust without containing the
consent of any department, board, or agency of the State; and

���� k.� sue and be sued in its own
name, but only to enforce contractual or similar agreements with the trust.

���� 3.� a.� It shall be the sole
purpose of the New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust created under this act,
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), to
provide monetary and other assistance, as necessary, to veterans, families of
veterans, and public and private programs that support veterans and their
families, or any other programs that the trust considers to be within the
purpose for which the trust is established.

���� b.� Monies in the fund
established by the trust shall only be used to:

���� (1)� provide grants or loans
in accordance with section 2 of this act;

���� (2)� invest in accordance with
section 4 of this act; and

���� (3)� pay the costs of
administering the trust through distribution to an administrative cost account
in the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

���� c.� Monies expended from the
fund shall not be utilized to take the place of funding that would otherwise be
appropriated to the department.

���� 4.� a.� Any monies of the
trust held in reserve or not required for immediate use or disbursement may be
invested in bonds or other obligations of the United States, the State, the
political subdivisions or units of the State, direct or indirect federal agencies,
corporate bonds with a rating of BAA3/BBB, mortgage-backed and asset-backed
securities with a rating of AAA, or exchange traded equity investments of
corporations of the United States approved for investment by the New Jersey
State-administered pension funds, except that the overall investment portfolio
of the trust shall have a rating of at least AA.

���� b.� The trust shall establish
a system of financial accounting, control, audits, and reports.� The trust
shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary
to implement such system.

���� c.� The books, records, and
accounts of the trust shall be subject to audit by the State.

���� 5.� On or before February 1 of
each year, the trust shall annually report to the Governor, and to the
Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), its
activities during the preceding calendar year together with any recommendations
or requests it deems appropriate to achieve the purposes of the trust.� The
annual report shall include: the gross amount of gifts and grants credited to
the fund established by the trust, the costs of administration of the trust, a
detailed accounting of the use of the funds, the opening and closing balance of
any funds held in reserve or invested for future use in the preceding calendar
year, and any other information that the board deems necessary.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the �New
Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust� in, but not of, the Department of Military
and Veterans Affairs to provide monetary and other assistance, as necessary, to
veterans, families of veterans, and public and private programs that support
veterans and their families, or any other programs that the trust considers to
be within the purpose for which the trust is established.

���� The bill provides that the
trust will be administered by a board of 14 trustees consisting of the Deputy
Commissioner for Veterans Affairs in the Department of Military and Veterans
Affairs, who will serve as the chair; the Commissioner of Human Services; the
Commissioner of Health; the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development;
the Commissioner of Community Affairs; the Commissioner of Transportation; and
the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs; or
their designees, who will serve ex officio; a member of the public appointed by
the Governor who must be a representative of a veterans service organization; a
member of the public appointed by the Governor who must be a representative of
a nonprofit organization that serves veterans; a member of the public appointed
by the Governor who must be a representative of the business community; one
member of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General
Assembly; one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate President; one
member of the General Assembly appointed by the Minority Leader of the General
Assembly; and one member of the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the
Senate.� Members appointed by the Governor will represent the northern,
central, and southern geographic regions of the State.�

���� The bill grants the trust the
power to: solicit and accept any gift, grant, legacy, or endowment; make grants
or loans to veterans, families of veterans, and public or private programs that
support veterans and their families, or any other programs that the trust
considers to be within the purpose for which the trust is established; develop
projects for sponsorship by corporate organizations or private individuals;
execute or enter into contracts; acquire, hold, improve, or convey property;
sue or be sued; and take any other action as may be necessary to carry out the
purposes of the trust.

���� Under the bill, the trustees
may invest all or a part of the monies held in reserve into investment grade US
debt or US equities approved for investment by the State-administered pension
systems, provided that the overall investment portfolio of the trust maintains
a credit rating of at least AA.

���� The bill requires the trust to
submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature by February 1 of
each year.� The report is required to include the trust�s activities, gifts and
grants received, administrative costs, accounting, and the opening and closing
balance of any funds held in reserve or invested for future use for the
preceding calendar year.� The report also is also required to make
recommendations and requests to further the purposes of the trust as necessary.