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S4520
SENATE, No. 4520
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 26, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� DOUGLAS J. STEINHARDT
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Jersey Protein Pro pilot program;
appropriates $3 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing the Jersey Protein Pro pilot program and
making an appropriation.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a. There is established
a three-year Jersey Protein Pro pilot program in the Department of Labor and
Workforce Development. The purpose of the pilot program shall be to create a
Statewide workforce pipeline for employment in the meat processing industry and
to address persistent workforce shortages that delay facility operations and
force farmers to ship livestock out of State.
���� b.� The Commissioner of Labor
and Workforce Development, in consultation with the Commissioner of
Agriculture, the Secretary of Higher Education, county colleges, and county
vocational school districts, shall design the pilot program to establish a workforce
credential program that provides short-course training at participating
institutions in meat cutting, food safety and hazard analysis critical control
point (HACCP), sanitation, and plant maintenance.
���� c.� The pilot program shall be
administered by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, in
consultation with the Department of Agriculture, and shall operate through the
award of grants to qualified participating institutions. Participating
institutions may include county colleges, county vocational school districts,
and other entities acting in cooperation with the department as determined by
the commissioner. �The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development shall
develop an application process by which an institution may demonstrate it is
qualified to provide the training necessary to effectuate the purposes of the
pilot program.
���� d.� Participating institutions
shall use grant funds to develop and offer training courses necessary to
effectuate the purposes of the pilot program, including, but not limited to curriculum
development, the purchase of instructional equipment, and the provision of hands-on
training. Grant funds also may be used by participating institutions to provide
tuition assistance to eligible participants who agree to remain employed in
this State for not less than two years after completion of the program.
����
���� 2. Not later than six months
following the effective date of this act and biannually thereafter until the
pilot program is ended, each participating institution shall submit a report to
the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development detailing the institution�s
use of grant funds for the preceding period, to include the number of
participants trained, the amount of tuition assistance provided, and any other
information deemed necessary by the commissioner.
���� 3. Not later than one year
following the effective date of this act and annually thereafter, the Commissioner
of Labor and Workforce Development shall submit to the Governor and, pursuant
to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, a report reviewing
the implementation and operation of the pilot program. The final report
additionally shall make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature
concerning whether to amend, extend, or make permanent the program.
���� 4. There is appropriated to
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development from the General Fund $3
million to effectuate the purposes of this act.
���� 5. This act shall take effect
immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the
Jersey Protein Pro pilot program.� The purpose of the pilot program is to
create a Statewide workforce pipeline for employment in the meat processing
industry and to address persistent workforce shortages that cause delayed facility
operations and force farmers to ship livestock out of State.
���� The bill provides that in
consultation with the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Secretary of Higher
Education, county colleges, and county vocational school districts, the
Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development is required to design the pilot
program to establish a workforce credential program that provides short-course
training at participating institutions in meat cutting, food safety and hazard
analysis critical control point (HACCP), sanitation, and plant maintenance.
���� Under the bill, the pilot
program will be administered by the Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and operate
through the award of grants to qualified participating institutions.
Participating institutions may include county colleges, county vocational
school districts, and other entities acting in cooperation with the department
as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.� The bill
requires participating institutions to use grant funds to develop and offer
training courses necessary to effectuate the purposes of the pilot program,
including, but not limited to curriculum development, purchasing instructional
equipment, and providing hands-on training. Grant funds also may be used by
participating institutions to provide tuition assistance to eligible
participants who agree to remain employed in this State for not less than two
years after completion of the program.
���� The bill requires
participating institutions to report biannually to the commissioner concerning
the use of grant funds. The commissioner is required by the bill to report
annually to the Governor and Legislature on the pilot program�s progress with a
final report to also recommend whether to amend or extend the program or make
it permanent the program.