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Senate committee hears broad testimony on deferred‑maintenance fund for higher education
Summary
Experts and campus officials told a Senate committee the state faces large deferred‑maintenance needs, urged third‑party condition assessments and predictable funding, and outlined options including bonding, targeted grants and dedicated revenue streams. No final action was taken on S4508.
A State Senate higher education committee on the record Tuesday heard expert and campus testimony underscoring a growing deferred‑maintenance crisis at New Jersey colleges and universities and discussed S4508, legislation to establish a Higher Education Deferred Maintenance Fund.
The hearing featured national and state perspectives. Dustin Wheaton of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEO) said capital appropriations vary widely year to year and are typically expended over multiple years. "Capital appropriations are project dependent," Wheaton said, stressing that condition assessments and clear priority lists are critical to manage backlog effectively.
Cheryl Stitt, executive director of the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority (NJEFA), described the authority’s grant and bond programs and the statutory caps that limit bonding capacity. "We have completed over 500 transactions…
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