Committee advances bill to create higher-education task force; debate centers on composition and $200,000 appropriation

The Assembly Higher Education Committee voted to amend and release Assembly Bill 1326, which would create a 13-member task force on higher-education governance and funding and appropriate $200,000 for its work. Committee members, labor representatives and higher-education leaders debated the panel’s composition, the adequacy of the appropriation and whether the task force duplicates prior studies.

Jennifer Higgins, president of AFT New Jersey, testified the state needs a broad, stakeholder-driven review of higher education. Higgins said the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education has been left smaller and with less authority, argued that increased competition among public institutions led to program duplication, and criticized public–private partnerships that left institutions financially exposed. "The need for greater oversight and accountability cannot be overstated," Higgins said, adding that boards routinely approve compensation packages for top administrators that include large salary increases and bonuses.

Eric Richard, legislative director for the AFL-CIO, told the committee organized labor supports the bill and urged a strategic plan to address enrollment decline, program coordination and affordability. Jennifer Keyes Maloney of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities supported the task force as a way to coordinate regional institutions and suggested coupling the bill’s appropriation with an FY26 study allocation to avoid duplicated effort.

Members asked how the task force would relate to an FY26 appropriation and prior OSHE-commissioned work. Sponsors and witnesses said the appropriation in the budget funded a study but the task force adds stakeholder participation and the potential for implementation-focused recommendations. Several members pressed on the governor’s appointment authority after an amendment clarified that one governor appointee must be a New Jersey Education Association representative. Questions also focused on whether the governor’s set of seven appointments was more prescriptive than the senate’s and speaker’s appointments and on whether the $200,000 allocation is sufficient.

The committee moved, amended and released AB1326. The roll call recorded three no votes (Assemblywoman Dunn; Assemblymen Meyer and Myers) and four yes votes (Assemblymen Carney and Miller; Assemblywoman Carter and Chairwoman Morales). The clerk announced the bill is released with amendments.

The task force would be charged with studying governance and funding options and reporting recommendations to the Legislature; the bill text specifies the number and categories of appointing authorities. Committee members said they expect additional conversations about the task force’s specific duties and any overlap with study work already paid for in FY26.