Creates the 3D printed housing and infrastructure task force

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jenifer Rajkumar

Creates a state grant program, run by the EDA, to help veterans’ organizations build, buy, repair, or improve buildings used to assist veterans. 2 million initial funding.

REFERRED TO HOUSING

Summary — A3679 (Introduced Feb. 12, 2024; reported with committee amendments Jan. 23, 2025)

Note: The bill text and committee statement provided establish a New Jersey Veterans’ Organization Building Grant Program. The bill title supplied separately (“Creates the 3D printed housing and infrastructure task force”) appears to be unrelated to the bill text; this summary reflects the bill content in the documents (veterans’ building grant program).

Main purpose and intent

A3679 creates a state grant program to help veterans’ organizations (for example, VFW posts, American Legion posts, and similar organizations) acquire, build, repair, or otherwise improve buildings that are used to assist veterans. The program is administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA).

Key provisions

Establishes the “New Jersey Veterans’ Organization Building Grant Program” within the EDA to provide grants for construction, acquisition, repair, or improvement of buildings used to assist veterans.

Creates the Veterans’ Organization Building Grant Fund in the Department of the Treasury to receive legislative appropriations and voluntary taxpayer contributions.

New Jersey taxpayers may voluntarily contribute a portion of their tax refund or enclose a separate contribution to the Fund.

Appropriates $2,000,000 from the General Fund to the EDA to initiate the program.

Amends the definitional section (C.34:1B-3) of the EDA statute (P.L.1974, c.80) to reference the new program among statutes administered by the Authority.

Committee amendments noted in the Jan. 23, 2025 statement are primarily technical updates to statutory cross-references.

Who is affected

Primary beneficiaries: veterans’ organizations that operate buildings used to provide services to veterans (new construction, repairs, upgrades).

State agencies: New Jersey Economic Development Authority (administrator) and Department of the Treasury (fund custodian).

State budget: initial one-time appropriation of $2,000,000; ongoing funding would depend on future legislative appropriations and voluntary contributions.

Procedural status and timeline

Introduced in Assembly: Feb. 12, 2024 (referred to Assembly Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee).

Transferred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee; reported out with committee amendments: Jan. 23, 2025.

Referred to Assembly Housing Committee: Jan. 29, 2025.

Companion bill: S2402. Prior-session related bill: A7298.

Potential impacts

Improves physical infrastructure used to deliver veteran services across the State.

Provides targeted capital support to nonprofit veteran organizations that may lack access to other funding.

Fiscal impact includes the initial $2 million appropriation and any future appropriations; scale depends on legislative funding decisions.