WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

A 942

Establishes a fire protection and emergency task force in rural areas

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Joe Angelino and 7 co-sponsors

Replaces the local-share formula's prebudget-year value with a district five-year average equalized valuation, smoothing aid and altering bills for all districts starting 2024-25.

REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · A 942

Summary of Assembly Bill A-942

Note: This bill concerns state school aid calculations, not fire protection or emergency task forces. The bill presented here is about modifying how a district’s local share for state aid is calculated.

Bill at a glance

  • Bill number: A-942
  • Title (as introduced): Establishes a fire protection and emergency task force in rural areas (note: the accompanying documents describe revisions to school aid calculations, not fire protection)
  • Current status: Referred to Governmental Operations (as of the latest action in the provided materials)
  • Introduced: January 9, 2024
  • Sponsor(s): Primary: Joe Angelino; various cosponsors
  • Related actions: Companion bill in the Senate (S-2071); prior-session related Assembly bills listed

Purpose and intent

The bill makes a targeted change to how school districts’ local shares, used to determine state school aid, are calculated. The core aim is to replace the current basis (prebudget year equalized valuation) with a five-year average of equalized valuations when computing each district’s local share, thereby smoothing year-to-year fluctuations in property wealth.

Key provisions and changes

  • New local-share calculation (districts):

    • Local share formula remains: LSHARE = (EQVAL × PVR × 50%) + (INC × INR × 50%)
    • EQVAL (new): the district’s average equalized valuation over the preceding five school years (instead of the district’s prebudget year valuation)
    • PVR: statewide property value rate (as determined by the statute’s subsection c)
    • INC: district’s income
    • ** INR**: statewide income rate (as determined by subsection c)

  • County vocational school districts (CVSDs) calculation:

    • LSHARE = (COLSHARE / COAB) × AB
    • COLSHARE: sum of local shares for all districts in the county (per the district calculation)
    • COAB: sum of the adequacy budgets for all districts in the county
    • AB: CVSD’s adequacy budget

  • Rate-setting mechanics (for rates PVR and INR):

    • For 2008-2009, the rates are set as: PVR = 0.0092690802 and INR = 0.04546684
    • For subsequent years, the commissioner annually determines:
    • The property value rate (PVR) so equalization aid equals statewide available aid given the five-year EQVAL approach
    • The income rate (INR) under a similar framework using district incomes
    • If the adjusted rates do not yield equalization aid equal to statewide available aid, the rates are adjusted with equal weight given to each.

  • Effective date and implementation:

    • Effective date: Immediate
    • First affected aid year: 2024-2025 school year

Who is affected

  • All public school districts and county vocational school districts in New Jersey
  • Impacts how local wealth (property values) and district income influence the local share portion of state aid
  • CVSDs have a parallel calculation method consistent with the district-level formula

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Introduced: January 9, 2024
  • Committee transfers:
    • Reported and referred to Assembly Appropriations (March 11, 2024)
    • Subsequently referenced to Governmental Operations (January 8, 2025)
  • Implementation timeline: Immediate effect on the statutory framework; first application to 2024-2025 aid calculations

Practical impact

  • Smoothing of local shares for districts with volatile annual equalized valuations
  • Potential shifts in aid allocation for districts experiencing rapid valuations increases or declines
  • Requires the Department of Education to determine annual PVR and INR to align with statewide aid ceilings

If you’d like, I can provide a plain-language example showing how a district’s local share would be calculated under A-942 versus current law.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.