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Bill

Bill

A 1005

Establishes "New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust."

2026-2027 Regular Session Introduced by Carol Murphy and 1 co-sponsor

Creates the New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust to provide monetary and other support to veterans, families, and related programs through a dedicated fund and grant/loans.

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · A 1005

Purpose and overall goal

  • Establishes the New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust (the “Trust”) as an instrumentality within the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) to provide monetary and other assistance to veterans, families of veterans, and public/private programs that support veterans and their families, or any other programs aligned with the Trust’s purpose.

Key provisions and changes

  • Creation and structure

    • Creates the New Jersey Veterans Assistance Trust, a body corporate and politic, inside but not of the DMVA.
    • The Trust is empowered to perform essential governmental functions.

  • Governing board

    • A 14-member Board of Trustees:
    • Ex officio members (7): Deputy Commissioner for Veterans Affairs (chair), and the following Commissioners or their designees — Human Services, Health, Labor and Workforce Development, Community Affairs, Transportation, and the Adjutant General (DMVA).
    • Public members appointed by the Governor representing:
      • Veterans service organization
      • Nonprofit organization that serves veterans
      • Business community
    • Legislative appointees (4): 1 each appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Senate President, the Minority Leader of the General Assembly, and the Minority Leader of the Senate.
    • Public appointees must reflect geographic regions (northern, central, southern NJ).
    • Terms: 4-year terms for Governor-appointed trustees (with 2-year terms for the first slate). Legislative appointees serve for the two-year legislative term in which appointed. No trustee may serve more than two terms.
    • Compensation: Trustees serve without pay but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses.
    • Meetings: At least two meetings per calendar year; majority constitutes a quorum. DMVA provides staff, supplies, and office space.

  • Trust powers and activities

    • Can solicit and accept gifts, grants, legacies, or endowments from federal, state, local governments, and private sources.
    • May maintain a fund comprising gifts/grants/endowments and expend funds to provide:
    • Grants or loans to veterans, families, and programs that support them.
    • Other programs the Trust deems within its purpose.
    • May develop sponsorship projects with corporate/private groups.
    • May enter into contracts and other legal instruments; may receive appropriations; may acquire, hold, use, improve, convey property; may lease and maintain a designated office.
    • May adopt bylaws and take actions necessary to fulfill its purposes without needing consent from other state entities.
    • May sue and be sued in its own name (limited to enforcing contractual or similar Trust agreements).

  • Purposes and fund administration

    • The sole purpose is to provide monetary and other assistance to veterans, families, and related programs, or any other programs aligned with the Trust’s mission.
    • Funds may be used for:
    • Grants or loans
    • Investments (per investment rules)
    • Administrative costs (via an admin cost account within DMVA)
    • Expenditure from the fund must not substitute for funding that would otherwise go to the DMVA.

  • Investments and financial management

    • Investable assets may include:
    • U.S. government bonds and state/local government bonds
    • Direct/indirect federal agency obligations
    • Corporate bonds rated BAA3/BBB or higher
    • Mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities rated AAA
    • Exchange-traded equity investments of U.S. corporations approved for investment by NJ pension funds
    • Overall portfolio credit rating must be at least AA.
    • Requires formal financial accounting, controls, audits, and regulatory reporting; adoption of necessary rules under the Administrative Procedure Act.
    • State audit authority applies to the Trust’s books and records.

  • Annual reporting

    • By February 1 each year, the Trust must report to the Governor and the Legislature (per existing statute on annual reports) with:
    • Activities of the preceding year
    • Recommendations or requests to advance the Trust’s purposes
    • Gross amount of gifts/grants credited to the fund
    • Administration costs
    • Detailed accounting of fund use
    • Opening/closing balances of any reserve or investment funds
    • Additional information the Board deems necessary

  • Effective date

    • Takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Who/what is affected

  • Creates a new statewide Trust housed within the DMVA.
  • Involves collaboration and oversight with multiple state agencies (Human Services, Health, Labor, Community Affairs, Transportation, and the Adjutant General) through ex officio Board participation.
  • Engages public sector and private sector stakeholders via Governor-appointed trustees (veterans groups, nonprofits serving veterans, and business community) and legislative appointees.
  • May impact veterans’ funding mechanisms by introducing a dedicated fund and grant/loan programs separate from traditional DMVA budgeting.

Procedural and timeline notes

  • The bill is introduced and referred to the Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee.
  • Regular annual reporting deadline: February 1 of each year.
  • Initial terms for governor-appointed trustees include a two-year subset to stagger appointments; subsequently, four-year terms.
  • The act is designed to operate with immediate effect, establishing governance and implementation mechanisms at once.

If you’d like, I can provide a concise one-page briefing or a comparative brief with similar existing programs in New Jersey for context.

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

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