S 3396 New Jersey Senate · 2024-2025 Regular Session

Permits educational research and services corporation to act as lead agency or contracting unit for procurement of any goods or services and public works.*

This bill (S 3396) allows educational research and service corporations in New Jersey to act as lead agencies for procuring *any* goods or services - including educational technology, consulting, staffing, and other support - for member institutions. It directly affects public research universities, state colleges, county colleges, and nonprofit institutions of higher education receiving state aid that are part of such corporations. The key provision exempts contracts between these corporations and their member institutions from standard public bidding requirements under state laws like the County College Contracts Law and State College Contracts Law. This streamlines procurement by treating these agreements as "shared services" without requiring competitive bidding.

Issues: ✓ Education

Sub-Topics: Higher Education

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jun 2024

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jun 6, 2024 Last action Nov 17, 2025

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What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Reprint SHI 11/17/25 1R · 3 edits

MINOR

The Senate Higher Education Committee amended S 3396 to add 'public works' to the types of procurement that educational research and services corporations can handle as lead agency or contracting unit, while simultaneously striking the provision that would have exempted shared services agreements between member institutions from public bidding requirements. The net effect is a broader procurement authority but without the previously included bidding exemption.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include public works procurement but narrowed by removing the shared services agreement bidding exemption. The corporation now has broader authority over what it can procure (adding public works) but lost the ability to bypass public bidding for certain inter-institutional service agreements.

SCOPE

Added 'public works' to the list of goods and services that an educational research and services corporation may procure as a lead agency or contracting unit, in both subsection b(1) (for member entities) and subsection b(3) (for municipalities, school districts, colleges, and other local entities).

REQUIREMENT

Struck the entire provision allowing an educational research and services corporation to enter into shared services agreements with member institutions of higher education for educational technology systems and related support services, which had been exempt from public bidding requirements under State law including the County College Contracts Law and State College Contracts Law.

Struck the exception clause in subsection c that said the corporation would be subject to procurement laws 'except as otherwise provided in subsection b,' removing the carve-out that had preserved the shared services agreement bidding exemption.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Nov 17, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported out of Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading

upper

Jun 6, 2024

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor