A 2453 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes legislative internship program.

This bill establishes a state-funded internship program allowing New Jersey legislators to hire students as interns. It requires the program to be open to undergraduate and graduate students (excluding law and PhD candidates) from accredited colleges, with priority for New Jersey residents or students attending New Jersey institutions. Interns must complete a work period at a legislator's district office, set by the legislator, and may extend their internship with mutual agreement. The program will seek federal grants (such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act's "On-the-Job Training" program) and state funding to support these internships.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jun 30, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Reprint · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to broaden intern eligibility from 'full-time or part-time students' to 'individuals' attending accredited institutions, and to fundamentally restructure the funding mechanism from a mandatory requirement for the Legislature to apply for federal grant funds to a permissive partnership model with workforce development entities (local boards, summer youth program grantees). Three new subsections were added covering eligibility determinations by participating entities, compliance requirements for legislative offices as worksites, and a prohibition on using federal workforce development funds for political or campaign activity.

ELIGIBILITY

Intern eligibility was broadened from 'any full-time or part-time student currently attending any accredited institution of higher education' to 'individuals currently attending an accredited institution of higher education,' removing the student status and enrollment-type requirements while keeping the JD and PhD program exclusion.

FISCAL

The funding mechanism was changed from a mandatory obligation ('shall annually apply for and use any federal grant funds') to a permissive partnership model ('may partner with participating entities authorized by the department'). The scope expanded from only federal funds (specifically WIOA On-the-Job Training) to include State workforce development funding, with new conditions about fund availability and compliance with applicable laws.

REQUIREMENT

New subsection (g) requires that eligibility determinations for participants receiving services or funding through a federal or State workforce development program be made by the applicable participating entity, not by the Legislature itself.

New subsection (h) designates legislative offices as approved internship worksites and requires them to comply with all applicable federal and State requirements governing workforce development activities and work-based learning programs.

ENFORCEMENT

New subsection (i) prohibits the use of federal workforce development funds for political activity, campaign activity, or any activity prohibited under applicable federal or State law.

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Assembly Floor Amendment Passed (Voice) (Quijano)

lower

May 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee

lower

1 primary · 9 co-sponsors