S 896 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Establishes "Civil Air Patrol Fund" to be supported by annual appropriations of $275,000; appropriates $275,000.*

This bill creates a permanent "Civil Air Patrol Fund" within New Jersey's Department of Military Affairs, requiring an annual $100,000 appropriation from the state General Fund. The fund supports the New Jersey Civil Air Patrol Wing by financing specific programs like cadet STEM/aviation training, search and rescue preparation, disaster relief equipment (including a Redbird flight simulator), and volunteer training. Unspent funds carry forward annually, and the fund may also accept federal grants and public donations. It directly affects the Civil Air Patrol's operational capacity for emergency services and youth development in New Jersey.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Reprint · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended by the Senate Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee to significantly increase the annual appropriation for the Civil Air Patrol Fund from $100,000 to $275,000 (a 175% increase). Three additional co-sponsors were added, and the informational statement section providing background on the Civil Air Patrol was removed. The bill moved from an introduced status pending technical review to a committee-reported version with amendments.

FISCAL

The annual appropriation from the General Fund to the Civil Air Patrol Fund was increased from $100,000 to $275,000 in both the recurring annual appropriation (section 1c) and the initial one-time appropriation (section 2).

SCOPE

Three additional co-sponsors were added: Senators A.M. Bucco, Ruiz, and Mukherji, joining the original three (Steinhardt, Space, and Amato).

TECHNICAL

The entire STATEMENT section, which provided historical background on the Civil Air Patrol (founding in 1936, roles in WWII, Cold War, post-9/11 defense, and COVID-19 response), was removed from the bill text.

The short title of the act was restructured: 'making an appropriation, and' was moved from the middle to the end of the title, changing the order of the enumerated purposes.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee

upper

1 primary · 5 co-sponsors