New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 9A - HIGHER EDUCATION
Chapter 15 - RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION FACILITIES TRUST FUND ACT
Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 9A:15-1.6 - Authorization process
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The Secretary shall establish a review committee comprised of representation from the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority, the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and an external advisor with technical expertise to evaluate project grant applications and make recommendations on funding.
(b) The Secretary shall examine the recommendations of the review committee and shall, via a written certification, provide preliminary approval or disapproval of the grant, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 9A:15-1.5(b), and the amount of the grant.
(c) The Secretary shall submit to the Legislature a copy of the grant application, a copy of the written certification approving the grant, and the amount of the grant, with a copy of such material to the Authority. If the Legislature does not disapprove the grant by the adoption of a concurrent resolution within 60 days of receipt from the Secretary, the grant shall be deemed to be approved by the Legislature and by the Secretary.
(d) Upon authorization of the grant pursuant to (c) above, the institution shall enter into a grant agreement with the Authority, which shall set forth the terms of the grant award and be provided to the board of the Authority for approval by resolution.
(e) Each grant award shall be contingent upon the recipient governing board's entering into a contract or contracts to construct the facilities project within one year of the date on which the grant funds are made available. The funds shall be considered available on the date of the Authority's issuance of the bonds to fund the facilities project or on the date of the authorization of the grant, whichever is later.
(f) Each recipient of a grant shall provide such information as the Secretary may request regarding the use of the grant and the progress of the project.
(g) The Secretary may reduce or cancel entirely the amount of a grant:
(h) No reduction in the grant amount shall be made pursuant to (g)3 above if:
(i) In the event that an institution requires a modification to an approved project, a formal request must be sent to the Secretary, prior to any action being taken by the institution, in order to allow the Secretary to evaluate the merits of the proposed project modification against the objectives set forth at N.J.A.C. 9A:15-1.5(b). The Secretary may exercise discretion to allow a grantee to modify its project if such modification is reasonable and consistent with the scope, objectives, purpose, and intent of the originally approved project and if such modification does not constitute a material change. Material changes to the grant agreement will not be allowed. Project modifications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must be authorized under the terms and conditions of the grant agreement, tax certificate, and any other applicable bond documents. Additionally, the Secretary may, in a manner consistent with the allocations provided in the Act, allocate any balance in an approved grant to another approved grant of the same institution.