New Jersey A 1769: Requires uniform response procedures for all domestic crisis teams established or participated in by law enforcement agencies, and strengthens Statewide supervision over teams.

Bill Text

A1769 

ASSEMBLY, No. 1769 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Murphy, Reynolds-Jackson, Quijano, 
Assemblymen Karabinchak, Tully, Assemblywomen Swain and Lopez

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes Water Apprenticeship, Training, and 
Employment Resources (WATER) Pilot Program in DOLWD; appropriates $1 million.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative 
Counsel.

��

An Act establishing a Water Apprenticeship, Training, 
and Employment Resources (�WATER�) 
Pilot Program, supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes, and making 
an appropriation.

���� Be It 
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of 
the State of New Jersey:

����� 1.�� a.� 
As used in this section:

���� �Department� means the 
Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

���� �Eligible applicant� means a 
business, labor organization, college or university, workforce training 
provider, non-profit organization, public utility, local government entity or 
authority, trade organization, or other entity that offers or plans to offer a 
water-related apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the United 
States Department of Labor, and that has partnered with an industry to offer or 
fund that apprenticeship program.

���� �Program participant� or 
�participant� means a person who participates in an apprenticeship program 
operating pursuant to the WATER Pilot Program.

���� �WATER Pilot Program� or 
�program� means the Water Apprenticeship, Training, and Employment Resources 
Pilot Program established pursuant to this act.

���� b.��� There is established in 
the Department of Labor and Workforce Development a five-year Water 
Apprenticeship, Training, and Employment Resources (�WATER�) Pilot Program, 
which shall provide grants to support funding for adult apprenticeship programs 
in water infrastructure, water utilities, and other water-related sectors, 
including, but not limited to, those sectors employing wastewater workers, and 
those sectors focusing on underserved and underrepresented communities.� A 
grant may extend beyond one year in duration.� To be eligible for a grant, the relevant 
apprenticeship program shall be accredited and approved by the United States 
Department of Labor, or shall be in the process of obtaining that 
accreditation.� The WATER Pilot Program shall be administered by the Office of 
Apprenticeship in the department. The program shall coordinate with the Center 
for Workforce Innovation in Construction established by the New Jersey 
Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development as part of 
the New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative. 

���� c.���� To apply for a WATER 
Pilot Program grant, an organization shall submit an application to the Office 
of Apprenticeship, which shall include documentation demonstrating that the 
apprenticeship program the organization is sponsoring either is or will be 
accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor.� Any 
organizational sponsor of an apprenticeship program, including, but not limited 
to, a business, labor organization, college or university, workforce training 
provider, non-profit organization, public utility, local government entity 
or authority, or trade organization, shall be eligible to receive a WATER Pilot 
Program grant.

���� d.� No later than six months 
after the effective date of this act, the department shall begin accepting 
grant applications from eligible applicants for the WATER Pilot Program, and 
initial grant awards shall be approved and awarded no later than one year after 
the effective date of this act, using funds allocated to the program.� The 
department shall rank eligible applicants based upon its consideration of:

���� (1)�� each applicant�s 
potential to:

���� (a)�� reach a broad audience 
through its recruitment and outreach efforts;

���� (b)�� significantly increase 
enrollment in, and completion of, the apprenticeship program by program 
participants, including by members of underserved and underrepresented 
communities; and

���� (c)�� fill existing needs for 
skilled workers in the market; and

���� (2)�� the applicant�s 
partnership with an industry for which apprenticeship programs targeted at 
training and providing skilled workers who have the ability to perform jobs in 
that industry have demonstrated positive outcomes.

���� e.� (1)� An eligible applicant 
shall be required to demonstrate that� the applicant intends and is prepared to 
contribute the applicant�s own financial resources to the apprenticeship 
program and has secured an industry partner or a monetary or in-kind 
contribution, including conditional job placement guarantees, from an industry 
partner.� Moreover, each eligible applicant shall provide documentation of:

���� �(a)� the