---
type: "Bill"
title: "Prohibits public institution of higher education from using State funds in excess of $10,000 to pay fee of commencement and other speakers.*"
description: "Prohibits public institution of higher education from using State funds in excess of $10,000 to pay fee of commencement and other speakers.*"
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "217"
identifier: "S 2355"
citation: "New Jersey S 2355 (217)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["HIGHER ED"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Cunningham, Sandra B.", "DiMaio, John", "Diegnan, Patrick J."]
version_count: 2
action_count: 8
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2016-06-09T04:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2017-05-08T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d063cbac-a399-4694-b81a-cad2127dc8cb"
source_url: "http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/downloads.asp"
source_hash: "670aa0f592ae345daf3f6e38f2f4308b3afde739e8850bddd2983763621b0839"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nj"]
---

# New Jersey S 2355 (217) — Prohibits public institution of higher education from using State funds in excess of $10,000 to pay fee of commencement and other speakers.*

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/S2500/2355_I1.HTM)
2. **Reprint** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/S2500/2355_R1.HTM)

## Votes

- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported favorably out of committee — **8–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported out of Senate committee with amendments — **5–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Cunningham, Sandra B. — primary (person)
- DiMaio, John — primary (person)
- Diegnan, Patrick J. — primary (person)
- Houghtaling, Eric — cosponsor (person)
- Phoebus, Gail — cosponsor (person)
- Space, Parker — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2016-06-09T04:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2016-06-20T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2016-06-30T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (40-0) `passage`
- **2016-06-30T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-27T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2017-03-23T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for A714 (1R)
- **2017-03-23T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (74-0-0) `passage`
- **2017-05-08T04:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2017, c.61. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d063cbac-a399-4694-b81a-cad2127dc8cb`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).