---
type: "Bill"
title: "Revises New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students Loan Program to require applicants first exhaust federal student loans, require income verification, and limit total student loan amounts."
description: "Revises New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students Loan Program to require applicants first exhaust federal student loans, require income verification, and limit total student loan amounts."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "217"
identifier: "S 2578"
citation: "New Jersey S 2578 (217)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["EDUC FINANCE"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Benson, Daniel R.", "Cunningham, Sandra B.", "Downey, Joann", "Gordon, Robert M.", "Jasey, Mila M.", "Mukherji, Raj", "Muoio, Elizabeth Maher", "Pou, Nellie", "Sumter, Shavonda E."]
version_count: 2
action_count: 14
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2016-09-26T04:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2017-08-07T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fe472ab9-9274-4620-889c-08a2582f798a"
source_url: "http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/downloads.asp"
source_hash: "4cee64490a945958bf3ebcd240b4ef8bda4554f13efb02aa9c1b57d2d39184ef"
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 2578 (217) — Revises New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students Loan Program to require applicants first exhaust federal student loans, require income verification, and limit total student loan amounts.

## 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/S3000/2578_I1.HTM)
2. **Reprint** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/S3000/2578_R1.HTM)

## Votes

- Reported favorably out of committee — **4–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported favorably out of committee — **13–0** (pass) · legislature
- EMERGENCY — **36–0** (pass) · legislature
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **37–0** (pass) · legislature
- AMEND — **33–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported out of Assembly committee with amendments — **9–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Benson, Daniel R. — primary (person)
- Cunningham, Sandra B. — primary (person)
- Downey, Joann — primary (person)
- Gordon, Robert M. — primary (person)
- Jasey, Mila M. — primary (person)
- Mukherji, Raj — primary (person)
- Muoio, Elizabeth Maher — primary (person)
- Pou, Nellie — primary (person)
- Sumter, Shavonda E. — primary (person)
- Cruz-Perez, Nilsa — cosponsor (person)
- Diegnan, Patrick J. — cosponsor (person)
- Greenstein, Linda R. — cosponsor (person)
- Handlin, Amy H. — cosponsor (person)
- Houghtaling, Eric — cosponsor (person)
- McKeon, John F. — cosponsor (person)
- Ruiz, M. Teresa — cosponsor (person)
- Stack, Brian P. — cosponsor (person)
- Turner, Shirley K. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2016-09-26T04:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2016-09-29T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2016-09-29T04:00:00+00:00** Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee `referral-committee`
- **2016-10-13T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2016-10-20T04:00:00+00:00** Senate Amendment (33-0) (Singer) `amendment-passage`
- **2016-10-20T04:00:00+00:00** Emergency Resolution (36-0) (Cunningham)
- **2016-10-20T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (37-0) `passage`
- **2016-10-20T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-12T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Assembly Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2017-06-08T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for A4239 (1R)
- **2017-06-08T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (76-0-0) `passage`
- **2017-06-12T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Senate, 2nd Reading on Concurrence
- **2017-06-26T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (39-0) `passage`
- **2017-08-07T04:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2017, c.198. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fe472ab9-9274-4620-889c-08a2582f798a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).