---
type: "Bill"
title: "Establishes annual grant program to recognize institutions of higher education that offer comprehensive array of veteran programs and services.*"
description: "Establishes annual grant program to recognize institutions of higher education that offer comprehensive array of veteran programs and services.*"
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "219"
identifier: "S 961"
citation: "New Jersey S 961 (219)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["HIGHER ED", "VETERANS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Armato, John", "Cruz-Perez, Nilsa I.", "Singleton, Troy", "Verrelli, Anthony S.", "Zwicker, Andrew"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 10
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2020-01-27T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-07-22T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2aab453c-77b0-4132-8c12-244df1a47e47"
source_url: "http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/downloads.asp"
source_hash: "b1aa6dad9027e4ebb47673c0f54da45342a0c3a845cdc3b26bd346b2727d8a33"
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 961 (219) — Establishes annual grant program to recognize institutions of higher education that offer comprehensive array of veteran programs and services.*

## 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/2020/Bills/S1000/961_I1.HTM)
2. **Reprint** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2020/Bills/S1000/961_R1.HTM)

## Votes

- AMEND — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported favorably out of committee — **5–0** (pass) · upper
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported favorably out of committee — **6–0** (pass) · lower
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **76–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Armato, John — primary (person)
- Cruz-Perez, Nilsa I. — primary (person)
- Singleton, Troy — primary (person)
- Verrelli, Anthony S. — primary (person)
- Zwicker, Andrew — primary (person)
- Addiego, Dawn Marie — cosponsor (person)
- Benson, Daniel R. — cosponsor (person)
- Brown, Chris A. — cosponsor (person)
- DeAngelo, Wayne P. — cosponsor (person)
- Freiman, Roy — cosponsor (person)
- Greenstein, Linda R. — cosponsor (person)
- Johnson, Gordon M. — cosponsor (person)
- Madden, Fred H. — cosponsor (person)
- Moen, William F. — cosponsor (person)
- Murphy, Carol A. — cosponsor (person)
- Pou, Nellie — cosponsor (person)
- Reynolds-Jackson, Verlina — cosponsor (person)
- Scharfenberger, Gerry — cosponsor (person)
- Space, Parker — cosponsor (person)
- Swain, Lisa — cosponsor (person)
- Timberlake, Britnee N. — cosponsor (person)
- Vainieri Huttle, Valerie — cosponsor (person)
- Wirths, Harold J. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-27T05:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2020-01-30T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-10T05:00:00+00:00** Senate Amendment (32-0) (Singleton) `amendment-passage`
- **2020-03-05T05:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (40-0) `passage`
- **2020-03-05T05:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-05T04:00:00+00:00** Transferred to Assembly Higher Education Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-05T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2021-05-20T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for A3805
- **2021-05-20T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (76-0-0) `passage`
- **2021-07-22T04:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2021, c.176. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2aab453c-77b0-4132-8c12-244df1a47e47`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).