This New Jersey bill provides tax credits for businesses and individuals who pay qualified wages to disabled veterans. It allows a 15% credit (capped at $1,800 per veteran annually) on wages paid to veterans with a 30%+ service-connected disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, for sustained employment (185+ business days) during 2017-2020. The credit applies against both corporation business tax and gross income tax, with unused portions carryable forward for up to seven years. Businesses cannot claim the credit if wages are already counted toward other state tax credits or if the veteran hire appears to replace existing workers solely for the credit.
This bill excludes basic pay received by New Jersey residents serving in active duty or active duty for training with the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard from the state's gross income tax. It directly affects military members who receive this pay, expanding an existing exclusion that already covers military allowances like food/housing and combat zone pay. The key change removes basic pay - the primary component of military compensation - from taxable income calculations, aligning New Jersey's treatment with federal exclusions for such pay. The bill applies to taxable income years beginning January 1 after enactment.
This bill (A 873) amends New Jersey's existing small business loan program to require the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to ensure at least 12% of all loan funds distributed annually go to veteran-owned or veteran-controlled small businesses. It prioritizes businesses owned by veterans declared to have service-connected disabilities by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or Defense. The EDA must administer the program to meet this allocation goal while maintaining existing eligibility rules for all small businesses. This directly affects veteran entrepreneurs seeking loans and the EDA's oversight of the program.
Bill A 1239 authorizes New Jersey to issue special Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation license plates for motor vehicles. Vehicle owners pay a $50 application fee and a $10 annual fee on top of standard registration costs, with all extra fees deposited into a dedicated "Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation License Plate Fund." The fund's annual proceeds are appropriated to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation to support its mission of providing scholarships to children of active duty, retired, or deceased Marines. This policy directly affects New Jersey vehicle owners who choose the plates and benefits the Foundation, which has awarded over 30,000 scholarships since 1962.
This New Jersey bill requires the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs to develop a mobile application that provides veterans and their families with information on state and federal resources. The app would cover topics including legal rights, benefits, medical and insurance issues, education, housing, and support for transitioning from military to civilian life. It aims to improve access to these resources through a mobile platform designed to be faster and more user-friendly than traditional websites. The bill was introduced in 2026 but withdrawn after being enacted in prior legislation (P.L.2025, c.292).
This bill provides free hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and free admission to New Jersey state parks and forests for disabled veterans (honorably discharged with a service-connected disability), active and retired New Jersey National Guard members, active duty military personnel stationed or residing in New Jersey, and members of the state's military reserves. It amends existing laws to eliminate fees for these groups and requires the state to cover the cost by appropriating funds from the General Fund to the hunters' and anglers' license fund. The Department of Environmental Protection will determine acceptable documentation for verifying eligibility, such as military service records or VA disability certifications. The bill takes effect January 1 following enactment.
This bill establishes a 11-member task force within New Jersey's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to study challenges faced by returning members of the U.S. Armed Forces and New Jersey National Guard who deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. The task force, including agency commissioners and public members with expertise in military transition, mental health, and veteran support, will hold public hearings and review current programs. It must identify issues affecting veterans' physical, mental, and social well-being, develop recommendations for state action, and issue a final report with legislative proposals within six months. The task force expires 30 days after submitting its report.
ACR 36 proposes a constitutional amendment to increase New Jersey's annual property tax deduction for veterans from $250 to $1,250, effective 2024. It directly affects honorably discharged veterans and their surviving spouses who reside in New Jersey, allowing them to deduct this larger amount from property taxes or have taxes canceled if the bill is below $1,250. The amendment would require voter approval at the next general election following its passage. This change updates a long-standing provision that previously capped the deduction at $250. The bill does not alter eligibility requirements for veterans or surviving spouses.
This bill (A 2816) amends New Jersey's tax code to extend a $6,000 gross income tax exemption currently available to veterans to the spouses of deceased veterans. Under the current law, a veteran's spouse could claim this exemption only in the tax year the veteran died (if filing jointly), but not in future years. The bill would allow the spouse to continue claiming the $6,000 exemption starting the year after the veteran's death, and until the year they remarry. This directly affects surviving spouses of veterans who were honorably discharged and eligible for the exemption in their final tax year.
This bill creates a new hiring preference for Class Two special law enforcement officers seeking positions with municipal police departments in New Jersey. It places these officers ahead of other non-veteran applicants in the hiring order, ranking them third after veterans and children of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The preference applies only to initial appointments (not promotions) and covers all municipal law enforcement agencies that classify applicants by residency. The policy affects how municipalities rank qualified candidates during new-hire selections.
