A Supplement to the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, P.L.2021, c.133.

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

1. In addition to the amounts appropriated under P.L.2021, c.133, the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, there is appropriated from the General Fund the following amount for the purpose specified:

74 DEPARTMENT OF STATE

30 Educational, Cultural, and Intellectual Development

36 Higher Educational Services

2400 Office of the Secretary of Higher Education

GRANTS-IN-AID

80-2400 Office of the Secretary of Higher Education ..... $2,000,000

Total Grants-in-Aid appropriation,

Higher Education Services .............................. $2,000,000

Grants-in-Aid:

80 Center on Gun Violence Research.......... $2,000,000

The amounts hereinabove appropriated for the Center on Gun Violence Research, an amount not to exceed $2,000,000, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting, is appropriated to support interdisciplinary research on the causes and consequences of, and solutions to, gun-related violence.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill appropriates $2,000,000 to fund the Center on Gun Violence Research through the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.

Currently, the State of New Jersey funds the Rutgers New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center (GVRC) to research causes of gun violence and prevention. According to GVRC, the center is among the first state funded research centers in the United States that conduct interdisciplinary research on the causes, consequences, and solutions to gun-related violence, while respecting the rights to legally and safely own and use a gun.

The GVRC is jointly led by the Rutgers Schools of Public Health and Criminal Justice and incorporates faculty from among Rutgers' more than 30 schools and colleges, spanning multiple campuses across the State.

The GVRC consists of four main core areas:

� Data Core is responsible for facilitating data linkage, generating epidemiological reports, and informing research needs;

� Research Core is responsible for overseeing the peer-reviewed research award process, supporting research projects, and setting the Center agenda and research priorities;

� Training and Education Core conducts the training and education program, prioritized by research findings and strategic plans; and

� Outreach Core is responsible for bridging the research-to-practice and practice-to-research continuum, linking and communicating with governmental and non-governmental bodies, and engaging practitioners and community members.

Since FY 2019, the State has annually funded the Center on Gun Violence Research through a $2 million appropriation with the exception of FY 2021. In FY 2021, the State appropriated $500,000.

This supplemental appropriation will continue the State's support of interdisciplinary research on the causes and consequences of, and solutions to, gun-related violence.