S 896 — Establishes "Civil Air Patrol Fund" to be supported by annual appropriations of $275,000; appropriates $275,000.*

S896 1R [First Reprint] SENATE, No.

Senators Steinhardt, SpaceSpace, Amato, A.M.Bucco, Ruiz and AmatoMukherji         SYNOPSIS      Establishes Civil“Civil Air Patrol FundFund” to be supported by annual appropriations of $100,000;$275,000;

appropriates $100,000.$275,000.

  CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT      IntroducedAs Pendingreported Technicalby Reviewthe bySenate LegislativeMilitary Counsel.and Veterans' Affairs Committee on February 19, 2026, with amendments.

   An Act establishing the Civil1“1Civil Air Patrol Fund;Fund 1[;

making an appropriation, andand] ,”1 supplementing Title 38A of the New Jersey Statues.Statues 1, and making an appropriation1.

       1.  a.  There is hereby created in the Department of Military Affairs a non-lapsing fund known as the “Civil Air Patrol Fund,” which shall be held separate and apart from all other funds of the State.  All monies appropriated annually for the Civil Air Patrol by the Legislature, federal and other grants received by the State and any other monies as may thereafter be donated by members of the public shall be credited to the fund.  The monies in the fund shall be administered by the State Treasurer, to be held in the fund until appropriated by law.  Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this act, and periodically thereafter, the State Treasurer shall certify to the Legislature the total amount of monies in the fund.       b.  Monies in the “Civil Air Patrol Fund” shall be used by the Department of Military Affairs to provide support and funding to the Civil Air Patrol Wing in the State, which may include but need not be limited to:

     c.  There shall be appropriated annually from the General Fund to the Department of Military Affairs the sum of $100,0001[$100,000] $275,0001 for deposit in the “Civil Air Patrol Fund” to effectuate the purposes and objectives of this section.

       2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Military Affairs the sum of $100,0001[$100,000] $275,0001 for deposit in the “Civil Air Patrol Fund” to effectuate the purposes and objectives of section 1 of P.L.P.L.     , c.

    ,(C.      c.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

(C.     3.

     ) This (pendingact beforeshall thetake Legislatureeffect asimmediately. this bill).

       3.

 This act shall take effect immediately.  STATEMENT         This bill would create a “Civil Air Patrol Fund” within the Department of Military Affairs.  Under the bill, the “Civil Air Patrol Fund” is a non-lapsing fund which is to be credited by all monies appropriated annually by the Legislature, federal and other grants received by the State and any donations made by members of the public.  This bill would require an appropriation to the fund of $100,000 annually from the General Fund.  The monies in the “Civil Air Patrol Fund” will be used by the Department of Military Affairs to provide support and funding to the New Jersey Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.

     The bill also appropriates $100,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Military Affairs to implement the provisions of the bill.

     The Civil Air Patrol was founded in 1936 by Gill Robb Wilson, a World War I aviator and the New Jersey director of aeronautics.  Wilson envisioned mobilizing America’s civilian aviators for national defense and shortly after, launched his national program.  The Civil Air Patrol was approved by the federal government and national recruiting began on December 8th, 1941.

Since the program’s inception, the Civil Air Patrol has played key roles in World War II, the Cold War, and national defense in a post-9/11 world.  Today, the Civil Air Patrol continues to have a profound impact by aiding in mobilizations for COVID-19 by delivering supplies, building and staffing field hospitals and transporting vaccine vials.  The Civil Air Patrol also develops pertinent new programs and new technology, such as multispectral imaging for post-disaster damage assessment.