This bill establishes a formal process for the merger or consolidation of public institutions of higher education with other higher education institutions or certain proprietary institutions in New Jersey. It grants the governing board of a public institution the authority to merge or consolidate, provided they assume any vested rights, privileges, debts, or liabilities of the institutions involved. The process requires the governing boards of participating institutions to adopt resolutions to enter into a merger, followed by a joint application to the Secretary of Higher Education for preliminary approval. The Secretary must notify the institutions of the approval status within 30 days and, upon receiving preliminary approval, the institutions must develop a comprehensive plan for the merger, which will be reviewed and approved by the Secretary.

Additionally, the bill mandates that the Secretary submit a copy of the merger approval certification to the Legislature, which has 90 days to disapprove the merger through a concurrent resolution; otherwise, the merger is deemed authorized. The bill specifies that the remaining public institution will be treated as a single entity for funding purposes and outlines that the provisions do not apply to Rutgers, the State University, or to any mergers for which a letter of intent was executed prior to the bill's effective date. It also allows for the immediate adoption of necessary regulations to implement the act, which must be readopted within 180 days.