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 the merger and submit a joint application to the Secretary of Higher Education for preliminary approval. Following this, a comprehensive plan for the merger must be developed and submitted for final review and approval by the Secretary, who will assess the need and implications of the merger.

Additionally, the bill mandates that the Secretary of Higher Education 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 provisions do not apply to Rutgers, the State University, unless it is involved in a merger with another institution, and it exempts any mergers for which a letter of intent was executed prior to the bill's effective date. The Secretary is also authorized to adopt emergency regulations to implement the act, which must be readopted within 180 days.