New Jersey-2018-A1146-Introduced

An Act establishing the "New Jersey Investing in You Promise Neighborhood Commission," and making an appropriation.

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

1. There is established the "New Jersey Investing in You Promise Neighborhood Commission," to examine the effect of poverty on the development of the children in the State's most fiscally distressed urban and rural areas, and to develop recommendations about how local nonprofits, civic organizations, religious institutions, and institutions of higher education in the State can help to support and improve the lives of children living in these areas.

The commission shall consist of 20 members, as follows:

a member of the New Jersey Senate, to be named by the President of the Senate;

a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, to be named by the Speaker of the General Assembly;

the Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee;

the Secretary of Higher Education, or the secretary's designee;

a representative of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey;

the Mayor of Newark, or the mayor's designee;

the Mayor of Camden, or the mayor's designee;

the Mayor of Trenton, or the mayor's designee;

the Mayor of Paterson, or the mayor's designee;

the Mayor of Vineland, or the mayor's designee;

a representative of the Promise Neighborhood in Newark;

a representative of the Promise Neighborhood in Camden;

the Executive Director of the Paterson Housing Authority, or the executive director's designee;

the Executive Director of PolicyLink, or the Executive Director's designee;

the Executive Director of the Harlem Children's Zone, or the executive director's designee;

the President of Thomas Edison State College, or the president's designee;

the President of the College of New Jersey, or the president's designee;

the President of Rowan University, or the president's designee;

the Chancellor of Rutgers University -Newark, or the chancellor's designee; and

the President of Passaic County Community College, or the president's designee.

Appointments to the commission shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made.

Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties within the limits of funds made available to the commission for its purposes.

2. a. The commission shall organize as soon as practicable, but not later than 30 days after the appointment of its members. The commission shall select a chairperson from among its members, and shall appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.

b. The Office of Legislative Services shall provide such staff and related support services as the commission may require to carry out its work. The commission also shall be entitled to call to its assistance, and avail itself of the services of, the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

3. It shall be the duty of the commission to:

a. Analyze the current status of the State's two federally-designated Promise Neighborhoods, located in Newark and Camden, and the impact of those Promise Neighborhoods on the residents of those municipalities, and to create a report describing its successes, identifying areas in which the program needs to improve, determining whether it is possible to expand the program to other municipalities in the State, and if so, identifying funding that would be available to do so;

b. Create a master action plan to expand the number of Promise Neighborhoods in the State by 2017, with a focus on Trenton, Paterson, and Vineland. The plan shall outline the strategies and target the logistics specific to the expansion throughout the State of the program; and

c. Design a plan for the creation of a Promise Neighborhood that will replicate, guide, and provide technical assistance for all programs throughout the State, and a plan for the efficient use of federal or State funds that may be allocated for the expansion of the Promise Neighborhood Initiative in New Jersey.

4. The commission shall issue a report of its findings and recommendations concerning the study described in section 3 of this act, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the General Assembly, no later than 12 months after the commission organizes.

5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the "New Jersey Investing in You Promise Neighborhood Commission," established pursuant to section 1 of P.L: , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the sum of $2,000,000 to be credited to the commission to effectuate the provisions of P.L: , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

6. This act shall take effect immediately and the commission shall expire on the 30^th day next following the submission of its report.

STATEMENT

This bill would establish the "New Jersey Investing in You Promise Neighborhood Commission" to examine the effect of poverty on the development of the children in the State's most fiscally distressed urban and rural areas, and to develop recommendations about how local nonprofits, civic organizations, religious institutions, and institutions of higher education in the State can help to support and improve the lives of children living in these areas. The bill makes a $2 million appropriation for the operation of the commission.