Bill Text: NJ A1492 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes procedures for nomination and election of members of New Jersey Hall of Fame; directs principal location of hall to be in or adjacent to New Jersey State Museum.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-16 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A1492 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A1492-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes procedures for nomination and election of members of New Jersey Hall of Fame; directs principal location of hall to be in or adjacent to New Jersey State Museum.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing procedures for, and providing for public participation in, the nomination and election of members of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, amending and supplementing P.L.2005, c.232.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 5 of P.L.2005, c.232 (C.5:10-6.7) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. It shall be the duty of the [commission] board of directors of the hall of fame corporation established pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.1985, c.323 (C.5:10-6.1), to develop plans for establishing and operating a New Jersey Hall of Fame and to provide information to the authority with respect to the operation, management and location of the New Jersey Hall of Fame [as a project at a site either within the Meadowlands complex, or], which shall be located within [the State of New Jersey, but outside of the Meadowlands complex, that the commission] or adjacent to the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton. The board of directors may also establish one or more satellite locations for the hall, provided that such satellite locations are dispersed in different parts of the State. The principal and satellite locations shall be such as the board determines to be appropriate to meet the requirements of the New Jersey Hall of Fame project and to best serve the interests of the public, giving due consideration to architectural designs, development of new structures or the adapting of existing structures within which the New Jersey Hall of Fame may be located, criteria for selection of nominees to the Hall of Fame, the annual ceremonies for the induction of nominees into the Hall of Fame and other [areas] concerns the [commission] board may deem relevant to the [creation at a site either within the Meadowlands complex, or within the State of New Jersey, but outside of the Meadowlands complex,] siting of a New Jersey Hall of Fame including, but not limited to, such programs and events that the Foundation for the New Jersey Hall of Fame, established pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2005, c.232 (C.5:10-6.8), may wish to consider in connection with the foundation's fund-raising activities to support the operation, maintenance, support and promotion of the New Jersey Hall of Fame and to support charitable organizations that directly benefit children in need in New Jersey and throughout the world.
b. The advisory commission established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2005, c.232 (C.5:10-6.6) shall [also] develop policies to improve the image of New Jersey, promote the heritage of the residents of this State and instill pride in the State by increasing the public's awareness of the contributions made to society by past and present residents of New Jersey, make recommendations for local and State actions to follow up the commission's goals and consider such other matters relating to the accomplishment of its goals as the commission may deem appropriate.
c. The commission shall be authorized, within the limits of the funds made available to it for its purposes, to employ an executive director and professional, technical and administrative personnel and to contract for such professional and administrative services, and incur traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as it may deem necessary, in order to perform its duties. No member of the commission shall engage in any business transaction or professional activity for profit with the State of New Jersey. Employees of the commission shall not be construed to be employees of the State of New Jersey.
d. The commission 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 this purpose.
e. The foundation is authorized to receive and administer gifts, contributions, and funds from public and private sources to be expended solely for the purposes provided in this section.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.109, s.2)
2. (New section) a. In each calendar year, individuals shall be chosen for membership in the New Jersey Hall of Fame by nomination and election in accordance with the provisions of this section. No more than 12 persons shall be chosen for such membership in any calendar year. The board of directors of the hall of fame corporation, or "board," established under subsection b. of section 1 of P.L.1985, c.323 (C.5:10-6.1) shall be responsible for the management and oversight of the nomination and election hereunder of individuals to membership in the Hall of Fame.
b. (1) The board shall cause to be established and maintained in the offices of the corporation a roster of candidates for nomination to membership in the New Jersey Hall of Fame. The roster shall at all times include the names of not more than 200 candidates, each of whom shall be assigned to one of the following nominating categories:
(a) an enterprise category, including scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and other business leaders, leaders in medicine, and philanthropists;
(b) an arts and entertainment category, including musicians, singers, actors, dancers, painters, sculptors, writers, and those working in related fields;
(c) a sports category, including athletes, coaches, owners, and others in the field of sports;
(d) a general category, including educators, scholars, political and military leaders, leaders in the field of social service, and others not included among the foregoing categories; and
(e) an historical category, including deceased New Jerseyans whose contributions transcend the foregoing categories.
(2) To be eligible as a candidate, a person shall have been born in New Jersey or shall have lived in New Jersey for at least five years, and shall have made a significant contribution to the State, to the nation, or to the world. A person holding elective public office, or who shall have held elective public office during the preceding five years, shall be ineligible to be a candidate for nomination. Any resident of this State may propose to the board the name of a person, other than the proposer, to be a candidate for nomination to membership by completing such form of proposed candidacy as the board shall prescribe; the form shall be available on the Hall of Fame website. In addition, the board shall solicit the members of the New Jersey Hall of Fame Advisory Commission established under section 4 of P.L.2005, c.232 (C.5:10-6.6) for the names of individuals eligible as candidates for nomination to membership.
(3) The board shall establish and maintain a candidate screening committee, which shall consist of at least 25 residents of this State who are prominent in their respective fields. The screening committee shall include at least four academicians or retired academicians, of whom at least two shall be specialists in New Jersey history, and at least four shall be journalists or retired journalists who shall have spent a significant portion of their careers covering New Jersey-related matters. Members of the candidate screening committee shall receive no compensation. The board shall adopt bylaws for the committee to govern its operations. The candidate screening committee shall periodically review the qualifications of persons properly proposed hereunder by members of the public or members of the commission as candidates for membership in the New Jersey Hall of Fame and shall select from among those persons the individuals whose names shall be entered on the roster of candidates. A person whose name has been entered on the roster of candidates shall be removed therefrom upon the person's election to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and may be removed upon a majority vote of the members of the candidate screening committee.
c. (1) In each calendar year, the nominees for election to membership in the New Jersey Hall of Fame for that calendar year shall be selected by a nominating academy. The academy shall consist of the Governor, all living former governors, up to 10 other prominent residents of this State, and not fewer than 75 New Jersey organizations widely recognized for their support for New Jersey communities, education, the arts, broader awareness of New Jersey history, preservation of this State's historic buildings and sites, and the perpetuation of New Jersey's diverse cultural heritage, or for their leadership in the fields of commerce, communications, professional services, and other areas important to the economic, social, cultural, and civic life of this State. The board shall designate the members of the nominating academy, other than the Governor and the former governors, from time to time as may be necessary.
(2) The nominating academy shall conduct its selection of nominees for a calendar year in two rounds under such voting procedures, consistent with the provisions of this section, as the board shall prescribe by majority vote. In the preliminary round, the academy shall select from the roster of candidates the names of not more than 75 prospective candidates, including not more than 15 candidates in each of the five categories described in paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section, whose nomination in that calendar year would, in the judgment of the academy, be most timely and appropriate. The academy shall compile a list of the names of the preliminary nominees, divided according to the category of nomination, including with each name, the date of birth and, if appropriate, date of death; the municipality or municipalities of New Jersey residence; and a description, not exceeding 75 words in length, of the person's background and achievements. Following compilation of the list of preliminary nominees, the academy shall select from that list at least five but not more than 10 persons in each category of nomination as final nominees for election to the New Jersey Hall of Fame for the calendar year. To be selected as a final nominee, a preliminary nominee must receive at least 70 percent of the votes cast for all preliminary nominees in the same category of nomination. During the process of selecting the final nominees, the academy shall hold at least two public hearings, one of which shall be held in the northern part of the State and one of which shall be held in the southern part of the State. At each such public hearing, the academy shall receive oral or written testimony of members of the public. In making its selection of the final nominees, the academy shall give due and careful consideration to the testimony received at the public hearing and to any written testimony otherwise received by the academy, or received by the board and relayed to the academy, on or before September 15 of the calendar year.
(3) The nominating academy shall transit to the board its list of preliminary nominees, including biographical material and identification of New Jersey residence, not later than August 10 of the calendar year. The academy shall include with this list the schedule of the public hearings to be held as part of the process of its selection of final nominees; the schedule shall indicate the date, time, and location of each hearing, together with directions thereto from all parts of the State. Not later than the fifth day after receiving the list and schedule, the board shall post them on the New Jersey Hall of Fame website.
The nominating academy shall transmit to the board its list of final nominees, including biographical information and identification of New Jersey residence, not later than October 1 of the calendar year.
d. The general public shall elect the members of the New Jersey Hall of Fame from among the final nominees for such membership. Each person shall be allowed to vote for a single nominee in each of the five categories of nomination. The board shall provide for the casting of votes by means of a ballot on the New Jersey Hall of Fame website, and may provide alternative means for the casting of votes under such procedures as the board may by majority vote prescribe. Voting shall begin not later than October 10 and shall end at 11:59 PM on December 31 of the calendar year for which members are being selected. The persons receiving the two greatest number of votes within each category of nomination shall be elected as members of the New Jersey Hall of Fame for the calendar year. In addition, the board may, in its discretion, select not more than two of the persons who shall have received the third greatest number of votes within their respective categories of nomination as an additional member or as additional members of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, provided that such person shall have received at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the category.
3. This act shall take effect on June 1 following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes in statutory law the procedure for choosing members of the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Under the bill, a candidate screening committee of at least 25 prominent New Jersey residents would periodically review the qualifications of persons proposed by the public or members of the Hall of Fame Advisory Commission as candidates for nomination to the Hall of Fame. Based upon this review, the screening committee would select individuals whose names would be entered on a "roster of candidates." The roster would at all times include the names of up to 200 individuals, and those names would be assigned to one of five categories: an "enterprise" category, an "arts and entertainment" category, a "sports" category, a "general" category, and an "historic" category.
In each year, a "nominating academy" would select from the roster of candidates up to 75 preliminary nominees for election to the Hall in that year, including up to 15 candidates in each of the five categories. After two public hearings, the committee would select from among the preliminary candidates between five and 10 candidates in each category as the final nominees for the year. Selection of the preliminary nominees would be completed by August 10; selection of the final candidates would be completed by October 1.
The election of members of the Hall of Fame would be conducted among members of the public between October 10 and December 31. The persons receiving the two greatest number of votes within each category of nomination would be elected to the Hall of Fame for the calendar year. In addition, the board could select not more than two of those persons receiving the third greatest number of votes in their respective categories of nomination as an additional member or members of the Hall of Fame, provided that person received at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the category.
Finally, the bill directs that the principal location of the Hall of Fame shall be in or adjacent to the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton.
