Bill Text: NJ A2518 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Office of Advocacy for Persons with Autism and provides for designation of Autism Advocate.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-21 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A2518 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A2518-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman VINCENT PRIETO
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
Assemblywoman ANGELICA M. JIMENEZ
District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Office of Advocacy for Persons with Autism and provides for designation of Autism Advocate.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning advocacy for persons with autism and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is hereby established in the Executive Branch of the State Government the Office of Advocacy for Persons with Autism. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the Office of Advocacy for Persons with Autism is hereby allocated within the Department of the Treasury but, notwithstanding that allocation, the office shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any board or officer thereof.
b. The State Treasurer shall designate one person to serve as the Autism Advocate. This person shall have expertise in issues relating to the needs and concerns of persons with autism and their families, and shall:
(1) serve as the primary advocate for persons with autism and their families who are seeking to obtain services or request information or assistance;
(2) provide leadership within the autism community in New Jersey to achieve objectives that serve the interests of persons with autism; and
(3) communicate with, and provide guidance to, departments of State government that provide services which impact persons with autism in furtherance of objectives that serve the interests of persons with autism.
Although the Autism Advocate shall be primarily responsible for the duties enumerated in this subsection, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the Autism Advocate from serving persons with developmental disabilities other than autism.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Office of Advocacy for Persons with Autism in the Department of the Treasury and requires the State Treasurer to designate a person to serve as the Autism Advocate. The bill specifies that notwithstanding the allocation of the office to the department, the office is to be independent of any supervision or control by the department.
Under the provisions of the bill, the Autism Advocate must have expertise in issues relating to the needs and concerns of persons with autism and their families and would serve as the primary advocate for persons with autism and their families who are seeking to obtain services or request information or assistance.
The Autism Advocate also would provide leadership within the autism community in New Jersey to achieve objectives that serve the interests of persons with autism, and communicate with, and provide guidance to, departments of State government that provide services which impact persons with autism in furtherance of objectives that serve the interests of persons with autism.
The bill also specifies that although the Autism Advocate would be primarily responsible for the duties listed above, the provisions of the bill should not be construed to prohibit the Autism Advocate from serving persons with developmental disabilities other than autism.
