Bill Text: NJ A5314 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes list of essential employees for purposes of travel during state of emergency.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-06-23 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee [A5314 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5314-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman VINCENT M. "VINNIE" KEARNEY
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes list of essential employees for purposes of travel during state of emergency.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning essential employees during a state of emergency and supplementing chapter 9 of Appendix A.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. During a state of emergency, the ability of essential employees to travel freely to worksites, emergency scenes, critical infrastructure facilities, and other necessary locations is vital to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents of this State and to preserve, maintain, or restore critical infrastructure.
b. Employees whose work may be considered essential during a state of emergency include public safety workers or first responders, such as police, fire, or other emergency responders; public works employees; and other individuals whose work or function may be deemed necessary by the governor during a state of emergency to protect critical infrastructure or services required to maintain or protect the public health, safety, security, or economy of this State.
c. While travel restrictions are sometimes necessary during a state of emergency to protect individuals from hazards, they may also make it difficult for essential employees to reach locations where their critical services are needed.
d. Therefore, it is altogether fitting and proper to establish and maintain a list of essential employees to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management personnel in determining whether a person qualifies as an essential employee for travel or emergency access during a state of emergency.
2. a. As used in this section:
"Critical infrastructure" means any building, structure, facility, system, network, or service in the State that is required to maintain or protect the public health, safety, security, or economy of this State.
"Essential employee" means an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer in the private or public sector who is a public safety worker or first responder, including any fire, police, or other emergency responder, or who performs any work or function deemed necessary by the governor during a state of emergency to protect, preserve, maintain, or restore critical infrastructure or services.
"State of Emergency" means any disaster or emergency for which a state of emergency has been declared by the governor.
b. The Director of the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the Superintendent of State Police, shall establish and maintain a list of essential employees to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management personnel in determining whether a person is an essential employee for purposes of travel or emergency access during a state of emergency.
c. A public or private entity may submit to the State Office of Emergency Management, on a form prescribed by the director, for inclusion on the list of essential employees information identifying an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer that may qualify as an essential employee as defined in subsection a. of this section, which submission shall include, but not be limited to, information identifying the employee, independent contractor, or volunteer and the work or function performed by the person, including the person's anticipated area of operation or travel and any location to which access may be necessary during a state of emergency.
The director shall review each submission and designate a person as an essential employee for purposes of inclusion on the list of essential employees upon making a determination that the person meets the definition of essential employee set forth in subsection a. of this section and that inclusion on the list of essential employees is necessary to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management personnel in determining whether the person is an essential employee for purposes of travel or emergency access during a state of emergency. The director may remove any person from the list of essential employees if the director determines that the person no longer meets the definition of essential employee, inclusion on the list is no longer necessary, or a person's inclusion on the list of essential employees has been used for a purpose not authorized under this section.
d. Any information submitted to or maintained by the State Office of Emergency Management pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be considered a government record under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), or the common law concerning access to government records, and shall not be disclosed except as necessary for travel verification, emergency access, or other emergency management or public safety purposes.
e. The director, in consultation with the Superintendent of State Police, shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a list of essential employees for purposes of travel during a state of emergency.
Under the bill, the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the Superintendent of State Police, is required to establish and maintain a list of essential employees to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management personnel in determining whether a person is an essential employee for purposes of travel or emergency access during a state of emergency.
The bill provides that a public or private entity may submit to the State Office of Emergency Management for inclusion on the list of essential employees information identifying an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer who may qualify as an essential employee as defined under the bill. The submission is to include information identifying the employee, independent contractor, or volunteer and the work or function performed by the person, including the person's anticipated area of operation or travel and any location to which access may be necessary during a state of emergency.
Under the bill, the director is to review each submission and designate a person as an essential employee upon making a determination that the person meets the definition of essential employee set forth under the bill and that inclusion on the list of essential employees is necessary to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management personnel in determining whether the person is an essential employee for purposes of travel or emergency access during a state of emergency.
The bill allows the director to remove any person from the list of essential employees if the director determines that the person no longer meets the definition of essential employee, inclusion on the list is no longer necessary, or a person's inclusion on the list of essential employees has been used for a purpose not authorized under this section.
Under the bill, any information submitted to or maintained by the State Office of Emergency Management regarding an essential employee is not considered a government record and may not be disclosed except as necessary for travel verification, emergency access, or other emergency management or public safety purposes.
