Bill Text: NJ S4348 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires creation of central registry of residents with special needs for use during emergencies.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-28 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S4348 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4348-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires creation of central registry of residents with special needs for use during emergencies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act a registry of residents with special needs for use in an emergency and supplementing P.L.1989, c.3 (C.52:17C-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services in the Office of Information Technology, in coordination with the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services, shall establish a central registry of residents with special needs who require additional assistance provided to them during an emergency. The office shall maintain the central registry created pursuant to this section, which shall be composed of information voluntarily provided by each registrant including, but not limited to, the registrant's address, telephone number, hospital plan, and particular condition or assistance needs.
b. The Division of Developmental Disabilities shall establish a process by which a resident or person having legal guardianship over the resident may voluntarily submit the information required pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The division shall provide that information to the Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services. The office shall provide to each municipal, county, and regional police department, fire department, and emergency service organization a list of residents with special needs that have registered with the central registry and who reside in a municipality, county, or region that the police department, fire department, or emergency service organization serves.
c. The division, in coordination with each county sheriff's office, shall conduct a public awareness campaign, utilizing the Internet and any other available resources, to inform the public of the importance of identifying and registering individuals with special needs prior to an emergency so that appropriate preparations may be made to ensure that these individuals receive necessary assistance during an emergency.
d. Municipal, county, and regional police departments, fire departments, and emergency service organizations shall use information collected for purposes of a central registry created pursuant to this section to prepare for and provide assistance to residents with special needs when responding to 9-1-1 calls and other emergencies and shall not otherwise divulge or make the information publicly available.
e. The Director of the State Office of Emergency Management, at the director's discretion, may access and obtain information from the central registry to prepare an Emergency Operations Plan required pursuant to section 19 of P.L.1989, c.222 (C.App.A:9-43.2).
f. Any municipality that has established a list of residents in need of special assistance pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2017, c.266 (C.40:48-2.67) shall share the list with the office for the purposes of establishing a registry pursuant to this section.
g. The central registry maintained by the office and any information contained therein, or accessed and provided to municipal, county, and regional police departments, fire departments, and emergency service organizations in accordance with subsection b. of this section, or accessed and provided to the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management in accordance with subsection e. of this section, shall not be included under materials available for public inspection pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) or P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.).
h. The provisions of this section shall not limit the ability of a county, pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2011, c.178 (C.App.A:9-43.13), or a municipality, pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2017, c.266 (C.40:48-2.67), to establish a list of residents in need of special assistance provided to them during an emergency.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services in the Office of Information Technology, in coordination with the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services, to establish a central registry of residents with special needs who require additional assistance provided to them during an emergency. The bill enables residents to voluntarily register individuals with special needs with the office and provide the registrant's address, telephone number, hospital plan, and particular condition or assistance needs.
The bill requires the Division of Developmental Disabilities to establish a process by which resident or a person having legal guardianship over the resident may voluntarily submit their information to the registry. The bill further requires the Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services to provide to each municipal, county, and regional police department, fire department, and emergency service organization a list of residents with special needs that have registered with the central registry and who reside in a jurisdiction that the department or organization serves. Municipal, county, and regional police departments, fire departments, and emergency service organizations are directed to use information collected for the central registry to assist residents with special needs when responding to 9-1-1 calls and other emergencies.
The Director of the State Office of Emergency Management may access and obtain information from the central registry to prepare an Emergency Operations Plan. Under the bill, the Office of Information Technology may only divulge the information collected to municipal, county, and regional police departments, fire departments, and emergency service organizations and the Director of the State Office of Emergency Management.
The bill also directs the Division of Developmental Disabilities, in coordination with each county sheriff's office, to conduct a public awareness campaign, utilizing the Internet and any other available resources, to inform the public of the importance of identifying and registering individuals with special needs prior to an emergency so that appropriate preparations may be made to ensure that these individuals receive necessary assistance during an emergency.
