Bill Text: NJ S991 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes permanent unit in Office of Emergency Management to address access and functional needs of residents related to disasters and emergencies.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-08 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S991 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S991-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Lagana, Diegnan and O'Scanlon
SYNOPSIS
Establishes permanent unit in Office of Emergency Management to address access and functional needs of residents related to disasters and emergencies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the provision of disaster and emergency related assistance to State residents with access and functional needs 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. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought devastation to the State of New Jersey, with hundreds of thousands of positive cases, high levels of hospitalization, and a tragic number of deaths.
b. The pandemic has had profound economic impacts across the State, including on government entities, non-profit organizations, businesses of every size across all industries, families, and individuals.
c. Residents of New Jersey with disabilities, older adults, and other at-risk groups, many of whom are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 as well as the consequences of other types of emergencies and disasters, have been heavily affected.
d In 2018, the CDC estimated that 24.6% of New Jersey adult residents had a disability, which is a sizeable portion of the State's population.
e. The economic impact on people with disabilities and their families, as well as the burden on individual health from the pandemic are an existential threat to the disability community.
f. Protection of the State's vulnerable populations from the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters or emergencies that may take place in the future is a matter of urgency.
g. It is therefore in the public interest for the State to engage in comprehensive planning and coordination within the northern, central, and southern regions of the State to support residents with access and functional needs.
2. a. The State Office of Emergency Management shall establish a unit in the office to serve the needs of State residents with access and functional needs. The unit's responsibilities shall include:
(1) determining the needs of residents with access and functional needs before, during, and after disasters and emergencies;
(2) determining the Statewide availability of relevant resources and assistance;
(3) assessing and addressing the ability of residents with access and functional needs to access available resources and assistance; and
(4) coordinating with county and local offices of emergency management and relevant resource providers to determine, expand, and implement best practices to be utilized in support of residents with access and functional needs.
b. The unit shall consist of one full-time supervisor and a staff of three full-time planners to assist with the needs of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State in serving State residents with access and functional needs.
c. For the purposes of this section, a "resident with access and functional needs" means:
(1) a person with a disability;
(2) an older adult;
(3) a person with limited English proficiency;
(4) a person with limited access to transportation that would enable the person to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of a disaster or emergency; or
(5) a person with limited access to financial resources that would enable the person to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of a disaster or emergency.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, except that the State Office of Emergency Management shall take any anticipatory action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the State Office of Emergency Management to establish a permanent unit in the office to serve the needs of State residents with access and functional needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on residents of New Jersey with disabilities, older adults, and other at-risk groups, many of whom are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, as well as the consequences of other types of disasters and emergencies.
In 2018, the CDC estimated that 24.6% of New Jersey adult residents had a disability, which is a sizeable portion of the State's population. The economic impact on people with disabilities and their families, as well as the burden on individual health as a result of the pandemic, are an existential threat to the disability community. Accordingly, it is in the public interest for the State to engage in comprehensive planning and coordination within the northern, central, and southern regions of the State to support residents with access and functional needs.
