A1701

An Act concerning Board of Public Utilities public meetings, amending P.L.1975, c.231 and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 7 of P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-12) is amended to read as follows:

7. a. Except as provided by subsection b. of this section all meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public at all times. Nothing in [this act] P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq) shall be construed to limit the discretion of a public body to permit, prohibit, or regulate the active participation of the public at any meeting, except that a municipal governing body [and] , a board of education, and the Board of Public Utilities shall be required to set aside a portion of every meeting of the municipal governing body [or] , board of education, or the Board of Public Utilities, the length of the portion to be determined by the municipal governing body [or] , board of education, or the Board of Public Utilities, for public comment on any governmental [or] , school district, or public utility-related issue that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality or school district, or customers of the public utility.

b. A public body may exclude the public only from that portion of a meeting at which the public body discusses any:

(1) matter which, by express provision of federal law, State statute, or rule of court shall be rendered confidential or excluded from the provisions of subsection a. of this section;

(2) matter in which the release of information would impair a right to receive funds from the Government of the United States;

(3) material the disclosure of which constitutes an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy such as any records, data, reports, recommendations, or other personal material of any educational, training, social service, medical, health, custodial, child protection, rehabilitation, legal defense, welfare, housing, relocation, insurance, and similar program or institution operated by a public body pertaining to any specific individual admitted to or served by an institution or program, including but not limited to, information relative to the individual's personal and family circumstances, and any material pertaining to admission, discharge, treatment, progress, or condition of any individual, unless the individual concerned (or, in the case of a minor or an incapacitated individual, the individual's guardian) shall request in writing that the material be disclosed publicly;

(4) collective bargaining agreement, or the terms and conditions which are proposed for inclusion in any collective bargaining agreement, including the negotiation of the terms and conditions thereof with employees or representatives of employees of the public body;

(5) matter involving the purchase, lease, or acquisition of real property with public funds, the setting of banking rates, or investment of public funds, if it could adversely affect the public interest if discussion of the matters were disclosed;

(6) tactics and techniques utilized in protecting the safety and property of the public, provided that their disclosure could impair that protection, or investigations of violations or possible violations of the law;

(7) pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation other than in subsection b. (4) herein in which the public body is, or may become, a party, or matters falling within the attorney-client privilege, to the extent that confidentiality is required in order for the attorney to exercise his ethical duties as a lawyer;

(8) matter involving the employment, appointment, termination of employment, terms and conditions of employment, evaluation of the performance of, promotion, or disciplining of any specific prospective public officer or employee or current public officer or employee employed or appointed by the public body, unless all the individual employees or appointees whose rights could be adversely affected request in writing that the matter or matters be discussed at a public meeting; or

(9) deliberations of a public body occurring after a public hearing that may result in the imposition of a specific civil penalty upon the responding party or the suspension or loss of a license or permit belonging to the responding party as a result of an act or omission for which the responding party bears responsibility.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.103, s.57)

2. (New Section) No later than 60 days after a municipality has notified the board that a gas public utility has applied to the municipality to lay conductors and install related facilities for conducting natural gas, pursuant to R.S.48:9-17, the board shall hold at least one public meeting in that municipality prior to the consideration of the application. The board shall not be required to hold the meeting if the gas public utility has previously been approved by the board to lay conductors and install related facilities for conducting natural gas in that municipality.

Notwithstanding the requirements of the “Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act,” P.L.1973, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.):

a. each public meeting required pursuant to this section shall be attended by: (1) the appropriate professional staff of the board; (2) at least one commissioner of the board; and (3) at least one representative from the natural gas public utility;

b. public notice of the time and place of a public meeting required pursuant to this section shall be: (1) conspicuously posted in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least 72 hours before the public meeting; (2) conspicuously posted on the board’s official Internet website at least five business days prior to the public meeting; and (3) mailed to the municipal clerk and the county clerk of the municipality and county in which the proposed installation is to occur; and

c. the board shall be required to reserve a portion of each public meeting required pursuant to this section for public comment on any issue relating to the laying of conductors and installation of related facilities for conducting natural gas. Any commissioner in attendance shall not unreasonably limit the length of the public comment portion of the public meeting.

3. This act shall take effect immediately but shall remain inoperative for 30 days following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill amends existing law to require the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (board) to reserve a portion of each of the board’s public meetings for public comment.

This bill also requires the board to hold at least one public meeting within 60 days of a municipality notifying the board that a gas public utility has applied to lay conductors and install related facilities for conducting gas within the municipality. A public meeting is required only when the gas public utility has not been previously approved by the board to lay conductors and install related facilities for this purpose.

The bill requires the public meeting be attended by: (1) appropriate professional staff of the board; (2) at least one commissioner from the board; and (3) at least one representative from the gas public utility. This bill requires that public notice of the time and place of a public meeting be: (1) conspicuously posted in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipality at least 72 hours before the public meeting; (2) conspicuously posted on the board’s official Internet website at least five business days prior to the public meeting; and (3) mailed to the municipal clerk and the county clerk of the municipality and county in which the proposed installation is to occur.

This bill also requires the board to reserve a portion of each public meeting for public comment on any issue relating to the laying of conductors and installation of related facilities for conducting natural gas.

The purpose of the bill is to facilitate greater public awareness of and opportunities for public participation in the expansion of certain utility services within the communities of this State and to increase government transparency in general.