Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman BETTYLOU DECROCE
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State Office of Emergency Management to study and recommend evacuation routes in Trenton for inclement weather conditions or other emergency situations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the State Capital 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. As used in this act, “office” means the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
b. The office shall, in consultation with appropriate State and local agencies and officials, study, and recommend the routes that are to be used to leave the city of Trenton in the event of an early closure of State government offices and the concomitant closure of local government and private offices, with its compounding effects, as a result of inclement weather conditions or other emergency situations. The study shall examine whether the office or another agency should be the lead agency in coordinating the efforts of the various State and local agencies that would be responsible for ensuring that persons leaving the city are directed to the routes recommended and the routes are clear of obstructions, natural, or otherwise. The office also shall develop and recommend a plan that provides for police and other emergency services to be present on the recommended routes to ensure that traffic is able to move freely. In addition, to promote a more even flow of traffic out of the city of Trenton, the office shall develop and recommend guidelines for the closure of State and local government offices, so that not all such offices close at the same time. The office shall submit its study and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) not later than one year after the effective date of this act.
c. The office may hold hearings at the times and in the places it may deem appropriate and necessary to fulfill its charge. The office shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require
and as may be available to it for its purposes.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with appropriate State and local agencies and officials, to study and recommend the routes that are to be used to leave the city of Trenton in the event of an early closure of government and private offices as a result of inclement weather conditions or other emergency situations. The study also shall examine whether the office or another agency should be the lead agency in coordinating the efforts of the various State and local agencies during weather or other emergencies. The office is to submit its study and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature within one year of the bill’s effective date.