ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 49
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Peterson, Mazzeo, Armato, Simonsen and McClellan
SYNOPSIS
Urges Governor and Legislature to fully fund 9-1-1 system.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
A concurrent Resolution urging the Governor and Legislature to fully fund the 9-1-1 system.
Whereas, New Jersey collects roughly $124 million annually in fees from landline and cellular telephone customers, and those fees are placed in the "9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Trust Fund Account" (fund); and
Whereas, Monies in the fund are used to fund certain emergency management activities, including the 9-1-1 system; and
Whereas, The State has allocated only 11 percent of the monies in the fund to counties and municipalities to operate the 9-1-1 system; and
Whereas, New Jersey has failed to provide sufficient funding for counties and municipalities to operate the 9-1-1 system and has instead diverted an inordinate share of monies from the fund to the State’s Department of Law of Law and Public Safety; and
Whereas, As a result, counties and municipalities, which handle the vast majority of 9-1-1 emergency service requests, have been forced to rely on local property tax monies in order to maintain, operate, and improve the 9-1-1 system; and
Whereas, Counties and municipalities require monies from the fund to maintain and operate the 9-1-1 system and to improve the system with the latest technologies in order to ensure the safety of their constituents; and
Whereas, If monies from the fund continue to be diverted away from counties and municipalities, local governments may be forced to either raise property taxes or cut essential services in order to operate the 9-1-1 system; and
Whereas, The Governor and Legislature should restore monies to the fund to allow counties and municipalities to properly maintain, operate, and continue to improve the 9-1-1 system; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature respectfully urges the Governor to take all necessary steps to allocate monies from the "9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Trust Fund Account" to counties and municipalities so that the 9-1-1 system can be properly maintained, operated, and improved.
2. Copies of this
resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the
Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Governor of
the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution urges the Governor and Legislature to fully fund the 9-1-1 system.
New Jersey collects roughly $124 million annually in fees from landline and cellular telephone customers, and those fees are placed in the "9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Trust Fund Account" (fund). Monies in the fund are used to fund certain emergency management activities, including the 9-1-1 system.
The State has allocated only 11 percent of the monies in the fund to counties and municipalities to operate the 9-1-1 system. New Jersey has failed to provide sufficient funding for counties and municipalities to operate the 9-1-1 system and has instead diverted an inordinate share of monies from the fund to the State’s Department of Law of Law and Public Safety. As a result, counties and municipalities, which handle the vast majority of 9-1-1 emergency service requests, have been forced to rely on local property tax monies in order to maintain, operate, and improve the 9-1-1 system.
Counties and municipalities require monies from the fund to maintain and operate the 9-1-1 system and to improve the system with the latest technologies in order to ensure the safety of their constituents. If monies from the fund continue to be diverted away from counties and municipalities, local governments may be forced to either raise property taxes or cut essential services in order to operate the 9-1-1 system.