A1945

An Act concerning the membership of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and amending P.L.1966, c.214.

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

1. Section 1 of P.L.1966, c.214 (C.52:16A-25) is amended to read as follows:

1. There is hereby established in the Department of State the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, to be referred to hereinafter as the council.

a. The council shall consist of [17] 21 public members, to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate from among [citizens] residents of New Jersey [or persons otherwise associated with the State], who are known for their competence and experience in connection with the performing, visual and creative arts.

b. There shall be three nonvoting, ex officio members of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in addition to the [17] 21 public members.

(1) The Secretary of State or his designee shall serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member for a term coextensive with the secretary's term of office or until such time as the Secretary of State appoints another designee, whichever occurs first.

(2) One member of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member of the General Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, shall be appointed as nonvoting, ex officio members of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, not both of the same political party. Both Senate and General Assembly nonvoting, ex officio members shall be designated members to the National Conference of State Legislatures' Committee on the Arts. The legislative members shall serve for terms coextensive with the legislative terms for which they were elected, subject to reappointment after the expiration of the legislative year.

c. The term of office of each member shall be three years, except that the present 15 members of the council shall continue in office for the terms to which they were appointed; provided that the two additional public members first appointed under this amendatory and supplementary act shall be appointed for initial terms ending on December 12, 1984.

All vacancies shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term only, in the same manner as original appointments. The members of the council shall not receive any compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the council. The non-voting, ex officio members shall not receive any compensation for services or reimbursement for expenses.

(cf: P.L.1983, c.42, s.2)

2. (New section) Each of the four additional public members appointed to the New Jersey State Council on the Arts pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1966, c.214 (C.52:16A-25), as amended by P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall be a resident of New Jersey known for competence and experience in connection with the performing, visual and creative arts, and a resident of one of the counties of this State of which no other public member of the council serving at the time of the appointment is a resident. Of the four additional public members appointed, one member shall be from a county of the first class with a population of over 850,000 according to the latest federal decennial census, and one shall be from a county with a tourism district designated pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2011, c.18 (C.5:12-219).

Of the four additional public members, one member shall be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate, one shall be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly, and two shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Two of the four additional public members first appointed shall be appointed for initial terms ending December 12, 2022 and two shall be appointed for initial terms ending December 12, 2023. The requirements set forth in this section for the appointment and the terms of the four additional public members shall apply only to the first four additional public members appointed after the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall not apply to the appointment of their successors or any other appointments to the council. The successors of the first four additional public members shall be appointed pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1966, c.214 (C.52:16A-25) as amended by P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill increases from 17 to 21 the number of public members serving on the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and specifies appointment criteria for the four newly-appointed members.

Under the bill, of the four additional public members appointed to the New Jersey State Council on the Arts:

(1) each must be a resident of New Jersey known for competence and experience in connection with the performing, visual and creative arts, and a resident of one of the counties of this State of which no other public member of the council serving at the time of the appointment is a resident;

(2) one member must be from a county of the first class with a population of over 850,000 according to the latest federal decennial census, and one from a county with a tourism district designated pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2011, c.18 (C.5:12-219);

(3) one member must be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate, one by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly, and two by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate;

(4) two of the four public members first appointed must be appointed for initial terms ending December 12, 2022 and two must be appointed for initial terms ending December 12, 2023.

The bill also provides that the requirements set forth for the appointment and the terms of the four additional public members must apply only to the first four additional public members appointed after the effective date of the bill, and must not apply to the appointment of their successors or any other appointments to the council. The successors of the first four additional public members must be appointed in the same manner as other public members of the council are appointed.