A3080

An Act concerning the establishment of a flood and severe weather text alert system and supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. public weather alerts can be one of the most effective tools in ensuring emergency preparedness;

b. the rapid dissemination of information, including a description of local weather and flood hazards, hazard severity, and evacuation protocols, to the citizens of the affected community and region is critical in protecting the public;

c. the most effective and modernized method of immediately notifying the public of a weather or flood hazard is through text messaging; and

d. given the successes that other states and regions have experienced using text messaging to quickly alert the public of weather hazards, it is in the interest of the safety, health, and general welfare of the people of the State that Legislative action be taken to empower the State Office of Emergency Management to establish a text alert program for New Jersey.

2. As used in this act:

“Mobile electronic communications device” means any mobile device capable of text messaging and includes, but is not limited to, a cellular telephone, wireless tablet, watch, or other device with Internet capability, or other wireless communication device.

“Severe weather conditions” means a weather related flood, hurricane, nor'easter, tornado, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, or other weather-related catastrophe which is of sufficient severity and magnitude to substantially endanger the health, safety, and property of the residents of this State.

“Text messaging” means the wireless transmission of text, images or a combination of text and images by means of a cellular telephone, a paging or message service, a personal digital assistant, or any other mobile electronic communications device.

3. a. The State Office of Emergency Management shall develop and implement a Statewide hyperlocal flood alert system which shall act as a mechanism for the rapid dissemination of information regarding flood events and severe weather conditions to community members. The program shall be a cooperative effort between State and local law enforcement agencies and the media, and shall be a voluntary service provided to residents. In implementing the program, the State Office of Emergency Management shall consult with the Department of Environmental Protection to determine each county’s degree of vulnerability to infrastructure damage as a result of flood or severe weather conditions.

b. The alert system shall:

(1) prioritize text messaging as its primary method of communication; and

(2) provide that persons may register any mobile electronic communications device with the State Office of Emergency Management to receive the alerts.

c. The flood alert system shall integrate real-time reports from counties, municipalities, and local governments and shall include data from:

(1) flood sensors;

(2) river height monitoring devices;

(3) localized emergency warning systems;

(4) stormwater management sensors;

(5) radar and satellite images;

(6) the National Weather Service;

(7) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency;

(8) meteorological sensor data;

(9) the Federal Emergency Management System; and

(10) any other data or data source that the State Office of Emergency Management determines to be necessary to ensure the safety of State residents during flood or severe weather conditions.

4. a. Alerts broadcast to State residents pursuant to the Statewide hyperlocal flood alert system established pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) current rainfall and precipitation levels;

(2) local river levels;

(3) total water level rise;

(4) storm surge;

(5) drainage complaints;

(6) reported flood damage;

(7) a description of the location and severity of flood incidents in exceedance of one foot of total water or sea level rise;

(8) forecasted threat details, storm arrival and end times, peak impact timing, intensity, and storm hazards;

(9) National Weather Service watches and warnings, including lightning strikes, hail reports, flood warnings, tornado warnings, extreme thunderstorm warnings, tsunami warnings, weather advisories, or security notices; and

(10) Federal Emergency Management Agency Integrated Public Alert and Warning System notifications.

b. The alerts shall provide sufficient information and environmental context to guide a safe community response to a flood or severe weather incident, including, when necessary, nearby evacuation routes and instructions.

5. The Director of the State Office of Emergency Management shall, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1), adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the State Office of Emergency Management to develop a State-coordinated, opt-in text alert system using hyperlocal flood and severe weather data to provide real-time warnings to community members. The program shall be a cooperative effort between State and local law enforcement agencies and the media, and shall be a voluntary service provided to State residents who register their mobile electronic communications device with the State Office of Emergency Management.

Under the provisions of the bill, the flood and severe weather alert system shall integrate real-time reports from counties, municipalities, and local governments.

The bill establishes the types of information that broadcasted alerts to State residents may include, such that alerts provide sufficient information and environmental context to guide a safe community member response to a flood or severe weather incident. Text alerts will describe current rainfall and precipitation levels; local river levels; total water level rise; storm surge; drainage complaints; reported flood damage; the location and severity of flood incidents in exceedance of one foot of total water or sea level rise; forecasted threat details, storm arrival and end times, peak impact timing, intensity, and storm hazards; National Weather Service watches and warnings; and Federal Emergency Management Agency Integrated Public Alert and Warning System notifications.

Finally, the bill requires that the opt-in text alert system includes sufficient information and environmental characteristics to guide a safe and efficient response to a flood or severe weather incident, including, when necessary, nearby evacuation routes and instructions.