A4208 1R

An Act establishing the “New Jersey Complete Count Commission.”

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

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “New Jersey Complete Count Commission Act.”

2. a. There is created in, but not of, the Department of State, the “New Jersey Complete Count Commission.”

b. The commission shall consist of ¹[21] 25¹ members as follows:

(1) the President of the Senate, or a designee;

(2) the Speaker of the General Assembly, or a designee;

(3) the Minority Leader of the Senate, or a designee;

(4) the Minority Leader of the General Assembly, or a designee;

(5) ¹two members of the New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus, one of whom shall be a member of the Senate and one of whom shall be a member of the General Assembly, to be appointed at the recommendation of the caucus chairperson;

(6) two members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, one of whom shall be a member of the Senate and one of whom shall be a member of the General Assembly, to be appointed at the recommendation of the caucus chairperson;

(7)¹ the Governor, or a designee;

¹[(6)] (8)¹ the Secretary of State, or a designee;

¹[(7)] (9)¹ the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, or a designee;

¹[(8)] (10)¹ three individuals representing municipalities in this State, reflecting the geographic diversity of the State, appointed by the Secretary of State;

¹[(9)] (11)¹ four individuals representing counties in this State, reflecting the geographic diversity of the State, appointed by the Governor;

¹[(10)] (12)¹ one representative each from four different organizations representing the interests of minorities in the State, appointed by the Secretary of State; and

¹[(11)] (13)¹ one representative each from three different organizations representing the interests of business in the State, including one organization representing minority business interests, appointed by the Governor.

3. All appointments to the commission shall be made within 30 days after the date of enactment of this act, P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.

4. The commission shall organize within 30 days after the appointment of its members. The Secretary of State shall serve as chairperson of the commission. The commission shall select a vice chairperson from among its members. The commission may also appoint a secretary, a director, and an assistant director, who need not be a member of the commission. The director and assistant director may be compensated from funds made available to the commission for this purpose. The commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson, or upon the request of any ¹[10] 13¹ members of the commission, who shall constitute a quorum.

5. The Department of State shall provide the staff services necessary to support the functions of the commission. The commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any other State department, board, bureau, commission or agency, as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

6. It shall be the duty of the commission to develop, recommend, and assist in the administration of a census outreach strategy to encourage full participation in the 2020 federal decennial census of population required by Section 141 of Title 13 of the United States Code. The census outreach strategy shall include, but not be limited to, State agency initiatives to encourage participation in the 2020 Census, the establishment and support of school-based outreach programs, partnerships with non-profit community-based organizations, and a multi-lingual, multi-media campaign designed to ensure an accurate and complete count of New Jersey’s population. To assist in carrying out its duties, the commission may create and appoint subcommittees as it deems appropriate and shall solicit participation from relevant experts and practitioners involved in census issues.

7. The outreach strategy of the New Jersey Complete Count Commission shall be coordinated through the Office of the Secretary of State, which shall provide administrative support to the commission and coordinate with all State agencies and constitutional officers, as well as units of local government, to identify effective methods of outreach to New Jersey’s population and to provide resources to ensure the outreach program is successful and that all New Jersey residents are counted. All State agencies shall inform the Office of the Secretary of State of their designated census coordinator and cooperate with the commission and provide support to the commission. For the purposes of this section, “State agencies” means any executive agency or department directly responsible to the Governor. Other entities of government, including other constitutional officers, the offices of the legislative and judicial branches, and units of local government shall cooperate and provide all reasonable assistance to the commission.

8. The commission shall submit an interim report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), within six months of its organizational meeting, containing its recommended outreach strategy to encourage full participation and to avoid an undercount in the 2020 Census. Thereafter, the commission shall submit its final report to the Governor and to the Legislature no later than June 30, 2019, specifying its recommended outreach strategy for implementation for the 2020 Census. The commission shall expire on January 1, 2020.

9. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire on January 1, 2020.