A4818

An Act establishing a State Seal Task Force to review the State seal.

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

1. The Legislature finds and declares that the New Jersey State seal was adopted in May of 1777. The State has significantly changed since that time, and some believe that the State seal no longer provides an accurate representation of the State. It is appropriate for a task force to study and review the design of the State seal for New Jersey’s present and future.

2. There is established a task force, to be known as the State Seal Task Force. The task force shall consist of 11 members as follows: the Secretary of State and the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, or a designee, shall serve ex-officio; a representative from the New Jersey Historical Commission; a representative from the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism; the President of the Senate shall appoint one member from the Senate; the Speaker of the General Assembly shall appoint one member from the General Assembly; and the Governor shall appoint five public members.

The public members appointed by the Governor shall have been residents of New Jersey for at least 15 years.

At least two of the public members appointed by the Governor shall be high school students and, if less than 18 years of age, shall be required to provide written permission from a parent or guardian to participate in the task force. A parent or guardian shall accompany the underage student at all times to meetings and other activities relating to the task force.

3. The members of the task force shall be appointed and hold their initial organization meeting within 45 days after the effective date of this act. The members shall elect one of the members to serve as chair and one of the members to serve as vice-chair. The chair may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the task force. The members shall serve without compensation, but shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force.

4. The task force shall meet at the call of the chair. A meeting of the task force may be called at the request of six of the task force’s members, and six members of the task force shall constitute a quorum at any meeting thereof. The task force shall hold at least three public hearings and elicit testimony from the public at such times and places as the task force designates.

5. It shall be the duty of the task force to study the State seal for the purpose of updating the seal to make it more current and reflective of what New Jersey represents.

At a minimum, the task force shall:

a. review the history of the State seal;

b. review the history of the design of the State seal;

c. analyze the population makeup and industrial sectors of the State at the time the seal was created and compare that with the current population makeup and industrial sectors of the State;

d. assess the inclusiveness and representation of the State seal;

e. consider possible changes to the State seal to make it more reflective of the State;

f. consider the advantages and disadvantages of changing the State seal; and

g. make recommendations as to whether or not the State seal should be redesigned.

6. The task force 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 for its purposes, and to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur traveling and other miscellaneous expenses as may be necessary in order to perform its duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force.

7. The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and the Governor within 18 months of its initial organizational meeting.

8. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire after the task force submits its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.

STATEMENT

The New Jersey State seal was adopted in May of 1777. The State has significantly changed since that time, and some believe that the seal no longer provides an accurate representation of the State.

This bill establishes a task force to be known at the State Seal Task Force. The task force will consider changing the State seal to update it to be more reflective of New Jersey today.

At a minimum, the task force will:

review the history of the State seal;

review the history of the design of the State seal;

analyze the population makeup and industrial sectors of the State at the time the seal was created and compare that with the current population makeup and industrial sectors of the State;

assess the inclusiveness and representation of the State seal;

consider possible changes to the State seal to make it more reflective of the State;

consider the advantages and disadvantages of changing the State seal; and

make recommendations as to whether or not the State seal should be redesigned.

The task force will consist of 11 members, five of whom will be appointed by the Governor, including at least two high school students. The students appointed by the Governor who are under the age of 18 will be required to provide written permission from a parent or guardian to participate in the task force.

The task force will report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor within 18 months of its initial organizational meeting. The task force will expire after the submission of its report.