SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 551

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  FEBRUARY 24, 2020

 

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 551.

      As reported by the committee, this bill allows a municipality with a population under 5,000 persons to appoint a nonresident as its municipal emergency management coordinator if a qualified resident cannot be recruited.  The appointee is required to be a resident of the applicable county. 

      Current law requires these coordinators to be municipal residents unless the municipality participates in a shared service agreement.  In a municipality with a smaller population, however, it may be difficult to recruit a person who is sufficiently qualified to serve effectively in this critical role and entering into a shared service arrangement with another municipality or the applicable county may not be the optimal solution.  This bill provides these municipalities with the flexibility to appoint nonresidents to serve in this capacity if a qualified resident cannot be recruited.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2020-2021 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.