ASSEMBLY HOMELAND SECURITY AND STATE PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 551

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 25, 2021

      The Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 551.

      As reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 551 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 county in which the municipality is situated.

      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.

      As reported by the committee, Senate Bill No, 551 is identical to Assembly Bill No. 1057, which also was reported by the committee on this date.