ASSEMBLY, No. 3879

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED MARCH 23, 2020

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes State board to oversee implementation and evaluation of State pilot programs.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  

An Act establishing a New Jersey Pilot Program Review Board and supplementing chapter 9H of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

 

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

 

     1.    a.  There is established in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury a board to be known as the "New Jersey Pilot Program Review Board."  The board shall be independent of any supervision or control by the Department of the Treasury except as expressly authorized under this act, P.L.   , c.   (C.   ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

     b.    The board shall consist of nine members as follows:

     (1)   five members shall be appointed by the Governor, of whom one shall serve as chairperson;

     (2)   one member shall be appointed by the President of the Senate;

     (3)   one member shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

     (4)   one member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; and

     (5)   one member shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly.

     c.     In appointing members, the appointing authority shall select academic, business, and other professionals who have knowledge, expertise, and practice in at least four of the following areas:

     (1)   accounting and auditing;

     (2)   State, county, or municipal government;

     (3)   economic analysis;

     (4)   governmental finance and fiscal management,

     (5)   program evaluation;

     (6)   cost benefits analysis; and

     (7)   quantitative and qualitative research methods.

     The chair of the board shall be an individual with expertise and experience in cost-benefit analysis, program evaluation, and research methods.

     d.    Members of the board shall be appointed not later than 60 days after the effective date of this act and shall hold their initial meeting as soon as practicable, but no later than 30 days following the appointment of a majority of the authorized membership.  Not more than five members appointed to the board may be from the same political party.

     e.     Members of the board shall serve for a term of four years, except that of the appointments first made to the board by the Governor, two of the appointments shall serve for a term of two years, and except that the appointments first made by the Senate Minority Leader and the Assembly Minority Leader shall be for a term of two years.  The term of each member shall be deemed to commence on July 1 of the calendar year of the appointment and shall expire on June 30 of the second or fourth calendar year thereafter, as the case may be for the first or subsequent appointments, but members shall continue to serve during a succeeding term until the appointment and qualification of a successor.  Any vacancy during a term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but only for the balance of the unexpired term.  Members shall be eligible for reappointment to successive terms.  Any member of the board may be removed for cause by the Governor.

     f.     Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursements for all necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

     g.    The board shall meet at the call of the chairperson.  Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.  No action of the board shall be taken without the affirmative vote of the majority of all the authorized members of the board.  The board shall meet once every six months and at such other times as the chair of the board may determine.

     h.    The board shall hold annually at least two public hearings each in the northern, central, and southern region of the State at such times and places as the chair shall determine.  The board shall invite to testify professional, labor, community, and environmental organizations, businesses, workers, governmental units, and other interested parties to discuss the pilot programs in the State.

 

     2.    a.  The purpose of the New Jersey Pilot Review Board shall be to evaluate pilot programs enacted by law to assess whether the programs are being properly implemented and meeting the programs intended goals, and, if so, to examine whether the program should be expanded Statewide and to a permanent status.

     b.    The board shall:

     (1)   review all pilot programs periodically and not more than a year after the completion of the pilot program to measure the degree to which the pilot program is achieving its desired goals and outcomes and the overall effectiveness of the pilot program;

     (2)   evaluate each pilot program using the objective performance measures established and developed by the implementing department division, or other agency of State government as set forth in subsection d. of this section;

     (3)   solicit both written and oral comments on the impact of a certain pilot program from the public, including professional, labor, community, and environmental organizations, businesses, workers, and other affected persons or entities as the board deems appropriate, and to consider the views expressed by those parties in any report; and

     (4)   provide a written report after each review of a pilot program to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, in which the board shall provide recommendations on whether or not a the pilot program is being properly implemented and meeting the programs intended goals and outcomes, and, if so, whether the program should be expanded Statewide and to a permanent status.

     c.     The Department of the Treasury shall provide primary staff support to the board.  The board shall be entitled to call upon any department, office, division, or agency of this State to supply the board with data and other information, personnel, or assistance it deems necessary for its purposes.  Each department, office, division, or agency of the State shall cooperate with the board and furnish it with such information, personnel, or assistance as may be necessary for the board to discharge its duties.

     d.    The department, division, or other agency of State government responsible for the implementation of a pilot program shall develop and establish objective performance measures for each pilot program before the pilot program is implemented.  The department, division, or other agency of State government shall develop the objective performance measures in consultation with the New Jersey Pilot Review Board established pursuant to this act.

 

     3.    This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill establishes the "New Jersey Pilot Program Review Board" to oversee implementation and evaluation of State pilot programs.

     Under the bill, the "New Jersey Pilot Program Review Board" is established in, but not of, the Department of the Treasury.  The board will be independent of any supervision or control by the Department of the Treasury except as expressly authorized under the bill.

     The board will consist of nine members as follows:

     (1)   five members will be appointed by the Governor, of whom one will serve as chairperson;

     (2)   one member will be appointed by the President of the Senate;

     (3)   one member will be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

     (4)   one member will be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; and

     (5)   one member will be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly.

     Members of the board are required to have knowledge, expertise, and practice in at least four of the following areas: accounting and auditing, State, county, or municipal government, economic analysis, governmental finance and fiscal management, program evaluation, cost benefits analysis, and quantitative and qualitative research methods.  Members of the board will serve for a term of four years, except that of the appointments first made to the board by the Governor, two of the appointments will serve for a term of two years, and except that the appointments first made by the minority leaders in each House will be for a term of two years.  The term of each member will be deemed to commence on July 1 of the calendar year of the appointment and will expire on June 30 of the second or fourth calendar year thereafter, as the case may be for the first or subsequent appointments.

     The board is required to:

     (1)   review all pilot programs periodically and not more than a year after the completion of the pilot program to measure the degree to which the pilot program is achieving its desired goals and outcomes and the overall effectiveness of the pilot program;

     (2)   evaluate each pilot program using the objective performance measures established and developed by the implementing department division, or other agency of State government;

     (3)   solicit both written and oral comments on the impact of a certain pilot program from the public, and to consider the views expressed by those parties in any report; and

     (4)   provide a written report after each review of a pilot program to the Governor and the Legislature, in which the board shall provide recommendations on whether or not the pilot program is being properly implemented and meeting the programs intended goals and outcomes, and, if so, whether the program should be expanded Statewide and to a permanent status.

     The Department of the Treasury will provide primary staff support to the board and each department, office, division, or agency of the State is required to cooperate with the board and furnish it with such information, personnel, or assistance as may be necessary for the board to discharge its duties.