An Act establishing the "Environmental Justice Advisory Council" and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. All residents of the State, regardless of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, or income, deserve to live in communities free from the effects of pollution and are entitled to participate in decision-making that affects their environment, their communities, their homes, and their health;

b. The State is committed to promoting human health, protecting the environment, and providing its residents, especially persons of low-income and minorities, with information about environmental conditions affecting their communities, their homes, and their health;

c. Within the State, some predominantly low-income and minority communities bear a disproportionate share of the impact of pollution and other threats to public health and quality of life;

d. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies have documented that the prevalence of childhood asthma is increasing nationwide, that this increase is linked in part to poor air quality, and that childhood asthma is found disproportionately in certain minority communities;

e. The cumulative exposure to pollution and other hazards from multiple sources in low income and minority communities creates a disproportionate impact on the health, well-being, and quality of life of persons living in those communities, and addressing those impacts requires a more inclusive process of decision-making;

f. The federal government and the State of New Jersey have acknowledged the significance of the disproportionate environmental impact on these communities and taken steps to coordinate governmental responses and improve decision-making, the federal government by issuing Executive Order No. 12898 and creating the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council to integrate environmental justice into the policies, programs, initiatives, and activities of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and, likewise, the State of New Jersey by issuing Executive Order No. 131 (2009) creating the Environmental Justice Advisory Council within the Department of Environmental Protection to serve similar purposes at the State level;

g. Executive Order No. 131 (2009) authorizes the operation of New Jersey's Environmental Justice Advisory Council only until December 31, 2013; and

h. It is, therefore, altogether fitting and proper, and within the public interest, to permanently establish the Environmental Justice Advisory Council pursuant to this act, so that the council and its vital mission and functions may be continued in perpetuity under the statutory law of the State.

2. a. There is established within the Department of Environmental Protection the Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The council shall be composed of 15 members appointed by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. At least one-third of the members shall be representatives of grassroots or faith-based community organizations and additional membership shall include representatives from the following:

(1) academic organizations;

(2) Statewide environmental organizations;

(3) civil rights organizations;

(4) public health organizations;

(5) large and small business and industry;

(6) municipal and county government; and

(7) organized labor.

b. The members of the council shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary and reasonable expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the council for this purpose.

3. The council shall:

a. annually select a chairperson from among its members;

b. meet not less frequently than quarterly; and

c. make recommendations to the department on issues involving environmental justice, including recommendations for policy and regulatory changes that incorporate into the decision-making of the department consideration of the cumulative impact of exposure to pollution and other environmental hazards in low income and minority communities.

4. The Governor shall designate a representative from the office of the Governor to serve as a liaison and to assist the council in accomplishing its mission.

5. The Department of Environmental Protection shall review and consider all recommendations submitted by the council.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would establish the Environmental Justice Advisory Council within the Department of Environmental Protection. The council was established pursuant to Executive Order No. 131 (2009), which, however, provides for the operation of the council only until December 31, 2013. This bill would establish the council permanently.

Under the bill, the functions and composition of the council would be the same as currently provided for pursuant to Executive Order No. 131 (2009). Namely, the council would be required to make recommendations to the department on issues involving environmental justice, including recommendations for policy and regulatory changes that incorporate into the decision-making of the department consideration of the cumulative impact of exposure to pollution and other environmental hazards in low income and minority communities.

In addition, the bill would require that the council be composed of 15 members appointed by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and that at least one-third of the members be representatives of grassroots and faith-based community groups, with additional membership including representatives from the following: (1) academic organizations, (2) Statewide environmental organizations, (3) civil rights organizations, (4) public health organizations, (5) large and small business and industry, (6) municipal and county government, and (7) organized labor. The council would be required to annually select a chairperson from among its members and to meet not less frequently than quarterly.

The bill would require the Department of Environmental Protection to review and consider all recommendations submitted by the council and require the Governor to designate a representative from the office of the Governor to serve as a liaison and to assist the council in accomplishing its mission.