New Jersey-2024-A1424-Introduced

An Act establishing the New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate and Rider Advocacy Commission, supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes, and repealing section 16 of P.L.2018, c.162.

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

1. a. For the purposes of this section:

"Commission" means the Rider Advocacy Commission established pursuant to this section.

"Corporation" means the New Jersey Transit Corporation established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-4).

"Office" means the New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate established pursuant to this section.

b. There is established in the Department of Transportation the Rider Advocacy Commission. For the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the Rider Advocacy Commission is allocated to the Department of Transportation but, notwithstanding this allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department.

c. (1) The Rider Advocacy Commission shall consist of three members as follows:

(a) one member appointed by the Governor;

(b) one member appointed by the President of the Senate; and

(2) Two members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Each member shall serve for a term of five years; except that, of the members first appointed, the member appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for a one-year term, the member appointed by the President of the Senate shall be appointed for a two-year term, and the member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly shall be appointed for a three-year term. The commission shall have the authority to engage and dismiss staff as necessary to carry out its duties, including the appointment of a Rider Advocate pursuant to subsection e. of this section.

d. The Rider Advocacy Commission shall establish a New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate and the Rider Advocate shall be the head of the office.

e. The Rider Advocate shall be appointed by the Rider Advocacy Commission and shall report directly to the commission. The Rider Advocate shall have the authority to carry out the purposes of the office to protect the interests of New Jersey Transit Corporation customers. Except for supervision by the commission, the Rider Advocate shall not be subject to any supervision or control by the Commissioner of Transportation, the board of the corporation, the executive director of the corporation, or any other staff of the department or corporation. For purposes of office work space, the Rider Advocate and any subordinate staff shall be housed with the New Jersey Transit Corporation's Auditor General.

f. When exceptional circumstances arise, the Rider Advocate, with the approval of the commission, may on a temporary basis retain such expert assistants as are necessary to protect the interests of corporation customers, pursuant to a reasonable fee established in advance by the State Treasurer for the compensation paid to expert assistants. For the purposes of this subsection, "exceptional circumstances" includes, but is not limited to, any instance in which the corporation experiences a planned or actual fare increase, a substantial curtailment of service, a significant expansion of service, or a major operating or capital expenditure.

g. The responsibilities of the New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate shall be to:

(1) provide information and analysis to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature concerning the actual or anticipated impact of any actions by the corporation or the board of the corporation on the corporation's customers;

(2) provide customer input and feedback to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature, including relaying the needs and concerns of customers to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature; and

(3) represent the interests of the corporation's customers as determined by the Rider Advocate.

h. The New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate may conduct investigations; initiate studies; conduct research; present comments and testimony before the board of directors of the corporation, legislative committees, and other governmental bodies; prepare and issue reports; and undertake any other actions that further the purposes of the office. The office shall allow public input concerning the operations of the corporation and customer experiences to be submitted, at any time, through the office's official Internet website and through voicemail. The office shall conduct at least one meeting per month with customers of the corporation and shall allow for a remote attendance option, for the purpose of relaying the concerns and needs of customers to the board of directors of the corporation and, when the Rider Advocate deems it appropriate, to the executive management team of the corporation. The meetings shall also provide information to customers regarding any major actions of the corporation or the board of the corporation for which the Rider Advocate has knowledge.

i. The New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate shall represent the interests of corporation customers as follows:

(1) upon publication of any proposal to increase fares, the corporation shall immediately make available to the office all information and documents concerning the proposal so that the office may review those documents and prepare an analysis of the proposed fare increase, which analysis shall be reported to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature, including an independent determination of the need for such an increase and the anticipated impact of the increase on customers;

(2) upon publication of any proposal to substantially curtail service, the corporation shall immediately make available to the office all information and documents concerning the proposal so that the office may review those documents and prepare an analysis of the proposed substantial curtailment of service, which analysis shall be reported to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature, including an independent determination of the need for such a curtailment and the anticipated impact of the curtailment on customers;

(3) upon publication of any proposal to expand any service, or upon publication of a time table or schedule that includes a newly added service, the corporation shall immediately make available to the office all information and documents concerning the proposal so that the office may review those documents and prepare an analysis of the proposed expansion of service, which analysis shall be reported to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature; and

(4) upon the office's request, the corporation shall immediately make available to the office all information and documents concerning any action or inaction of the corporation that the office determines has a significant impact on the corporation's customers so that the office may review those documents and prepare an analysis to be reported to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature.

j. Funds for the expenses of the Rider Advocacy Commission and the New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate shall be provided by the State Treasurer, as appropriated by the Legislature, and shall be independent of any funds appropriated by the Legislature for the New Jersey Transit Corporation.

k. On or before March 31 of each year, the Rider Advocacy Commission, in consultation with the Rider Advocate, shall prepare a report on the activities of the commission and office during the previous calendar year, including any reports provided to the board of directors of the corporation and shall submit the report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature.

2. The Rider Advocacy Commission shall, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), including but not limited to, the means necessary to authorize the duties and investigations of the office.

3. Section 16 of P.L.2018, c.162 (C.27:25-5.27) is repealed.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a Rider Advocacy Commission (commission) in, but not of, the Department of Transportation and requires the commission to establish a New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate (office).

Similar to the New York City Transit Riders Council, also known as the New York City Transit Authority Advisory Council, which was created by the New York State Legislature in 1981 to represent New York City subway and bus riders, and users of the Staten Island Railway, the office is to investigate, monitor, advocate, promote, and advise on all customer-experience matters pertaining to the operation of the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJT). The commission is to consist of three members, one member appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly. Each member is limited to a five-year term, except that of the members first appointed, the member appointed by the Governor is to be appointed for a one-year term, the member appointed by the President of the Senate is to be appointed for a two-year term, and the member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly is to be appointed for a three-year term. The commission is empowered to engage and dismiss staff as necessary, including the appointment of a Rider Advocate.

The Rider Advocate is the head of the office, is required to report directly to the commission, and has the authority to carry out the purposes of the office, including, with the approval of the commission, temporarily retaining expert assistants as are necessary to protect the interests of NJT customers when exceptional circumstances arise. The responsibilities of the office include:

(1) providing information and analysis to the NJT board of directors, Governor, and Legislature concerning the actual or anticipated impact of any NJT board or NJT actions on NJT's customers;

(2) providing customer input and feedback to the NJT board, Governor, and Legislature, including relaying the needs and concerns of customers to the NJT board, Governor, and Legislature; and

(3) representing the interests of NJT's customers as determined by the Rider Advocate.

The office has the authority to conduct investigations; initiate studies; conduct research; present comments and testimony before the NJT board of directors, legislative committees, and other governmental bodies; prepare and issue reports; and undertake any other actions that further the purposes of the office. The office is also required to conduct meetings with NJT customers, which are to occur at least on a monthly basis, and would allow for a remote attendance option, for the purpose of relaying the concerns and needs of customers to the NJT board of directors and, when the Rider Advocate deems appropriate, to the executive management team of NJT. In addition, the office would also be required to allow for public input on NJT operations and experiences at any time, through the office's official Internet website and through voicemail.

The office is also required to represent the interests of NJT's customers in areas such as proposed fare increases, proposed substantial curtailment of services, and any proposed expansion of service.

Funds for the expenses of the commission and office are to be provided by the State Treasurer, as appropriated by the Legislature, and are to be independent of funds for the NJT.

On or before March 31 of each year, the commission in consultation with the Rider Advocate is required to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature on the activities of the commission and office for the previous calendar year, including any reports provided to the NJT board of directors.

The bill repeals a provision of law requiring NJT to employ a customer advocate.