STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman BETTYLOU DECROCE
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman EDWARD H. THOMSON
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Clifton, Space, DiMaio, S.Kean, McGuckin, Bramnick, Assemblywoman N.Munoz, Assemblymen Peterson, Wirths, Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle and Assemblyman DePhillips
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Red Tape Review Commission.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing a Red Tape Review Commission and supplementing Title 52 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. It is imperative that proposed or adopted State rules and regulations, as well as operative Executive Orders, be thoroughly reviewed in a careful, balanced, and expeditious way to: assess their potential or actual effects on the State's economy; determine whether their costs and other burdens on businesses, workers, and local governments outweigh their intended benefits; and establish a basis for providing recommendations to the Governor to amend any rules and regulations or Executive Orders that unduly burden the State's businesses, workers, and local governments.
b. A bipartisan commission consisting of representatives from the Executive and Legislative branches of State government, who are devoted to the common goal of promptly addressing the State's economic viability and prosperity, should conduct this review.
c. The bipartisan commission should conduct its review with transparency, providing an opportunity for businesses, workers, local governments, and members of the public to obtain information about the commission's work and to communicate pertinent information and opinions in an appropriate and effective manner.
2. a. There is created a Red Tape Review Commission. For the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the commission shall be allocated in, but not of, the Department of State. The commission shall consist of eight members as follows:
(1) The Lieutenant Governor, or a designee, who shall serve as chair of the commission;
(2) The Chief Counsel to the Governor, or a designee;
(3) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or a designee;
(4) The Commissioner of Community Affairs, or a designee;
(5) The President of the Senate, or a designee;
(6) The Speaker of the General Assembly, or a designee;
(7) The Senate Minority Leader, or a designee; and
(8) The General Assembly Minority Leader, or a designee.
b. The Lieutenant Governor, at his or her discretion, may appoint additional members to provide the commission with necessary and appropriate expertise and representation on behalf of businesses, workers, and local governments. Members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor shall serve at the pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor.
c. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation.
d. The commission shall meet once every six months and at such other times as the chair of the commission may determine.
3. a. The commission shall:
(1) Review all proposed and adopted rules and regulations and operative Executive Orders issued by the Governor to: assess their potential or actual effects on the State's economy; determine whether their costs and other burdens on businesses, workers, and local governments outweigh their intended benefits; and establish a basis for providing recommendations to the Governor to amend any rules and regulations or Executive Orders that unduly burden the State's businesses, workers, and local governments;
(2) Call upon any department, office, division, or agency of this State to supply the commission with data and other information, personnel, or assistance it deems necessary to discharge its duties;
(3) Solicit both written and oral comments from the public, including professional, labor, community, and environmental organizations, businesses, workers, and other affected persons or entities as the commission deems appropriate, and to consider the views expressed by those parties in any report; and
(4) Provide annually a written report to the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), in which the commission shall provide recommendations to repeal, rescind, or amend any rules and regulations or Executive Orders that unduly burden the State's businesses, workers, and local governments.
b. Each department, office, division, or agency of the State shall cooperate with the commission and furnish it with such information, personnel, and assistance necessary for the commission to accomplish its duties.
c. Reports provided by the commission pursuant to this section, including any recommendations to repeal, rescind, or amend any rules and regulations or Executive Orders contained therein, shall not confer any legal rights upon any persons or entities affected by those rules and regulations or Executive Orders. The commission's reports shall be advisory and shall not be used as a basis for any legal challenges based upon the action or inaction of any department, office, division, or agency of the State.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill creates the Red Tape Review Commission to assess the effect that rules and regulations and Executive Orders have on the State's economy and to provide recommendations to the Governor to amend any rules and regulations or Executive Orders that unduly burden the State's businesses, workers, and local governments.
Under the bill, the commission would be comprised of eight members, consisting of representatives from the Executive and Legislative branches of State government, who are devoted to the common goal of promptly addressing the State's economic viability and prosperity. The bill requires each department, office, division, or agency of the State to cooperate with the commission and furnish it with any information, personnel, and assistance it needs to accomplish its duties. The commission's finding would be advisory and cannot be used as a basis for any legal challenges based upon the action or inaction of any department, office, division, or agency of the State.
The bill requires the commission to:
(1) Review all proposed and adopted rules and regulations and operative Executive Orders issued by the Governor to: assess their potential or actual effects on the State's economy; determine whether their costs and other burdens on businesses, workers, and local governments outweigh their intended benefits; and establish a basis for providing recommendations to the Governor to amend any rules and regulations or Executive Orders that unduly burden the State's businesses, workers, and local governments;
(2) Call upon any department, office, division, or agency of this State to supply the commission with data and other information, personnel, or assistance it deems necessary to discharge its duties;
(3) Solicit both written and oral comments from the public, including professional, labor, community, and environmental organizations, businesses, workers, and other affected persons or entities as the commission deems appropriate, and to consider the views expressed by those parties in any report; and
(4) Provide annually a written report to the Governor and the Legislature in which the commission must provide recommendations to repeal, rescind, or amend any rules and regulations or Executive Orders that unduly burden the State's businesses, workers, and local governments.