New Jersey-2012-S2566-Introduced

An Act imposing oversight upon Hurricane Sandy recovery funds, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

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

1. a. The State Treasurer shall maintain a public website dedicated to the dissemination and transparent administration of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding. The State Treasurer shall make available on the website New Jersey's Comprehensive Quarterly Report on Hurricane Sandy Recovery Funding, as constructed pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

In addition to public dissemination of the report, the State Treasurer shall, to the extent the information is available, administer the website to provide detailed information on: the distribution of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding by county and municipality, the issuance of each State contract associated with Hurricane Sandy recovery funding including, but not limited to, the purpose of the contract, the amount of the contract's consideration, whether the bid was subject to public bidding, and background information on the State contract recipient's qualification for receipt of the State contract, the issuance of each State grant associated with Hurricane Sandy recovery funding including, but not limited to, the purpose of the grant, the amount of the grant, whether the grant was subject to a selective award process and the nature of that process, and background information on the State grant recipient's qualification for receipt of the State grant, and any other information the State Treasurer deems relevant to the transparent administration of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding.

The State Treasurer shall have ten business days within which to update the website relative to the receipt of information concerning the award of a State contract or State grant or distribution of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding.

b. The State Treasurer shall provide a report to the Legislature, in accordance with section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and the Governor concerning the receipt, distribution, and administration of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding, which report shall be due on the first business day of each calendar quarter commencing after the date of enactment of this section and shall be entitled New Jersey's Comprehensive Quarterly Report on Hurricane Sandy Recovery Funding.

The report shall contain detailed information concerning: the amount of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding the State has received, the manner in which Hurricane Sandy recovery funding is received, the processes by which Hurricane Sandy recovery funding is distributed upon initial receipt, State operating plans for Hurricane Sandy recovery funding projects and administration, the award of State grants or State contracts using Hurricane Sandy recovery funding, the identity of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding State grant and contract recipients, analysis of whether the use of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding is accomplishing its intended purpose, the number of jobs created by Hurricane Sandy recovery funding State administered projects, recommendations for enhanced efficiency and transparency in the administration of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding, recommendations for enhanced coordination in Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, and any other information the State Treasurer deems relevant to the transparent administration of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding.

c. The State Treasurer may provide the Legislature, in accordance with section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and the Governor with a priority report on Hurricane Sandy recovery funding at any time as the State Treasurer deems appropriate. A priority report shall be reserved for administrative problems associated with Hurricane Sandy recovery funding requiring immediate attention of the Legislature and the Governor.

d. The website and reports required pursuant to this section shall not be used to distribute information which if disclosed would jeopardize compliance with State or federal law, threaten public health, welfare, or safety, or harm the competitive economic position of a party.

e. As used in this section:

"Hurricane Sandy recovery funding" means (1) funds provided pursuant to federal legislation enacted by the 113th Congress of the United States of America which contains, but is not limited to, disaster assistance for impacts associated with Hurricane Sandy, or other major storms, in New Jersey; and (2) funds disbursed through the State treasury for undertakings to address the damage associated with the State of Emergency identified in the Governor's Executive Order 104, dated October 27, 2012, concerning Hurricane Sandy, which undertakings shall include emergency operations, loss reimbursement, repairs, rebuilding, restorations, reconstruction, removal of debris, temporary housing, household assistance, relief, hazard mitigation improvements, construction, and other recovery and rebuilding activities deemed by the State Treasurer to be associated with Hurricane Sandy recovery and rebuilding.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill imposes oversight upon Hurricane Sandy recovery funding by: (i) establishing a Hurricane Sandy recovery funding transparency website; (ii) requiring comprehensive quarterly reports on Hurricane Sandy recovery funding; and (iii) requiring expedited priority reports for administrative problems encountered in Hurricane Sandy recovery funding to enable prompt responses. The purpose of this bill is to ensure the transparent and efficient administration of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding.

The bill requires the State Treasurer to establish a website dedicated to transparent administration of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding. The bill directs that the website shall contain, to the extent available, detailed information on Hurricane Sandy recovery funding by county and municipality and detailed information on State contract and grant recipients. The bill also requires that the website must provide access to New Jersey' Comprehensive Quarterly Report on Hurricane Sandy Recovery Funding, as prepared by the State Treasurer. The bill requires the State Treasurer to update the website within ten business days of the receipt of information concerning the award of a State contract or State grant or distribution of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding.

The bill requires that New Jersey's Comprehensive Quarterly Report on Hurricane Sandy Recovery Funding must contain information on the amounts, manner of receipt, and distribution processes for Hurricane Sandy recovery funding. The bill further specifies that the report must include operating plans for State projects and administration and detailed information on the issuance of State contracts and grants involving Hurricane Sandy recovery funding. The bill directs the State Treasurer to include in the report an analysis on the effectiveness of Hurricane Sandy recovery funding in accomplishing its intended purpose and the number of jobs created by State administered projects associated with Hurricane Sandy recovery funding. The bill also requires that the report include the State Treasurer's recommendations for enhanced efficiency, transparency, and coordination in Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

The bill authorizes the State Treasurer to provide expedient priority reports on administrative problems associated with Hurricane Sandy recovery funding. The bill denotes that a priority report may be provided at any time for administrative problems requiring the immediate attention of the Legislature and the Governor.

The bill denotes that the website and reports created by the bill shall be restricted in content to prevent the dissemination of information which if disclosed would jeopardize legal compliance, public health, welfare, or safety, or a competitive economic position.