Bill Text: NJ S3693 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DHS to employ Transportation Planning Coordinator to manage and oversee transportation services provided to DHS clients.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-16 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S3693 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S3693-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DHS to employ Transportation Planning Coordinator to manage and oversee transportation services provided to DHS clients.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning transportation services provided to clients of the Department of Human Services and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. All transportation services provided to clients of the Department of Human Services shall be monitored and administered by a Transportation Planning Coordinator employed by the department.
b. The Transportation Planning Coordinator shall be qualified by training and experience, as necessary to perform the duties of the position. The Commissioner of Human Services shall determine the requisite qualifications for the position; however, at a minimum, the Transportation Planning Coordinator shall have at least five years of experience in the transportation industry, or in the management of transportation services.
c. The duties of the Transportation Planning Coordinator shall include:
(1) managing and overseeing the transportation services that are provided to the department's clients, and ensuring the effective and efficient transportation of all such clients to and from their destinations;
(2) managing and overseeing the transportation providers who are contracted by the department, or who are otherwise authorized to provide services to the department's clients, and ensuring that such providers are in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and practice and vehicle standards;
(3) monitoring and reporting driver or vehicle issues, such as accidents, safety issues, or licensing concerns;
(4) soliciting and contracting with new transportation providers to serve the department's clients;
(5) managing the dispatch of vehicles, and the assignment of drivers or transportation providers to particular routes or areas of the State;
(6) ensuring that transportation providers adhere to pick-up and delivery schedules, and provide timely services to department clientele;
(7) maintaining records of all transportation services provided to department clientele;
(8) providing department clientele with advance notice of, and an explanation describing, any proposed changes to the department's transportation system;
(9) receiving, reviewing, investigating, and resolving complaints filed with respect to the transportation services that are provided to department clientele;
(10) conducting internal reviews and investigations to identify inefficiencies or other problems occurring within the department's transportation system, and instituting revised procedures to address identified concerns or issues;
(11) analyzing the costs of transportation services offered through the department, and recommending more cost effective methods of transportation, where appropriate; and
(12) any other appropriate duties assigned by the department.
d. On at least an annual basis, the Transportation Planning Coordinator shall submit a written report to the commissioner describing the coordinator's activities over the prior year. Each annual report shall include:
(1) a description of any changes to the transportation system that have been implemented during the reporting period, and a description of any other changes that are recommended or are being considered, but which are not yet implemented;
(2) a summary of transportation-related complaints received during the reporting period, and an indication of the extent to which and manner in which such complaints were resolved;
(3) an accounting of any other concerns or problems identified by the coordinator; and
(4) any other information required by the commissioner.
e. As used in this section:
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Human Services.
"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
"Clients" or "clientele" means those persons who are eligible to receive transportation services provided by the department.
2. The Commissioner of Human Services shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month next following the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Human Services may take anticipatory administrative action in advance of the effective date, as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Department of Human Services to utilize the services of a Transportation Planning Coordinator to manage and oversee the transportation services that are provided to the department's clients.
The bill would require the Transportation Planning Coordinator to be qualified by training and experience, as necessary to perform the duties of the position. The bill would specify that the coordinator is to have at least five years of experience in the transportation industry, or in the management of transportation services, and it would grant the Commissioner of Human Services the authority to impose additional qualifications for the position.
The duties of the Transportation Planning Coordinator would include: 1) managing and overseeing the transportation services provided to the department's clients, and ensuring the effective and efficient transportation of all such clients to and from their destinations; 2) managing and overseeing the transportation providers who are contracted by the department, or who are otherwise authorized to provide services to the department's clients, and ensuring that such providers are in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and practice and vehicle standards; 3) monitoring and reporting driver or vehicle issues, such as accidents, safety issues, or licensing concerns; 4) soliciting and contracting with new transportation providers to serve the department's clientele; 5) managing the dispatch of vehicles, and the assignment of drivers or transportation providers to particular routes or areas of the State; 6) ensuring that transportation providers adhere to pick-up and delivery schedules, and provide timely services to department clients; 7) maintaining records of all transportation services provided to department clientele; 8) providing department clientele with advance notice of, and an explanation describing, any proposed changes to the department's transportation system; 9) receiving, reviewing, investigating, and resolving complaints filed with respect to the transportation services that are provided to department clientele; 10) conducting internal reviews and investigations to identify inefficiencies or other problems occurring within the transportation system, and instituting revised procedures to address identified concerns or issues; 11) analyzing the costs of transportation services offered through the department, and recommending more cost effective methods of transportation, where appropriate; and 12) any other appropriate duties assigned by the department.
Each year, the Transportation Planning Coordinator would be required to submit a written report to the commissioner describing the coordinator's activities over the prior year. Each report would: 1) identify any recent changes that have been made to the transportation system, as well as any changes that are recommended or are being considered, but which have not yet been implemented; 2) summarize the public complaints received during the reporting period, and indicate the extent to which and manner in which such complaints were resolved; 3) provide an accounting of any other concerns or problems identified by the coordinator; and 4) include any other information required by the commissioner.
The bill would take effect on the first day of the sixth month following the effective date, in order to allow the department to have sufficient time to solicit applications for, and select an appropriate person to fill, the requisite position.
