Bill Text: NJ S843 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires all temporary emergency shelters be equipped with alternative emergency power generators; designated the "Safe Shelter Act."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S843 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S843-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator DONALD NORCROSS
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Requires all temporary emergency shelters be equipped with alternative emergency power generators; designated the "Safe Shelter Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning alternative emergency power generators in temporary emergency shelters, designated the "Safe Shelter Act," and supplementing P.L.1985, c.48 (C.55:13C-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. For purposes of this act:
"Alternative emergency power generator" means an electricity-generating installation system as defined in section 1 of P.L.2011, c.178 (C.App.A:9-43.8).
"Temporary emergency shelter" means a building or structure in which a public entity or a private, nonprofit organization provides temporary shelter as defined in section 1 of P.L.2011, c.178 (C.App.A:9-43.8).
2. a. The county emergency management coordinator in each county shall ensure that every temporary emergency shelter identified within the county pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of P.L.2011, c.178 (C.App.A:9-43.10) is equipped with the following in the event of a Statewide emergency: (1) an alternative emergency power generator; and (2) access to potable water. The county emergency management coordinator shall also prepare and maintain a sewerage disposal plan for each temporary emergency shelter identified within the county.
b. The Department of Health, in consultation with the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall coordinate with the American Red Cross and the county emergency management coordinator in each county to facilitate the purposes of this section.
3. The Commissioner of Health may promulgate rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedures Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires county emergency management coordinators in each county to ensure that every temporary emergency shelter identified within the county pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of P.L.2011, c.178 (C.App.A:9-43.10) is equipped with the following in the event of a Statewide emergency: (1) an alternative emergency power generator; and (2) access to potable water. The bill further directs that the county emergency management coordinator prepare and maintain a sewerage disposal plan for each temporary emergency shelter identified within the county.
Under the bill, the Department of Health, in consultation with the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall coordinate with the American Red Cross and the county emergency management coordinator in each county to facilitate the purposes of the bill.
The bill's effective date is the first day of the seventh month following enactment and is designated the "Safe Shelter Act" in response to certain conditions found at some local emergency shelters following Hurricane Sandy, which devastated New Jersey on October 29, 2012 and left hundreds of residents displaced from their homes, requiring some residents to seek temporary shelter in facilities without power, proper waste disposal, or drinking water.
