STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
Senator RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes New Jersey Target Zero Commission.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the New Jersey Target Zero Commission and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established in, but not of, the Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Target Zero Commission.
b. The commission shall consist of 13 members, as follows:
(1) the Commissioner of Transportation, ex officio, or the commissioners designee;
(2) the Superintendent of State Police, ex officio, or the superintendents designee;
(3) the Commissioner of Health, ex officio, or the commissioners designee;
(4) the Commissioner of Community Affairs, ex officio, or the commissioners designee;
(5) the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, ex officio, or the chief administrators designee;
(6) the Commissioner of Human Services, ex officio, or the commissioners designee;
(7) the Director of Highway Traffic Safety, ex officio, or the directors designee;
(8) the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice in the Department of Environmental Protection, ex officio, or the directors designee;
(9) the Executive Director of the New Jersey Transit Corporation, ex officio, or the executive directors designee;
(10) the Executive Director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, ex officio, or the executive directors designee;
(11) the Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission , ex officio, or the executive directors designee;
(12) the Executive Director of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, ex officio, or the executive directors designee; and
(13) the Executive Director of the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization, ex officio, or the executive directors designee.
c. The commission shall hold its initial meeting as soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The chairperson of the commission shall be the Commissioner of Transportation, and the commission shall meet no less than twice per year at such places and times as the chairperson may designate. The commission shall hold a minimum of two annual public hearings. The chairperson may appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the commission.
d. The commission shall meet with key stakeholders, advocates, and experts, and shall consult with policy experts in the fields of bicycle and pedestrian safety, mobility, visual or cognitive impairments, and motor vehicle crashes for expertise and input.
e. The Department of Transportation shall provide professional, stenographic, and clerical staff to the commission, as may be necessary for the commission to carry out its duties. The commission shall also be entitled to call upon the services of any State, county, or municipal department, board, commission, or agency, as may be available to it for its purposes.
2. a. For the purposes of this section:
Active transportation means pedestrian mobility, such as walking and running, individual use of personal conveyances for mobility powered by human effort or electric motors, and personal conveyances that consider and address accommodations pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.).
Bicycle means the same as the term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1975, c.328 (C.39:4-14.5).
Pedestrian shall include, but not be limited to: a pedestrian as defined in R.S.39:1-1; a person in a wheelchair or motorized wheelchair as defined in R.S.39:1-1; and a person employed by or who contracts with any public utility company in this State, a property maintenance worker, or any other person who is permitted by law to be upon the roadway and outside a motor vehicle for work or recreation and is upon a roadway and outside a motor vehicle for work or recreation.
Personal conveyance shall include:
(1) a bicycle as defined in this section;
(2) a low-speed electric bicycle as defined in R.S.39:1-1;
(3) a low-speed electric scooter as defined in R.S.39:1-1;
(4) a manual wheelchair;
(5) a motorized wheelchair as defined in R.S.39:1-1, or similar mobility assisting devices used by persons with physical disabilities, or by persons whose ambulatory mobility has been impaired by age or illness;
(6) an electric personal assistive mobility device as defined in section 1 of P.L.2001, c.430 (C.39:4-14.10);
(7) a motorized scooter as defined in R.S.39:1-1;
(8) a skateboard;
(9) a motorized skateboard as defined in R.S.39:1-1;
(10) roller skates as defined in section 1 of P.L.1997, c.411 (C.39:4-10.5); and
(11) any other means used by a person for transportation.
Safe system approach means evaluating traffic safety and designing a transportation system with the goal of eliminating fatal and serious injuries for all road users by acknowledging that: traffic deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable, humans make mistakes, humans are vulnerable, responsibility is shared, safety is proactive, and redundancy is crucial.
Target zero strategies means actionable strategies using the safe system approach and include, but are not limited to: (1) prioritizing roadway design and design of sidewalks; crosswalks; roadway shoulders; personal conveyance parking; access to public transit, schools, and parks; and intersections and corridors with paths, trails, and multiuse greenways; (2) focusing on speed management; (3) ensuring enforcement is equitable; and (4) utilizing impactful education strategies and inclusive community engagement.
b. The purpose and duties of the commission shall be to study, examine, and review all aspects of traffic safety with a particular focus on access, equity, and mobility for all road users using the safe system approach and to advise the Governor, the Legislature, and the Department of Transportation regarding policies, programs, research, and priorities to help achieve the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries. To fulfill this purpose and these duties, the commission shall:
(1) develop a comprehensive and coordinated action plan to help achieve the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roadways in