Sponsored by:
Senator LORETTA WEINBERG
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Increases transparency and accountability for NJT and independence of NJT board members; establishes Office of Customer Advocate; requires greater detail for capital program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning reforms to the New Jersey Transit Corporation, amending P.L.1979, c.150, P.L.2018, c.162, and P.L.1984, c.73, supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes, and repealing section 16 of P.L.2018, c.162.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 4 of P.L.1979, c.150 (C.27:25-4) is amended to read as follows:
4. a. There is hereby established in the Executive Branch of the State Government the New Jersey Transit Corporation, a body corporate and politic with corporate succession. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the corporation is hereby allocated within the Department of Transportation, but, notwithstanding that allocation, the corporation shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any body or officer thereof. The corporation is hereby constituted as an instrumentality of the State exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the corporation of the powers conferred by this act shall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the State.
b. The corporation shall be governed by a board which shall consist of 13 members.
[11] Eleven of the members shall be voting members and shall consist of: the Commissioner of Transportation and the State Treasurer, who shall be members ex officio, another member of the Executive Branch to be selected by the Governor who shall also serve ex officio, and eight public members who shall be appointed by the Governor as follows:
two members, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall each have experience as either a regular corporation motorbus regular route service rider or regular corporation rail passenger service or light rail service rider or have a professional background in passenger rail service, freight rail management, transportation capital planning, transportation and public transportation capital construction, federal transportation policy, State transportation policy, real estate investment or development, human resources management, or transportation capital finance, one upon the recommendation of the New Jersey members of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and one upon the recommendation of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority;
two members, with the advice and consent of the Senate, one who shall have experience as a regular corporation motorbus regular route service rider and one who shall have experience as a regular corporation rail passenger service or light rail service rider; and
four members, who shall each have a professional background in passenger rail service, freight rail management, transportation capital planning, transportation and public transportation capital construction, federal transportation policy, State transportation policy, real estate investment or development, human resources management, communication, or transportation capital finance, one appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate, one appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly, and two appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
All public members, except for those appointed upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, and all public members shall serve for four year staggered terms and until their successors are appointed and qualified. No more than three of the six public members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate shall be members of the same political party. Each public member may be removed from office by the Governor for cause. A vacancy in the membership of the board occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for the unexpired term only. The board shall annually designate a [vice chairperson and] secretary. The secretary need not be a member.
There shall be two non-voting members of the board, who shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting members shall be appointed as follows: one appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the labor organization representing the plurality of the employees of the corporation involved in rail operations and one appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the labor organization representing the plurality of the employees of the corporation involved in motorbus operations. Each non-voting member appointed upon recommendation of a labor organization shall be appointed for a term of four years, provided, however, that if at any time during the term of appointment the non-voting member ceases to be affiliated with the labor organization representing the plurality of the relevant segment of employees of the corporation, then such labor organization may, thereupon or at any time thereafter during such term, recommend a new member to the Governor for appointment to serve the remainder of the term. If the local bargaining unit decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies a new union, the union which represents the plurality of the relevant segment of employees may recommend a new member to the Governor for appointment to serve the remainder of the term. The [chairman] chairperson of the board may, at the [chairman's] chairperson s discretion, exclude such non-voting member from attending any portion of a board meeting or any other meeting held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor organizations, pending litigation involving the labor organization, the investigation, evaluation, or discipline of an employee of the corporation, or matters concerning private entities engaged in the provision of motorbus regular route service, paratransit service, or motorbus charter service that would otherwise not be considered public information. Each non-voting member appointed upon recommendation of a labor organization may be removed by the Governor for cause.
For the purposes of this subsection:
"experience as a regular corporation motorbus regular route service rider" includes any rider who is a regular corporation motorbus regular route service rider at the time of the member's appointment or reappointment and any rider who has been a regular corporation motorbus regular route service rider in three of the five years preceding the member's appointment or reappointment.
"experience as a regular corporation rail passenger service or light rail service rider" includes any rider who is a regular corporation rail passenger service or light rail service rider at the time of the member's appointment or reappointment and any rider who has been a regular corporation rail passenger service or light rail service rider in three of the five years preceding the member's appointment or reappointment.
c. Board members other than tho