Bill Text: NJ S2092 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs each institution of higher education to develop and coordinate a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-12-01 - Reported from Senate Committee, 2nd Reading [S2092 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S2092-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Directs each institution of higher education to develop and coordinate a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the disaster preparedness of institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The governing board of each institution of higher education shall develop and coordinate an emergency operations plan to ensure the continuity of essential institution functions under all circumstances. The plan shall:
(1) identify a baseline of preparedness for all potential emergencies, including pandemics, to establish a viable capability to perform essential functions during any emergency that disrupts normal operations; and
(2) be coordinated with State and local authorities including, but not limited to, the State Office of Emergency Management, local law enforcement officers, county and local health officers, county offices of emergency management, and other emergency responders.
b. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following components: identification of essential functions, programs, and personnel; procedures to implement the plan; delegation of authority and lines of succession; identification of alternative facilities and related infrastructure, including those for communications; identification and protection of vital records and databases; and schedules and procedures for periodic tests, training, and exercises. The plan shall be consistent with the local emergency operations plan of the municipality in which the institution is located.
c. The governing board of the institution shall adopt and submit for review an emergency operations plan to the Commission on Higher Education, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness within six months of the effective date of this act. The governing board shall review, update, and resubmit the plan to the offices every five years. If an emergency incident occurs at an institution during the five-year period, the plan shall be reviewed immediately.
d. The Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Commission on Higher Education shall review the emergency operations plan submitted by an institution of higher education pursuant to subsection c. of this section and, when necessary, shall in coordination with other State agencies make recommendations to the institution for improving the plan that are deemed necessary.
e. Any plan prepared pursuant to this section shall not be considered a government record as defined in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1) and shall not be available for public inspection, copying, or the purchase of copies.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the governing board of each institution of higher education to develop and coordinate an emergency operations plan that will ensure the continuity of essential institution functions under all circumstances. Under the bill, the plan must:
(1) identify a baseline of preparedness for all potential emergencies, including pandemics, to establish a viable capability to perform essential functions during any emergency that disrupts normal operations; and
(2) be coordinated with State and local authorities including the State Office of Emergency Management, local law enforcement officers, county and local health officers, county offices of emergency management, and other emergency responders.
The plan must include the following components: identification of essential functions, programs, and personnel; procedures to implement the plan; delegation of authority and lines of succession; identification of alternative facilities and related infrastructure, including those for communications; identification and protection of vital records and databases; and schedules and procedures for periodic tests, training, and exercises. Under the bill, the governing board of each institution of higher education must adopt and submit for review an emergency operations plan to the Commission on Higher Education, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness within six months of the bill's effective date. The governing board must review, update, and resubmit the plan to the offices every five years. Under the bill, if an emergency incident occurs at an institution during the five-year period, the plan must be reviewed immediately.
The bill also requires the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Commission on Higher Education to review the emergency operations plans that will be submitted to them by institutions of higher education and to make recommendations to the institutions for improving the plans that may be deemed necessary.
