Revises scope of duties and composition of Risk Management Committee in Department of Treasury; exempts Risk Management Committee from requirements of Open Public Meetings Act.

A1826

ASSEMBLY, No. 1826

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Revises scope of duties and composition of Risk
Management Committee in Department of Treasury; exempts Risk Management
Committee from requirements of Open Public Meetings Act.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning the Risk Management Committee in the
Department of the Treasury, amending P.L.1975, c.231 and P.L.2007, c.56.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� Section 3 of P.L.1975,
c.231 (C.10:4-8) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3.��� As used in this act:

���� a.� "Public body"
means a commission, authority, board, council, committee or any other group of
two or more persons organized under the laws of this� State, and collectively
empowered as a voting body to perform a public� governmental function affecting
the rights, duties, obligations, privileges, benefits, or other legal relations
of any person, or collectively authorized to spend public funds including the
Legislature, but does not mean or include the� judicial branch of the
government, any grand or petit jury, any parole board or any agency or body
acting in a parole capacity, the State Commission of Investigation, the
Apportionment Commission established under Article IV,� Section III, of the
Constitution,
the Risk Management Committee established pursuant to section
4 of P.L.2007, c.56 (C.52:18A-222),
or any political party committee
organized� under Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.

���� b.� "Meeting" means
and includes any gathering whether corporeal or by means of communication
equipment, which is attended by, or open to, all of the members of a public
body, held with the intent, on the part of the members of the body present, to
discuss or act as a unit upon the specific public business� of that body.�
Meeting does not mean or include any such gathering (1) attended by less than
an effective majority of the members of a public body, or (2) attended by or
open to all the members of three or more similar public bodies at a convention
or similar gathering.

���� c.� "Public
business" means and includes all matters which relate in any way, directly
or indirectly, to the performance of the public body's functions or the conduct
of its business.

���� d.� "Adequate
notice" means written advance notice of at least 48 hours, giving the
time, date, location and, to the extent known, the agenda of any regular,
special or rescheduled meeting, which notice shall accurately state whether
formal action may or may not be taken and which shall be (1) prominently posted
in at least one public place reserved for such or similar announcements, (2)
mailed, telephoned, telegrammed, or hand delivered to at least two newspapers
which newspapers shall be designated by the public body to� receive such
notices because they have the greatest likelihood of informing the public
within the area of jurisdiction of the public body of such meetings, one of
which shall be the official newspaper, where any such has been designated by
the public body or if the public body has failed to so designate, where any has
been designated by the governing body of the political subdivision whose
geographic boundaries are coextensive with that of the public body and (3)
filed with the clerk of the municipality when the public body's geographic
boundaries are coextensive with that of a single municipality, with the clerk�
of the county when the public body's geographic boundaries are coextensive
with� that of a single county, and with the Secretary of State if the public
body has� Statewide jurisdiction.� For any other public body the filing shall
be with the clerk or chief administrative officer of such other public body and
each municipal or county clerk of each municipality or county encompassed within
the jurisdiction of such public body.� Where annual notice or revisions thereof
in compliance with section 13 of this act set forth the location of any
meeting, no further notice shall be required for such meeting.

(cf: P.L.1981, c.176, s.2)

���� 2.� Section 4 of P.L.2007,
c.56 (C.52:18A-222) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4.� a.� There is created a
Risk Management Committee to monitor the State's risk management program as
developed and coordinated by the division.� The committee shall be comprised of
the commissioner of each principal department in State Government, or
[
his
]

the
commissioner�s
designee.� The State Treasurer
[
and the Commissioner of Banking
and Insurance
]

or the Treasurer�s designee
shall serve as
[
co-chairpersons
]

chairperson

of the committee, and the
[
director
of the division shall serve as Executive Secretary
]

division shall provide
resources as necessary to operate the committee
.� The committee shall meet
at least once every three months to:

���� (1)�� review the accident
frequency reports prepared by the division� pursuant to subsection d. of
section 3 of P.L.2007, c.56 (C.52:18A-221);

���� (2)�� review policy issues
related to worker safety and capital repair issues and their relationship to
workers' compensation claims;
and

���� (3)��
[
develop a
program and schedule for risk management training of appropriate managers
within the principal departments; and
]

(Deleted by amendment, P.L.���� , c.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill)

���� (4)��
[
oversee the
establishment and operation of the risk management committees of each of the
principal departments.
]

(Deleted by amendment, P.L.���� , c.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill)

����
(5)� provide advisory
recommendations to the director of the division related to worker safety and
capital repair issues
.

���� b.���
[
Each
commissioner shall, pursuant to his general rule-making authority within each
respective department, direct the appropriate personnel to administer and
enforce any programs or protocols developed by the committee.
]

(Deleted
by amendment, P.L.���� , c.��� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(cf: P.L.2007, c.56, s.4)

���� 3.� This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill revises the
composition, scope of duties, and public notice requirements of the Risk
Management Committee (committee) in the Department of the Treasury.

���� The committee was created to
monitor the State�s risk management program as developed and coordinated by the
Division of Risk Management in the Department of the Treasury.� Under current
law, the committee is comprised of the commissioner of each principal
department in State Government, or the commissioner�s designee, and is
co-chaired by State Treasurer and the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.�
The committee�s mandated duties are to: (1) review the accident frequency
reports prepared by the division; (2) review policy issues related to worker
safety and capital repair issues and their relationship to workers�
compensation claims; (3) develop a program and schedule for risk management
training of appropriate managers within the principal departments; and (4)
oversee the establishment and operation of the risk management committees of
each of the principal departments.� Each commissioner is mandated to direct the
appropriate personnel to administer and enforce any programs or protocols
developed by the committee.

���� Specifically, the bill
provides that the State Treasurer, or the Treasurer�s designee, would serve as
the sole chairperson of the committee.� The bill also mandates the Division of
Risk Management in the Department of the Treasury to provide resources as
necessary to operate the committee.

���� Additionally, the bill revises
the committee�s scope of duties by authorizing the committee to provide
advisory recommendations to the director related to worker safety and capital
repair issues.� The bill also provides that the committee would no longer be
mandated to: (1) develop a program and schedule for risk management training of
appropriate managers within the principal departments; (2) oversee the
establishment and operation of the risk management committees of each of the
principal departments; or (3) have the commissioner of each executive
department direct the appropriate personnel to administer and enforce any
programs or protocols developed by the committee.

���� Lastly, the bill exempts the
Risk Management Committee from the definition of a �public body� under the
�Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act,� which requires public bodies
to provide adequate notice to the public regarding their upcoming meetings.