Establishes permanent unit in Office of Emergency Management to address access and functional needs of residents related to disasters and emergencies.

A1948

ASSEMBLY, No. 1948

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Verrelli, Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson, Park,
Murphy and Lopez

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes permanent unit in Office of Emergency
Management to address access and functional needs of residents related to
disasters and emergencies.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

concerning the provision of disaster and
emergency related assistance to State residents with access and functional
needs and supplementing chapter 9 of Appendix A
.

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

���� 1.� The Legislature finds and
declares that:

���� a.��� The COVID-19 pandemic
has brought devastation to the State of New Jersey, with hundreds of thousands
of positive cases, high levels of hospitalization, and a tragic number of
deaths.

���� b.��� The pandemic has had
profound economic impacts across the State, including to government entities,
non-profit organizations, businesses of every size across all industries,
families, and individuals.

���� c.��� Heavily affected have
been residents of New Jersey with disabilities, older adults, and other at-risk
groups, many of whom are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, as well as the
consequences of other types of emergencies and disasters.

���� d���� In 2021

, the
CDC estimated that 23 percent of New Jersey adult residents had a disability,
which is a sizeable portion of the State�s population.

���� e.��� The economic impact on
people with disabilities and their families, as well as the burden on
individual health from the pandemic are an existential threat to the disability
community.

���� f.���� Protection of the
State's vulnerable populations from the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters
or emergencies that may take place in the future is a matter of urgency.

���� g.��� It is therefore in the
public interest for the State to engage in comprehensive planning and
coordination within the northern, central, and southern regions of the State to
support residents with access and functional needs.

���� 2.��� a.� The State Office of
Emergency Management shall establish a unit in the office to serve the needs of
State residents with access and functional needs. The unit�s responsibilities
shall include:

���� (1)� determining the needs of
residents with access and functional needs, before, during, and after disasters
and emergencies;

���� (2)� determining the Statewide
availability of relevant resources and assistance;

���� (3)� assessing and addressing
the ability of residents with access and functional needs to access available
resources and assistance; and

���� (4)� coordinating with county
and local offices of emergency management and relevant resource providers to
determine, expand, and implement best practices to be utilized in support of
residents with access and functional needs.

���� b.� The unit shall consist of
one full-time supervisor and a staff of three full-time planners to assist with
the needs of the South, Central, and North Jersey regions in serving State
residents with access and functional needs.

���� c.� For the purposes of this
section, a �resident with access and functional needs� means:

���� (1)� a person with a
disability;

���� (2)� an older adult;

���� (3)� a person with limited
English proficiency;

���� (4)� a person with limited
access to transportation that would enable the person to prepare for, respond
to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of a disaster or emergency; and

���� (5)� a person with limited
access to financial resources that would enable person to prepare for, respond
to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of a disaster or emergency.

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of
enactment, except that the State Office of Emergency Management shall take any
anticipatory action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of
this act.

STATEMENT

����� This bill requires the State Office of Emergency
Management to establish a permanent unit in the office to serve the needs of
State residents with access and functional needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has had
a profound effect on residents of New Jersey with disabilities, older adults,
and other at-risk groups, many of whom are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19,
as well as the consequences of other types of disasters and emergencies.����

����� In 2018, the CDC estimated that 24.6% of New Jersey
adult residents had a disability, which is a sizeable portion of the State�s
population. The economic impact on people with disabilities and their families,
as well as the burden on individual health as a result of the pandemic are an
existential threat to the Disability community.� Accordingly, it is in the
public interest for the State to engage in comprehensive planning and
coordination within the northern, central, and southern regions of the State to
support residents with access and functional needs.

����� Under the provisions of the bill. The unit�s
responsibilities are to include:

����� (1)� determining the needs of residents with access
and functional needs, before, during, and after disasters and emergencies;

����� (2)� determining the Statewide availability of
relevant resources and assistance;

����� (3)� assessing and addressing the ability of
residents with access and functional needs to access available resources and
assistance; and

����� (4) coordinating with county and local offices of
emergency management and relevant resource providers to determine, expand, and
implement best practices to be utilized in support of residents with access and
functional needs.����

����� The bill provides that the unit would consist of one
full-time supervisor and a staff of three full-time planners to assist the
needs of the South, Central, and North Jersey regions to in serving the State
residents with access and functional needs.

����� The bill defines a �resident with access and
functional needs� as:

����� (1)� a person with a disability;

����� (2)� an older adult;

����� (3)� a person with limited English proficiency;

����� (4) a person with limited access to transportation
that would enable the person to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and
mitigate the effects of a disaster or emergency; and

����� (5) a person with limited access to financial
resources that would enable the person to prepare for, respond to, recover
from, and mitigate the effects of a disaster or emergency.