Establishes NJT Office of Customer Advocate and Rider Advocacy Commission.

A2036

ASSEMBLY, No. 2036

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK

District 18 (Middlesex)

Assemblyman� JERRY WALKER

District 31 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblymen G.Rodriguez, Calabrese, Simonsen, Sampson,
Assemblywoman Carter, Assemblymen Kennedy, Scharfenberger, Bhalla and
Assemblywoman Brennan

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes NJT Office of Customer Advocate and Rider
Advocacy Commission.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

establishing the New Jersey Transit
Office of Customer Advocate and Rider Advocacy Commission, 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.��� a.� For the purposes of
this section:

���� �Commission� means the Rider
Advocacy Commission established pursuant to this section.

���� �Corporation� means the New
Jersey Transit Corporation established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1979, c.150
(C.27:25-4).

���� �Office� means the New Jersey
Transit Office of Customer Advocate established pursuant to this section.

���� b.� There is established in
the Department of Transportation the Rider Advocacy Commission.� For the
purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1
of the New Jersey Constitution, the Rider Advocacy Commission is allocated to
the Department of Transportation but, notwithstanding this allocation, the commission
shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department.

���� c.���� (1) The Rider Advocacy
Commission shall consist of three members as follows:

���� (a) one member appointed by
the Governor;

���� (b) one member appointed by
the President of the Senate; and

���� (c) one member appointed by
the Speaker of the General Assembly.

���� (2) Two members of the
commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.� Each
member shall serve for a term of five years; except that, of the members first
appointed, the member appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for a one-year
term, the member appointed by the President of the Senate shall be appointed
for a two-year term, and the member appointed by the Speaker of the General
Assembly shall be appointed for a three-year term. The commission shall have
the authority to engage and dismiss staff as necessary to carry out its duties,
including the appointment of a Rider Advocate pursuant to subsection e. of this
section.

���� d.� The Rider Advocacy
Commission shall establish a New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate and
the Rider Advocate shall be the head of the office.

���� e.� The Rider Advocate shall
be appointed by the Rider Advocacy Commission and shall report directly to the commission.�
The Rider Advocate shall have the authority to carry out the purposes of the
office to protect the interests of New Jersey Transit Corporation customers. Except
for supervision by the commission, the Rider Advocate shall not be subject to
any supervision or control by the Commissioner of Transportation, the board of
the corporation, the executive director of the corporation, or any other staff
of the department or corporation.� For purposes of office work space, the Rider
Advocate and any subordinate staff shall be housed with the New Jersey Transit
Corporation�s Auditor General.

���� f.���� When exceptional
circumstances arise, the Rider Advocate, with the approval of the commission,
may on a temporary basis retain such expert assistants as are necessary to
protect the interests of corporation customers, pursuant to a reasonable fee
established in advance by the State Treasurer for the compensation paid to
expert assistants.� For the purposes of this subsection, �exceptional
circumstances� includes, but is not limited to, any instance in which the
corporation experiences a planned or actual fare increase, a substantial
curtailment of service, a significant expansion of service, or a major
operating or capital expenditure.

���� g.��� The responsibilities of
the New Jersey Transit Office of Customer Advocate shall be to:

���� (1) �provide information and
analysis to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the
Legislature concerning the actual or anticipated impact of any actions by the
corporation or the board of the corporation on the corporation�s customers;

���� (2) �provide customer input
and feedback to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and
the Legislature, including relaying the needs and concerns of customers to the
board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature; and

���� (3) �represent the interests
of the corporation�s customers as determined by the Rider Advocate.

���� h.��� The New Jersey Transit
Office of Customer Advocate may conduct investigations; initiate studies;
conduct research; present comments and testimony before the board of directors
of the corporation, legislative committees, and other governmental bodies; prepare
and issue reports; and undertake any other actions that further the purposes of
the office.� The office shall allow public input concerning the operations of
the corporation and customer experiences to be submitted, at any time, through
the office�s official Internet website and through voicemail.� The office shall
conduct at least one meeting per month with customers of the corporation and
shall allow for a remote attendance option, for the purpose of relaying the
concerns and needs of customers to the board of directors of the corporation and,
when the Rider Advocate deems it appropriate, to the executive management team
of the corporation. �The meetings shall also provide information to customers regarding
any major actions of the corporation or the board of the corporation for which
the Rider Advocate has knowledge.�

���� i.���� The New Jersey Transit Office
of Customer Advocate shall represent the interests of corporation customers as
follows:

���� (1)�� upon publication of any
proposal to increase fares, the corporation shall immediately make available to
the office all information and documents concerning the proposal so that the
office may review those documents and prepare an analysis of the proposed fare
increase, which analysis shall be reported to the board of directors of the
corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature, including an independent
determination of the need for such an increase and the anticipated impact of
the increase on customers;

���� (2)�� upon publication of any
proposal to substantially curtail service, the corporation shall immediately make
available to the office all information and documents concerning the proposal
so that the office may review those documents and prepare an analysis of the
proposed substantial curtailment of service, which analysis shall be reported
to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the
Legislature, including an independent determination of the need for such a
curtailment and the anticipated impact of the curtailment on customers;

���� (3)�� upon publication of any
proposal to expand any service, or upon publication of a time table or schedule
that includes a newly added service, the corporation shall immediately make
available to the office all information and documents concerning the proposal
so that the office may review those documents and prepare an analysis of the
proposed expansion of service, which analysis shall be reported to the board of
directors of the corporation, the Governor, and the Legislature; and

���� (4)�� upon the office�s
request, the corporation shall immediately make available to the office all
information and documents concerning any action or inaction of the corporation
that the office determines has a significant impact on the corporation�s
customers so that the office may review those documents and prepare an analysis
to be reported to the board of directors of the corporation, the Governor, and
the Legislature.

���� j.���� Funds for the expenses
of the Rider Advocacy Commission and the New Jersey Transit Office of Customer
Advocate shall be provided by the State Treasurer, as appropriated by the
Legislature, and shall be independent of any funds appropriated by the
Legislature for the New Jersey Transit Corporation.

���� k.��� On or before March 31 of
each year, the Rider Advocacy Commission, in consultation with the Rider
Advocate, shall prepare a report on the activities of the commission and office
during the previous calendar year, including any reports provided to the board
of directors of the corporation and shall submit the report to the Governor
and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the
Legislature.

���� 2.��� The Rider Advocacy
Commission shall, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative
Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and
regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of P.L.��� , c.
(C.������ ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), including but not
limited to, the means necessary to authorize the duties and investigations of
the office.

���� 3.��� Section 16 of P.L.2018,
c.162 (C.27:25-5.27) is repealed.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes a Rider
Advocacy Commission (commission) in, but not of, the Department of
Transportation and requires the commission to establish a New Jersey Transit
Office of Customer Advocate (office).

���� The office is to investigate,
monitor, advocate, promote, and advise on all customer-experience matters
pertaining to the operation of the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJT). The
commission is to consist of three members, one member appointed by the
Governor, one member appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member
appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly. Each member is limited to a
five-year term, except that of the members first appointed, the member
appointed by the Governor is to be appointed for a one-year term, the member
appointed by the President of the Senate is to be appointed for a two-year
term, and the member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly is to be
appointed for a three-year term. The commission is empowered to engage and
dismiss staff as necessary, including the appointment of a Rider Advocate.

���� The Rider Advocate is the head
of the office, is required to report directly to the commission, and has the
authority to carry out the purposes of the office, including, with the approval
of the commission, temporarily retaining expert assistants as necessary to
protect the interests of NJT customers when exceptional circumstances arise.
The responsibilities of the office include:

���� (1)� providing information and
analysis to the NJT board of directors, Governor, and Legislature concerning
the actual or anticipated impact of any NJT board or NJT actions on NJT�s
customers;

���� (2)� providing customer input
and feedback to the NJT board, Governor, and Legislature, including relaying
the needs and concerns of customers to the NJT board, Governor, and
Legislature; and

���� (3)� representing the
interests of NJT�s customers as determined by the Rider Advocate.

���� The office has the authority
to conduct investigations; initiate studies; conduct research; present comments
and testimony before the NJT board of directors, legislative committees, and
other governmental bodies; prepare and issue reports; and undertake any other
actions that further the purposes of the office.� The office is also required
to conduct meetings with NJT customers, which are to occur at least on a
monthly basis, and would allow for a remote attendance option, for the purpose
of relaying the concerns and needs of customers to the NJT board of directors
and, when the Rider Advocate deems appropriate, to the executive management
team of NJT.� In addition, the office would also be required to allow for
public input on NJT operations and experiences at any time, through the
office�s official Internet website and through voicemail.�

���� The office is also required to
represent the interests of NJT�s customers in areas such as proposed fare
increases, proposed substantial curtailment of services, and any proposed
expansion of service.

���� Funds for the expenses of the
commission and office are to be provided by the State Treasurer, as
appropriated by the Legislature, and are to be independent of funds for the
NJT.

���� On or before March 31 of each
year, the commission in consultation with the Rider Advocate is required to
prepare and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature on the activities
of the commission and office for the previous calendar year, including any
reports provided to the NJT board of directors.�

���� The bill repeals a provision
of law requiring NJT to employ a customer advocate.