Authorizes creation of "New Jersey Council on Access and Mobility."

A4488

ASSEMBLY, No. 4488

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� CLINTON CALABRESE

District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Authorizes creation of �New Jersey Council on Access
and Mobility.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

authorizing the creation of the �New Jersey
Council on Access and Mobility� and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised
Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.� There is established
in, but not of, the Department of Transportation, the �New Jersey Council on
Access and Mobility.�

���� b.��� The council shall
consist of 17 members, as follows:�

���� (1)�� the Commissioner of
Transportation, ex officio, or the commissioner�s designee;

���� (2)�� the Commissioner of
Human Services, ex officio, or the commissioner�s designee;

���� (3)�� the Commissioner of
Education, ex officio, or the commissioner�s designee;

���� (4)�� the Commissioner of
Community Affairs, ex officio, or the commissioner�s designee;

���� (5)�� the Commissioner of
Labor and Workforce Development, ex officio, or the commissioner�s designee;

���� (6)�� the Executive Director
of the New Jersey Transit Corporation, ex officio, or the executive director�s
designee;

���� (7)�� the Director of the
Office of Disability Services in the Department of Human Services, ex officio,
or the director�s designee;

���� (8)�� the Director of the
Division of Aging Services in the Department of Human Services, ex officio, or
the director�s designee;

���� (9)�� the Director of the
Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services, ex
officio, or the director�s designee;

���� (10)� the State Treasurer, ex
officio, or the State Treasurer�s designee;

���� (11)�
the
Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and
their Families, ex officio, or the ombudsman�s designee; and

���� (12)
� six
public members, who have a demonstrated expertise in the coordination of
transportation services or independent living services for persons with
disabilities or senior citizens, of which: �

���� (a)�� one of the public
members shall be a representative of Disability Rights New Jersey;

���� (b)�� one of the public
members shall be a representative of The Arc of New Jersey;

���� (c)�� one of the public
members shall be a representative of the New Jersey Statewide Independent
Living Council;

���� (d)�� one of the public
members shall be a representative of the New Jersey Council on Developmental
Disabilities;

���� (e)�� one of the public
members shall be a representative of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center
at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; and

���� (f)�� one of the public
members shall be a representative of the New Jersey Council on Special
Transportation.��

���� Of the six public members
appointed to the council, three shall be appointed by the President of the
Senate and three shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly.

���� c.���� Each public member of
the council shall serve for a term of three years, except that, of the members
first appointed, two shall serve for a term of one year, two shall serve for a
term of two years, and two shall serve for a term of three years.� Each member
shall serve for the term of appointment until the member�s successor is
appointed and qualified.� A public member who has completed a term of
membership may be reappointed to the council.� Vacancies in the council
membership shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were
made.

���� d.��� The members of the
council shall be appointed within 60 days after the effective date of this act,
and the council shall hold its initial organizational meeting as soon as
practicable, but no later than 30 days, after the appointment of a majority of
its members.� The Commissioner of Transportation, or a designee, shall serve as
chairperson of the council, and the council shall meet, no less than annually,
at such places and times as the chairperson may designate.� The chairperson may
appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the council.�

���� e.���� Members of the council
shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, within the
limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the council for its
purposes.

���� f.���� The Department of
Transportation shall provide professional, stenographic, and clerical staff to
the council, as may be necessary for the council to carry out its duties.� The
council shall also be entitled to call upon the services of any State, county,
or municipal department, board, commission, or agency, as may be available to
it for its purposes.

���� 2.��� The purpose and duties
of the council shall be to, no less than annually:

���� a.���� study the
transportation services provided to persons with disabilities and senior
citizens by the New Jersey Transit Corporation, State departments and agencies,
counties, and municipalities;

���� b.��� analyze all available
federal funding programs that may be used for mobility management of and to
provide transportation services to persons with disabilities and senior
citizens, and the ability of the State to qualify for those funds;

���� c.���� inventory existing
State and federal transportation funding sources used for transportation
services within the various departments and agencies in the State to study ways
to improve transportation services and programs;

���� d.��� coordinate the provision
of transportation services across all agencies that have an interest in the
mobility of persons with disabilities and senior citizens;

���� e.���� make recommendations
for legislative or executive action to maximize the State�s acquisition of
federal funding and the coordination of transportation services for persons
with disabilities and senior citizens; and

���� f.���� coordinate activities
with the federal Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the New
Jersey Council on Access and Mobility (council).

���� The council is to consist of
17 members: �the Commissioner of Transportation; the Commissioner of Human
Services; the Commissioner of Education; the Commissioner of Community Affairs;
the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development; the Executive Director of
the New Jersey Transit Corporation; the Director of the Office of Disability
Services; the Director of the Division of Aging Services; and the Director of
the Division of Developmental Disabilities; the State Treasurer; Ombudsman for
Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families;
and six public members, with three to be appointed by the President of the
Senate and three to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly.

���� The public members are also
required to have a demonstrated expertise in the coordination of transportation
services or independent living services for persons with disabilities or senior
citizens and be representatives of: �Disability Rights New Jersey; The Arc of
New Jersey; the New Jersey Statewide Independent Living Council; the New Jersey
Council on Developmental Disabilities; the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation
Center at Rutgers, the State University; and the New Jersey Council on Special
Transportation.�

���� The purpose and duties of the
council is required to meet, no less than annually, to:� study the
transportation services provided to persons with disabilities and senior
citizens by the New Jersey Transit Corporation, State agencies, counties, or
municipalities; analyze available federal funding programs that may be used for
mobility management of and to provide transportation services to persons with
disabilities and senior citizens and the ability of the State to qualify for
those funds the ability of the State to qualify for those funds; coordinate the
provision of transportation services across all agencies that have an interest
in the mobility of persons with disabilities and senior citizens; and make
recommendations for legislative or executive action to maximize the State�s
acquisition of federal funding and the coordination of transportation services
for persons with disabilities and senior citizens.