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A5314
ASSEMBLY, No. 5314
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 23, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� VINCENT M. "VINNIE" KEARNEY
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes list of essential employees for purposes
of travel during state of emergency.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning
essential employees during a state of emergency 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.���� During a state of
emergency, the ability of essential employees to travel freely to worksites,
emergency scenes, critical infrastructure facilities, and other necessary
locations is vital to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents of
this State and to preserve, maintain, or restore critical infrastructure.
���� b.��� Employees whose work may
be considered essential during a state of emergency include public safety
workers or first responders, such as police, fire, or other emergency
responders; public works employees; and other individuals whose work or
function may be deemed necessary by the governor during a state of emergency to
protect critical infrastructure or services required to maintain or protect the
public health, safety, security, or economy of this State.
���� c.���� While travel
restrictions are sometimes necessary during a state of emergency to protect individuals
from hazards, they may also make it difficult for essential employees to reach
locations where their critical services are needed.
���� d.��� Therefore, it is
altogether fitting and proper to establish and maintain a list of essential
employees to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management personnel
in determining whether a person qualifies as an essential employee for travel
or emergency access during a state of emergency.
���� 2.��� a. �As used in this
section:
���� "Critical
infrastructure" means any building, structure, facility, system, network,
or service in the State that is required to maintain or protect the public
health, safety, security, or economy of this State.
���� �Essential
employee� means an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer in the
private or public sector who is a public safety worker or first responder,
including any fire, police, or other emergency responder, or who performs any
work or function deemed necessary by the governor during a state of emergency
to protect, preserve, maintain, or restore critical infrastructure or services.
���� "State
of Emergency" means any disaster or emergency for which a state of
emergency has been declared by the governor.
���� b.��� The
Director of the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State
Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the
Superintendent of State Police, shall establish and maintain a list of
essential employees to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management
personnel in determining whether a person is an essential employee for purposes
of travel or emergency access during a state of emergency.
���� c.���� A
public or private entity may submit to the State Office of Emergency
Management, on a form prescribed by the director, for inclusion on the list of
essential employees information identifying an employee, independent
contractor, or volunteer that may qualify as an essential employee as defined
in subsection a. of this section, which submission shall include, but not be
limited to, information identifying the employee, independent contractor, or
volunteer and the work or function performed by the person, including the
person�s anticipated area of operation or travel and any location to which
access may be necessary during a state of emergency.
���� The
director shall review each submission and designate a person as an essential
employee for purposes of inclusion on the list of essential employees upon
making a determination that the person meets the definition of essential
employee set forth in subsection a. of this section and that inclusion on the
list of essential employees is necessary to assist law enforcement agencies and
emergency management personnel in determining whether the person is an
essential employee for purposes of travel or emergency access during a state of
emergency.� The director may remove any person from the list of essential
employees if the director determines that the person no longer meets the
definition of essential employee, inclusion on the list is no longer necessary,
or a person�s inclusion on the list of essential employees has been used for a
purpose not authorized under this section.�
���� d.��� Any
information submitted to or maintained by the State Office of Emergency
Management pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be considered a
government record under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), or the common law
concerning access to government records, and shall not be disclosed except as
necessary for travel verification, emergency access, or other emergency
management or public safety purposes.
���� e.���� The
director, in consultation with the Superintendent of State Police, shall adopt
rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.�
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes a list
of essential employees for purposes of travel during a state of emergency.
���� Under the bill, the Director
of the State Office of Emergency Management in the Division of State Police in
the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the
Superintendent of State Police, is required to establish and maintain a list of
essential employees to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency management
personnel in determining whether a person is an essential employee for purposes
of travel or emergency access during a state of emergency.
���� The bill provides that a
public or private entity may submit to the State Office of Emergency Management
for inclusion on the list of essential employees information identifying an
employee, independent contractor, or volunteer who may qualify as an essential
employee as defined under the bill.� The submission is to include information
identifying the employee, independent contractor, or volunteer and the work or
function performed by the person, including the person�s anticipated area of
operation or travel and any location to which access may be necessary during a
state of emergency.
���� Under the bill, the director
is to review each submission and designate a person as an essential employee
upon making a determination that the person meets the definition of essential
employee set forth under the bill and that inclusion on the list of essential
employees is necessary to assist law enforcement agencies and emergency
management personnel in determining whether the person is an essential employee
for purposes of travel or emergency access during a state of emergency.
���� The bill allows the director
to remove any person from the list of essential employees if the director
determines that the person no longer meets the definition of essential
employee, inclusion on the list is no longer necessary, or a person�s inclusion
on the list of essential employees has been used for a purpose not authorized
under this section.
���� Under the bill, any
information submitted to or maintained by the State Office of Emergency
Management regarding an essential employee is not considered a government
record and may not be disclosed except as necessary for travel verification,
emergency access, or other emergency management or public safety purposes.