Requires creation of central registry of residents with special needs for use during emergencies.

S4348

SENATE, No. 4348

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 28, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires creation of central registry of residents
with special needs for use during emergencies.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

a registry of residents with special needs for
use in an emergency and supplementing P.L.1989, c.3 (C.52:17C-1 et seq.).

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

���� 1.��� a.� The Office of
Emergency Telecommunications Services in the Office of Information Technology,
in coordination with the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the
Department of Human Services, shall establish a central registry of residents
with special needs who require additional assistance provided to them during an
emergency.� The office shall maintain the central registry created pursuant to
this section, which shall be composed of information voluntarily provided by
each registrant including, but not limited to, the registrant's address,
telephone number, hospital plan, and particular condition or assistance needs.

���� b.��� The Division of
Developmental Disabilities shall establish a process by which a resident or
person having legal guardianship over the resident may voluntarily submit the
information required pursuant to subsection a. of this section.� The division
shall provide that information to the Office of Emergency Telecommunications
Services.� The office shall provide to each municipal, county, and regional
police department, fire department, and emergency service organization a list
of residents with special needs that have registered with the central registry
and who reside in a municipality, county, or region that the police department,
fire department, or emergency service organization serves.

���� c.���� The division, in
coordination with each county sheriff�s office, shall conduct a public
awareness campaign, utilizing the Internet and any other available resources,
to inform the public of the importance of identifying and registering
individuals with special needs prior to an emergency so that appropriate
preparations may be made to ensure that these individuals receive necessary
assistance during an emergency.

���� d.��� Municipal, county, and
regional police departments, fire departments, and emergency service
organizations shall use information collected for purposes of a central
registry created pursuant to this section to prepare for and provide assistance
to residents with special needs when responding to 9-1-1 calls and other
emergencies and shall not otherwise divulge or make the information publicly
available.�

���� e.���� The Director of the
State Office of Emergency Management, at the director's discretion, may access
and obtain information from the central registry to prepare an Emergency
Operations Plan required pursuant to section 19 of P.L.1989, c.222
(C.App.A:9-43.2).

���� f.� Any municipality that has
established a list of residents in need of special assistance pursuant to
section 1 of P.L.2017, c.266 (C.40:48-2.67) shall share the list with the
office for the purposes of establishing a registry pursuant to this section.�

���� g.��� The central registry
maintained by the office and any information contained therein, or accessed and
provided to municipal, county, and regional police departments, fire
departments, and emergency service organizations in accordance with subsection
b. of this section, or accessed and provided to the Director of the State
Office of Emergency Management in accordance with subsection e. of this
section, shall not be included under materials available for public inspection
pursuant to P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) or P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.).

���� h.��� The provisions of this
section shall not limit the ability of a county, pursuant to section 6 of
P.L.2011, c.178 (C.App.A:9-43.13), or a municipality, pursuant to section 1 of�
P.L.2017, c.266 (C.40:48-2.67), to establish a list of residents in need of
special assistance provided to them during an emergency.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the Office
of Emergency Telecommunications Services in the Office of Information
Technology, in coordination with the Division of Developmental Disabilities in
the Department of Human Services, to establish a central registry of residents
with special needs who require additional assistance provided to them during an
emergency.� The bill enables residents to voluntarily register individuals with
special needs with the office and provide the registrant's address, telephone
number, hospital plan, and particular condition or assistance needs.�

���� The bill requires the Division
of Developmental Disabilities to establish a process by which resident or a
person having legal guardianship over the resident may voluntarily submit their
information to the registry.� The bill further requires the Office of Emergency
Telecommunications Services to provide to each municipal, county, and regional
police department, fire department, and emergency service organization a list
of residents with special needs that have registered with the central registry
and who reside in a jurisdiction that the department or organization serves.�
Municipal, county, and regional police departments, fire departments, and
emergency service organizations are directed to use information collected for
the central registry to assist residents with special needs when responding to
9-1-1 calls and other emergencies.�

���� The Director of the State
Office of Emergency Management may access and obtain information from the
central registry to prepare an Emergency Operations Plan.� Under the bill, the Office
of Information Technology may only divulge the information collected to
municipal, county, and regional police departments, fire departments, and
emergency service organizations and the Director of the State Office of
Emergency Management.

���� The bill also directs the Division
of Developmental Disabilities, in coordination with each county sheriff�s
office, to conduct a public awareness campaign, utilizing the Internet and any
other available resources, to inform the public of the importance of
identifying and registering individuals with special needs prior to an
emergency so that appropriate preparations may be made to ensure that these
individuals receive necessary assistance during an emergency.