(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 2/22/2024)
ASSEMBLY, No. 1476
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman JOHN ALLEN
District 32 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Spearman, Assemblywomen Lopez, Speight and Swain
SYNOPSIS
Establishes “New Jersey Target Zero Commission.”
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities
Committee with technical review.
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AN ACT establishing the “New Jersey Target Zero Commission” 1
and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes. 2
3
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 4
of New Jersey: 5
6
1. a. There is established in, but not of, the Department of 7
Transportation, the “New Jersey Target Zero Commission.” 8
b. The commission shall consist of 13 members, as follows: 9
(1) the Commissioner of Transportation, ex officio, or the 10
commissioner’s designee; 11
(2) the Superintendent of State Police, ex officio, or the 12
superintendent’s designee; 13
(3) the Commissioner of Health, ex officio, or the commissioner’s 14
designee; 15
(4) the Commissioner of Community Affairs, ex officio, or the 16
commissioner’s designee; 17
(5) the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle 18
Commission, ex officio, or the chief administrator’s designee; 19
(6) the Commissioner of Human Services, ex officio, or the 20
commissioner’s designee; 21
(7) the Director of Highway Traffic Safety, ex officio, or the 22
director’s designee; 23
(8) the Director of the Office of Environmental Justice in the 24
Department of Environmental Protection, ex officio, or the director’s 25
designee; 26
(9) the Executive Director of the New Jersey Transit Corporation, 27
ex officio, or the executive director’s designee; 28
(10) the Executive Director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, 29
ex officio, or the executive director’s designee; 30
(11) the Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Regional 31
Planning Commission , ex officio, or the executive director’s designee;32
(12) the Executive Director of the North Jersey Transportation 33
Planning Authority, ex officio, or the executive director’s designee; 34
and 35
(13) the Executive Director of the South Jersey Transportation 36
Planning Organization, ex officio, or the executive director’s designee. 37
c. The commission shall hold its initial meeting as soon as 38
practicable, but no later than 60 days after the effective date of P.L. , 39
c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The 40
chairperson of the commission shall be the Commissioner of 41
Transportation, and the commission shall meet no less than twice per 42
year at such places and times as the chairperson may designate. The 43
commission shall hold a minimum of two annual public hearings. The 44
chairperson may appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the 45
commission. 46
d. The commission shall meet with key stakeholders, advocates, 47
and experts, and shall consult with policy experts in the fields of 48
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bicycle and pedestrian safety, mobility, visual or cognitive 1
impairments, and motor vehicle crashes for expertise and input. 2
e. The Department of Transportation shall provide professional, 3
stenographic, and clerical staff to the commission, as may be necessary 4
for the commission to carry out its duties. The commission shall also 5
be entitled to call upon the services of any State, county, or municipal 6
department, board, commission, or agency, as may be available to it 7
for its purposes. 8
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2. a. For the purposes of this section: 10
“Active transportation” means pedestrian mobility, such as 11
walking and running, individual use of personal conveyances for 12
mobility powered by human effort or electric motors, and personal 13
conveyances that consider and address accommodations pursuant to 14
the “Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990” (42 U.S.C. s.12101 et 15
seq.). 16
“Bicycle” means the same as the term is defined in section 2 of 17
P.L.1975, c.328 (C.39:4-14.5). 18
“Pedestrian” shall include, but not be limited to: a pedestrian as 19
defined in R.S.39:1-1; a person in a wheelchair or motorized 20
wheelchair as defined in R.S.39:1-1; and a person employed by or who 21
contracts with any public utility company in this State, a property 22
maintenance worker, or any other person who is permitted by law to 23
be upon the roadway and outside a motor vehicle for work or 24
recreation and is upon a roadway and outside a motor vehicle for work 25
or recreation. 26
“Personal conveyance” shall include: 27
(1) a bicycle as defined in this section; 28
(2) a low-speed electric bicycle as defined in R.S.39:1-1; 29
(3) a low-speed electric scooter as defined in R.S.39:1-1; 30
(4) a manual wheelchair; 31
(5) a motorized wheelchair as defined in R.S.39:1-1, or similar 32
mobility assisting devices used by persons with physical disabilities, or 33
by persons whose ambulatory mobility has been impaired by age or 34
illness; 35
(6) an electric personal assistive mobility device as defined in 36
section 1 of P.L.2001, c.430 (C.39:4-14.10); 37
(7) a motorized scooter as defined in R.S.39:1-1; 38
(8) a skateboard; 39
(9) a motorized skateboard as defined in R.S.39:1-1; 40
(10) roller skates as defined in section 1 of P.L.1997, c.411 41
(C.39:4-10.5); and 42
(11) any other means used by a person for transportation. 43
“Safe system approach” means evaluating traffic safety and 44
designing a transportation system with the goal of eliminating fatal and 45
serious injuries for all road users by acknowledging that: traffic deaths 46
and serious injuries are unacceptable, humans make mistakes, humans 47
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are vulnerable, responsibility is shared, safety is proactive, and 1
redundancy is crucial. 2
“Target zero strategies” means actionable strategies using the safe 3
system approach and include, but are not limited to: (1) prioritizing 4
roadway design and design of sidewalks; crosswalks; roadway 5
shoulders; personal conveyance parking; access to public transit, 6
schools, and parks; and intersections and corridors with paths, trails, 7
and multiuse greenways; (2) focusing on speed management; (3) 8
ensuring enforcement is equitable; and (4) utilizing impactful 9
education strategies and inclusive community engagement. 10
b. The purpose and duties of the commission shall be to study, 11
examine, and review all aspects of traffic safety with a particular focus 12
on access, equity, and mobility for all road users using the safe system 13
approach and to advise the Governor, the Legislature, and the 14
Department of Transportation regarding policies, programs, research, 15
and priorities to help achieve the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities 16
and serious injuries. To fulfill this purpose and these duties, the 17
commission shall: 18
(1) develop a comprehensive and coordinated action plan to help 19
achieve the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries on 20
all public roadways in the State by 2040 through engineering, 21
education, and enforcement systems that analyze physical 22
transportation designs with a focus on the equitable treatment of all 23
transportation users; 24
(2) identify short-term and long-term data-driven strategies with 25
measurable goals and target dates to reduce traffic fatalities and 26
serious injuries with the goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities and 27
serious injuries by 2040; 28
(3) adopt the action plan no later than the first day of the 12th 29
month following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending 30
before the Legislature as this bill), except that before adopting the 31
action plan, the commission shall host a public hearing to receive 32
public feedback concerning the proposed action plan, which proposed 33
action plan shall be published on the commission’s Internet website no 34
less than 72 hours before the public hearing; 35
(4) promote effective and transparent collection of traffic safety 36
data and dissemination of such data via a publicly accessible data 37
portal that includes, but is not limited to, the most dangerous 38
intersections in the State, traffic crash data with information on non-39
fatal injuries and demographic data, and a high injury network that 40
indicates the roadways, in the State, with the highest injury rates; 41
(5) encourage the elimination of road hazards by advancing active 42
transportation and mass transit as safe and viable forms of 43
transportation throughout the State for persons of all ages and abilities; 44
(6) provide recommendations for changes to State, county, and 45
municipal law to achieve the goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities 46
and serious injuries by 2040; 47
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(7) develop the action plan to implement and promote the safe 1
system approach, target zero strategies, and evidenced-based safety 2
countermeasures to help achieve the goal of eliminating traffic 3
fatalities and severe injuries among all road users by 2040; 4
(8) create and maintain an interactive Internet website to provide 5
information about the commission, including: the membership of the 6
commission; the commission’s plans, progress reports, meeting 7
notices, agendas, and minutes; educational materials about target zero; 8
a link to the safety portal required pursuant to paragraph (4) of this 9
subsection; and any other information the commission deems 10
necessary; 11
(9) serve as an advisor to the Department of Transportation and 12
other State agencies and transportation authorities with regard to 13
roadway planning and transportation infrastructure planning; 14
(10) provide advice and assistance to county and municipal 15
governments to develop their own target zero plans; and 16
(11) report annually to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of 17
P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature on the findings and 18
activities of the commission, including the number of road traffic 19
fatalities and serious injuries and the review of the implementation of 20
the action plans. The commission shall submit the report before the 21
third Sunday in November of each year, which is World Day of 22
Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. 23
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3. The Department of Transportation shall promulgate such rules 25
and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” 26
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate 27
the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the 28
Legislature as this bill). 29
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4. This act shall take effect immediately. 31