Establishes permanent unit in Office of Emergency Management to address access and functional needs of residents related to disasters and emergencies.
This bill creates a permanent unit within New Jersey's State Office of Emergency Management to specifically support residents with access and functional needs during disasters. It directly affects New Jersey residents with disabilities, older adults, limited English proficiency, transportation barriers, or financial constraints. The unit will determine needs before/during/after emergencies, assess resource availability, address access barriers, and coordinate with local emergency offices to implement best practices. The unit will include a full-time supervisor and three full-time planners to serve all regions of the state. The bill takes effect four months after enactment, requiring the Office of Emergency Management to establish this dedicated resource.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 24, 2026
Last action Mar 19, 2026
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What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Reprint
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3 edits
MINOR
Bill S 3685 was reported out of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee on March 19, 2026, with amendments. The changes are primarily procedural: the legislative findings were renumbered into an unnumbered preamble, the operative sections were renumbered from 2-3 to 1-2, and the summary statement section was removed. No substantive policy changes were made to the bill's requirements.
TECHNICAL
The legislative findings (formerly Section 1) were moved into an unnumbered preamble, and the operative sections were renumbered: former Section 2 became Section 1, and former Section 3 became Section 2.
The STATEMENT section, which provided a plain-language summary of the bill's requirements, was removed from the text.
The version marker changed from 'As introduced' to 'As reported by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee on March 19, 2026, with amendments,' indicating committee passage.
Floor votes
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Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Mar 19, 2026
Committee
Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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