Bill > S3777

Introduced Session

This bill, the "New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach Commission Act," establishes the "New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach Commission" in, but not of, the Department of State. The commission will consist of 27 members as follows: (1) the President of the Senate, or a designee; (2) the Speaker of the General Assembly, or a designee; (3) the Minority Leader of the Senate, or a designee; (4) the Minority Leader of the General Assembly, or a designee; (5) two members of the New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus, one of whom will be a member of the Senate and one of whom will be a member of the General Assembly, to be appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, respectively, at the recommendation of the caucus chairperson; (6) two members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, one of whom will be a member of the Senate and one of whom will be a member of the General Assembly, to be appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, respectively, at the recommendation of the caucus chairperson; (7) the Governor, or a designee; (8) the Secretary of State, or a designee; (9) the Commissioner of the Department of Health, or a designee; (10) three individuals representing municipalities in this State, reflecting the geographic diversity of the State, appointed by the Secretary of State; (11) four individuals representing counties in this State, reflecting the geographic diversity of the State, appointed by the Governor; (12) one representative each from four different organizations representing the interests of minorities in the State, appointed by the Secretary of State; (13) one representative each from three different organizations representing the interests of business in the State, including one organization representing minority business interests, appointed by the Governor; and (14) two individuals representing community-based, philanthropic, non-profit, educational, civic, and faith-based organizations, appointed by the Secretary of State. The duty of the commission is to develop, recommend, and assist in the administration of a COVID-19 vaccine outreach strategy to encourage the population of New Jersey to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine outreach strategy will include, but not be limited to, the following: State agency initiatives to encourage vaccination; the establishment and support of school-based outreach programs; partnerships with non-profit community-based organizations; a multi-lingual and multi-cultural multi-media campaign with information that may be widely disseminated through print, audio, television, the Internet, and social media in this State among all of its diverse populations and communities on the importance of receiving the COVID-19 vaccination and the resources available to do so; and ensuring that populations with historically low vaccination rates are included in the outreach efforts. To assist in carrying out its duties, the commission may create and appoint subcommittees as it deems appropriate and will solicit participation from relevant experts and practitioners involved in mass vaccination initiatives. The bill requires the outreach strategy to be coordinate through the Office of the Secretary of State, which will provide administrative support to the commission and coordinate with all State agencies and constitutional officers, as well as units of local government, to identify effective methods of outreach to New Jersey's population and to provide resources to ensure the outreach program is successful. All State agencies are required to inform the Office of the Secretary of State of their designated COVID-19 vaccine outreach coordinator and cooperate with the commission and provide support to the commission. Other entities of government, including other constitutional officers, the offices of the legislative and judicial branches, and units of local government are required to cooperate and provide all reasonable assistance to the commission. The bill appropriates to the "New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach Commission" from the General Fund the sum of $9,000,000 to effectuate the provisions of this act. Any unexpended funds from this amount appropriated will be transferred to the State Treasury upon the expiration of this act. The commission is required to submit an interim report to the Governor and to the Legislature within three months of its organizational meeting, containing its recommended outreach strategy to encourage COVID-19 vaccination. Thereafter, the commission will submit its final report to the Governor and to the Legislature no later than June 30, 2021, specifying its recommended COVID-19 vaccine outreach strategy. The commission shall expire on January 1, 2022.

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Teresa Ruiz (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 05/13/2021)