S4809

An Act concerning the Commission on Latino and Hispanic Heritage and amending P.L.2019, c.321.

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

1. Section 2 of P.L.2019, c.321 (C.18A:4-48) is amended to read as follows:

2. a. The Commission on Latino and Hispanic Heritage is created and established in the Executive Branch of the State Government. For the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of Education, but notwithstanding this allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or any board or officer thereof.

The commission shall consist of 21 members, including the Commissioner of Education and the chair of the executive board of the Presidents' Council, serving ex officio, and 19 public members.

Public members shall be appointed as follows: five public members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate[, at least one of whom shall have a Masters' degree in an area of Latino or Hispanic studies or culture]; five public members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly[, at least one of whom shall have a Masters' degree in an area of Latino or Hispanic studies or culture]; and nine public members shall be appointed by the Governor[, no less than four of whom shall at the time of their appointment have at least a Masters' degree in an area of Latino or Hispanic studies or culture]. The public members shall be residents of the State who have [served prominently as spokespersons for, or as leaders of, organizations in the Latino or Hispanic heritage community which serve members of religious, ethnic, national heritage, or social groups or who are experienced in the field of Latino or Hispanic heritage education] knowledge and experience in Latino or Hispanic studies or education. To the greatest extent practicable, they shall be chosen with due regard to provide the commission with broad regional representation and ethnic diversity. At least one-half of the public members shall be of Latino or Hispanic descent.

b. Each public member of the commission shall serve for a term of three years, except that of the initial members appointed: one member appointed by the President of the Senate, one member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, and two members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of one year; two members appointed by the President of the Senate, two members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, and three members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of two years; and two members appointed by the President of the Senate, two members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, and four members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of three years. Public members shall be eligible for reappointment and shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. The term of the successor of any incumbent shall be calculated from the expiration of the term of that incumbent. A vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for the unexpired term only.

c. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for all necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

d. The commission annually shall elect a chairperson from among its members. It shall meet upon the call of the chair or of a majority of the commission members. The presence of a majority of the authorized membership of the commission shall be required for the conduct of official business.

e. The commission shall appoint an executive director, who shall serve at its pleasure and shall be a person qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of the office.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.321, s.2)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill revises certain membership requirements of the Commission on Latino and Hispanic Heritage.

Under current State law, the Commission on Latino and Hispanic Heritage is a permanent State-level commission tasked with surveying, designing, encouraging, and promoting the implementation of Latino and Hispanic cultural and educational programs in the State.

Current law requires the Governor to appoint nine public members to the commission, with no less than four of the appointees required to have at least a Masters' degree in an area of Latino or Hispanic studies or culture. Similarly, one of the five public members appointed by the President of the Senate, and one of the five public members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, are required to hold a Master’s degree in an area of Latino or Hispanic studies or culture. This bill removes the requirement for these public members to hold Master’s degrees and removes a requirement from current law that public members are required to have served prominently as spokespersons for, or as leaders of, organizations in the Latino or Hispanic heritage community which serve members of religious, ethnic, national heritage, or social groups or who are experienced in the field of Latino or Hispanic heritage education. Instead, the bill requires the public members to have knowledge and experience in Latino or Hispanic studies or education.