52:27D-329.13 - State Housing Commission
52:27D-329.13 State Housing Commission.
24. a. The State Housing Commission 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 Community Affairs, but notwithstanding this allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department except as expressly authorized under P.L.2008, c.46 (C.52:27D-329.1 et al.). The commission shall consist of 15 public members and shall also include the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Human Services, the Commissioner of Transportation, the Commissioner of Education, the Chairman of the State Planning Commission, and the State Treasurer, who shall be nonvoting, ex-officio members of the commission. The non-public members may each designate a qualified employee to serve in their stead.
Thirteen of the public members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate as follows: four members shall be individuals qualified by expertise in housing preservation, development, and management and who do not hold public office or public employment, and one of the four shall have particular experience in addressing the needs of the homeless; two of the four members shall be individuals qualified by expertise in urban revitalization and redevelopment and who do not hold public office, one of whom shall be a nonprofit builder, and another member of the four shall be a for-profit developer; two members shall be elected local officials at the time of initial appointment, one of whom shall be an elected official in a municipality having a population greater than 50,000; two members shall be individuals who do not hold public office and are qualified by their position and experience to represent the interests of low and moderate income and middle income families and individuals; one member shall be an individual who does not hold public office and who is qualified by expertise in planning and land use, one member who does not hold public office shall be a licensed real estate broker or a licensed real estate salesperson, and one member who shall be an executive director of a public housing authority within the State. Two additional public members who do not hold public office or public employment shall be appointed as follows: one member by the Speaker of the General Assembly and one member by the President of the Senate. The public members of the commission shall reflect the diversity of housing sector professionals.
b.The Governor shall nominate 13 public members of the commission, within 90 days following the effective date of P.L.2008, c.46 (C.52:27D-329.1 et al.), and shall designate a public member to preside over the commission until a chair and vice-chair are elected by the members of the commission. The Speaker of the General Assembly and the President of the Senate shall each appoint a member, respectively, within 90 days following the effective date of P.L.2008, c.46 (C.52:27D-329.1 et al.).
c.Each public member of the commission shall serve for a term of three years, except that of the initial members so appointed: three members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of one year; one member appointed by the President of the Senate, one member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and five members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of two years; and the remaining appointees shall serve for terms of three years. Public members shall be eligible for reappointment. They shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified, and 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.
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. Each member of the commission may be removed from office by the Governor, for cause, upon notice and opportunity to be heard.
d.The commission shall elect annually a chair and vice-chair from among the public members of the commission, who shall serve for one year and until a successor is elected.
e.The executive secretary of the commission shall be the Senior Deputy Commissioner for Housing. In the event the commissioner designates the Senior Deputy Commissioner for Housing to serve in his or her stead as a member of the commission, the Senior Deputy Commissioner for Housing shall designate a qualified employee of the department to serve as executive secretary of the commission. Eight of the voting members of the commission shall constitute a quorum and a vote of the majority of the members present shall be necessary for any action taken by the commission.
f.The duties of the commission shall be as follows:
(1)To provide guidance and direction with respect to the policies and strategies to be pursued by State agencies with respect to housing which are incorporated into the plan.
(2)To prepare and adopt the Annual Strategic Housing Plan as set forth in section 28 of P.L.2008, c.46 (C.52:27D-329.17).
(3)To hold such public hearings and other activities as may be desirable to ensure adequate public input into the preparation of the plan and increase public awareness of the strategies and activities contained in the plan.
(4)To gather and disseminate such information on housing needs and strategies as may be useful for the work of the commission and informative to the public.
L.2008, c.46, s.24.