State of New Jersey
Executive Order #71

Governor James J. Florio

See EO # 34, #79, #99, and #107 Whitman.

WHEREAS, thousands of citizens of the State of New Jersey from every age group and from all walks of life volunteer countless hours of service in order to help others in their communities; and

WHEREAS, these volunteers work to build strong community organizations, to promote issues in the public interest and to help their fellow citizens in need; and

WHEREAS, neighborhoods, towns, cities and the state benefit to a great extent from the contributions of individuals and groups volunteering their time and service; and

WHEREAS, volunteerism promotes good citizenship and responsibility to the community; and

WHEREAS, state government can promote volunteerism and community service by providing leadership, coordination, and recognition; and

WHEREAS, the federal National and Community Service Act of 1990 encourages a concerned body of citizens to join and work together for the common good; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey seeks to involve all sectors of the state in cooperative community service efforts to help create "One New Jersey" by including students from kindergarten through college, participants in New Jersey Youth Corps, and schools and communities in the urban special needs districts; and

WHEREAS, implementation and coordination of statewide efforts to enhance volunteerism and service to the community, including those funded by the Commission on National and Community Service, can best be achieved by reconstituting and renaming the Governor's Advisory Committee on Public/Private Volunteer Partnerships to act as advisors to the Governor, the New Jersey Office of Volunteerism and the Department of Higher Education.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM FLORIO, Governor of the State of New[Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

1. The Governor's Advisory Committee on Public/Private Volunteer Partnerships shall be renamed the Governor's Advisory Council on Volunteerism and Community Service.

2. The Advisory Council shall be composed of not more than 42 individuals appointed by the Governor and shall be broadly representative of community service and shall reflect the ethnic and economic diversity of the State of New Jersey.

a. The Commissioners of the Departments of Community Affairs, Education, Human Services, Health and Labor, the Chancellor of Higher Education, the Attorney General, the Chairman of the State Employment and Training Commission, the Executive Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, or their designees, shall serve on the Advisory Council as ex officio members.

b. One representative of a federal volunteer program shall serve on the Advisory Council as an ex officio member.

c. The public members shall consist of representatives from volunteer associations or organizations, youth-serving organizations, the non-profit sector, business, and education, including students. The public members may also include representatives from organized labor, low-income groups, and/or persons who volunteer or are engaged in service to the community.

d. All members of the Advisory Council shall serve without compensation. Public members shall serve for terms of three years, except those public members of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Public/Private Volunteer Partnerships whose terms have not expired shall be reappointed to serve out the remainder of their terms as members of the Advisory Council. Appointments to currently vacant positions shall be made for terms of one, two or three years so that one third of the appointments to the Advisory Council are made each year.

e. Advisory Council vacancies shall be filled by the Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.

3. The Governor shall designate a Chairperson from among the public members of the Advisory Council.

4. The Advisory Council shall:

a. Encourage the expansion of volunteerism and community service in the State of New Jersey by advising and supporting the New Jersey Office of Volunteerism and the Department of Higher Education;

b. Identify and prioritize the important community needs and identify the resources to meet those needs through volunteerism and community service;

c. Recognize and reward successful examples of community partnerships, service projects, and volunteerism and to provide those models to other communities facing those challenges;

d. Involve New Jersey's youth, businesses, individuals and groups to work together to strengthen and meet the needs of New Jersey's communities;

e. Advise the Governor on volunteer, community service and service learning for youth issues.

5. The time, place, and manner of meeting, as well as Advisory Council operating procedures, shall be established by the Advisory Council, except that such rules must provide for not less than one public meeting each year at which the public is given an opportunity to express views concerning volunteerism and community service in the State.

6. The Advisory Council shall receive administrative support from the New Jersey Office of Volunteerism, but shall not obligate any funds of that office or of any other department, office, division or agency of the State.

7. The Department of Higher Education shall be considered the lead State agency in administering grants awarded through the Commission on National and Community Service.

8. This order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal this
20th day of November in the Year of Our
Lord, One Thousand Nine Hundred and
Ninety Two, and of the Independence
of the United States, the Two Hundred
and Seventeenth.

/s/ Jim Florio
Governor

Attest:

/s/ M. Robert DeCotiis
Chief Counsel to the Governor