State of New Jersey
Executive Order #80

Governor James J. Florio

WHEREAS, the State prisons and other penal and correctional institutions of the New Jersey Department of Corrections continue to house populations of inmates in excess of their capacities and remain seriously overcrowded; and

WHEREAS, as of January 1993 the total adult inmate population of State-sentenced prisoners was 22,277, including 2,896 State-sentenced inmates in county jails; and

WHEREAS, the State's adult and youth correctional institutions are currently operating at 131 percent of design capacity; and

WHEREAS, these conditions continue to endanger the safety, welfare, and resources of the residents of this State; and

WHEREAS, from June 1981, when Executive Order No. 106 (Byrne) was issued, until this month, the population of State-sentenced prisoners grew from 7,940 to 22,277, far exceeding all predictions for inmate population growth and seriously and dangerously taxing all State correctional facilities; and

WHEREAS, the scope of this crisis prevents local governments from safeguarding the people, property, and resources of the State and mandates a centralized management approach to inmate housing assignments; and

WHEREAS, despite the contruction of three new prisons designed for 3,000 inmates which now house 4,897 inmates at a construction cost of approximately $150 million, expansions of all existing facilities, and the opening of a new facility at Fort Dix under a lease agreement with the federal government that has been extended through the end of 1993, the prison population growth has consistently outstripped infrastructure expansion throughout the past decade, exacerbating crisis conditions; and

WHEREAS, efforts are continuing to address the problem, including the planned contruction of a new prison facility to be operational by the end of 1995; and

WHEREAS, the Sentencing Policy Study Commission was recently created by statute to review the State's sentencing laws and policies, and the Commission's work may have a significant impact on future prison population; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 52 (Florio) of January 17, 1992, will expire on January 20, 1993; and

WHEREAS, the conditions specified in Executive Order No. 106 (Byrne) of June 19, 1981, continue to present a substantial likelihood of disaster, and in fact have worsened since that time as the prison population has expanded exponentially; and

WHEREAS, despite the severity of the crisis in the prison population of this State, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has determined that executive authority to address these emergency conditions under the Civil Defense and Disaster Control Act expires on April 29, 1993; and

WHEREAS, the determination of the Appellate Division is currently on appeal before the New Jersey Supreme Court;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES J. FLORIO, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby declare a continuing state of emergency and ORDER and DIRECT as follows:

1. Executive Order No. 106 (Byrne) of June 19, 1981; No. 108 (Byrne) of September 11, 1981; No. 1 (Kean) of January 20, 1982; No. 8 (Kean) of May 20, 1982; No. 27 (Kean) of January 10, 1983; No. 43 (Kean) of July 15, 1983; No. 60 (Kean) of January 20, 1984; No. 78 (Kean) of July 20, 1984; No. 89 (Kean) of January 18, 1985; No. 127 (Kean) of January 17, 1986; No. 155 (Kean) of January 12, 1987; No.[184 (Kean) of January 4, 1988; No. 202 (Kean) of January[26, 1989; No. 226 (Kean) of January 12, 1990; No.[24 (Florio) of January 18, 1991; and No. 52 (Florio) of January 17, 1992, shall remain in effect until January 20, 1994, notwithstanding any sections in them stating otherwise, subject to the terms of any judicial order setting an earlier expiration date.

2. This Order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal, this
15th day of January in the Year of Our
Lord, one thousand nine hundred and
ninety-three, 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