WHEREAS, the citizens of the State of New Jersey have an inherent right to a healthy environment; and

WHEREAS, there is a direct relationship between the health of the environment and the level of environmental awareness among the State's citizenry; and

WHEREAS, environmental education is an integral part of a complete educational experience for students at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels; and

WHEREAS, environmental education should be an integral part of a lifelong learning process that involves both the formal education that occurs in school and the informal education that occurs in all walks of life; and

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Commission on Environmental Education was originally convened by former Governor Thomas Kean in 1989 pursuant to Executive Order No. 205; and

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Commission on Environmental Education was created to identify for the Governor the knowledge, attitudes, values, behaviors and skills that should be recommended for the development of an environmental education master plan; and

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Commission on Environmental Education has identified the knowledge, attitudes, values, skills and behaviors that an environmentally literate citizenry should acquire, and has codified a Plan of Action for developing such a citizenry through the implementation of a variety of strategies; and

WHEREAS, there exists a need to achieve the goals set forth in the Plan of Action developed by the Commission, thus warranting the reconvening of the Commission.

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 ORDER AND DIRECT:

1. There is hereby reconvened the New Jersey Commission on Environmental Education, which shall consist of 27 members, as follows:

A. Three public or private school teachers, one from each of the following groupings: grades kindergarten to third, grades fourth to sixth, and grades seventh to twelfth;

B. Two representatives of each of the following groups: academia in the fields of environmental education and/or environmental science; non-partisan, public interest groups; the field of environmental health; non-academic science professionals; the agricultural community; labor/industry; cultural institutions including, but not limited to, organizations such as museums and nature centers;

C. One representative of each of the following: clergy; school administration; a local school board; and a student representative (grade nine through undergraduate levels);

D. The Commissioners of the following State Departments, or their designees: Education; Higher Education; Environmental Protection and Energy; and Health; and

E. Also included are the Environmental Prosecutor, or a designee; and a representative from the Governor's Office.

The public members shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of three years, and in the first year the public members shall be appointed to staggered terms as follows:

(1) Seven shall be appointed to terms of one year;

(2) Seven shall be appointed to terms of two years; and

(3) Seven shall be appointed to terms of three years.

The Governor shall appoint a chair to the Commission from among its membership, who shall serve in such position at the pleasure of the Governor.

2. The Commission shall meet quarterly throughout the calendar year, and shall:

A. Advise and monitor the Executive Committee on the implementation of the Plan of Action;

B. Advise and monitor the Executive Committee on the utilization of monies from an Environmental Education Trust Fund administered by the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy;

C. Support an annual Environmental Education Week and other activities designed to foster environmental awareness; and

D. Report to the Governor as requested on issues relating to environmental education;

E. submit an annual report to the Governor on the status of environmental education in the State.

3. There is hereby convened an Environmental Education Executive Committee of nine members, established as a sub-group of the Environmental Education Commission, which shall be chaired by the Chair of the Commission with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy and the Commissioner of the Department of Education as vice-chairs, and shall consist of the Commissioners of the following State Departments, or their designees: Higher Education; Health; and Law and Public Safety. The Executive Committee shall also consist of a representative from the Governor's Office and two representatives from the Commission, to be designated by the Governor.

The Chair shall preside over the meetings of the Executive Committee, and shall administer the agenda as submitted by the Committee.

4. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once every other month, beginning in the month following the effective date of this Order, and shall:

A. Enhance communication with and coordinate the involvement of State departments, including but not limited to those departments represented on the Commission in the implementation of the Plan of Action;

B. In consultation with the Environmental Education Commission, utilize monies available through the Environmental Education Trust Fund, administered by the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the Plan of Action;

C. Conduct an inventory of each State Department, the formal and non-formal education communities, business and industry, environmental groups and organizations, municipal and county government, and civic, youth and religious organizations in the area of environmental education and identify potential areas where environmental education can be infused into government operations.

D. Communicate the findings of the inventory to the Commission at their regularly scheduled meetings, work with the Commission in preparing its annual report, and otherwise establish a "clearinghouse" of information for an environmental education network.

Upon the request of four of the Executive Committee members, the Chair shall schedule a special meeting of the Executive Committee.

5. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy will be the lead agency, in close coordination with the Department of Education, in helping the Commission and the Executive Committee implement the Plan of Action.

6. This Order shall take effect immediately, and shall remain in effect until such time legislation is adopted and signed which supersedes this Order.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal this
19th day of November 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 eighteenth.

/s/ Jim Florio
Governor

Attest:

/s/
Chief Counsel to the Governor