New Jersey Administrative Code › Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS › Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE › Section - Executive Order No. 319 (2023)

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
Governor Philip D. Murphy
Executive Order No. 319 (2023)
An Order Establishing an Equity and Sustainability Advisory Council to Develop Policy for the Statewide Workforce
Issued: February 21, 2023.
Effective: February 21, 2023.
WHEREAS, establishing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment within our State government is a critical priority of my Administration; and
WHEREAS, creating such an environment requires bridging opportunity gaps and attracting diverse talent through greater efforts at recruitment, retention, mentorship, and career development; and
WHEREAS, in furtherance of these goals, I issued Executive Order No. 265 (2021), which established an Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Office of the Governor to coordinate these efforts across each State agency; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 265 (2021) provided that the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging would develop and oversee a Statewide equity capacity-building infrastructure for all State agencies; provide direction and guidance to diversity officers and offices within the Executive Branch of State government; develop recommendations for the formation of policies that support diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in non-governmental entities; and issue guidelines to effectuate these duties, among other responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, the important work of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is bolstered through the combined efforts of our State's workforce to share, create, and implement ideas and initiatives that broaden our Statewide equity infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, chief diversity officers and officials with similar roles in many State agencies have been instrumental in guiding the agencies to develop more diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environments;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, 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 established, within the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, an Equity and Sustainability Advisory Council ("Advisory Council") to develop and recommend to the Governor's Office a Statewide Equity Infrastructure Policy that will provide State agencies with strategic direction for achieving greater equity. The work of the Advisory Council shall be informed by the ongoing efforts of the Civil Service Commission's Diversity Council to support diversity and inclusion initiatives across the State.
2. The Chairperson of the Advisory Council shall be the Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
3. In addition to the Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, the Advisory Council shall consist of the Chair of the Civil Service Commission, the Attorney General, and the Treasurer, or their designees. The Governor may, as determined to be appropriate, appoint other employees of the State to the Advisory Council. All members of the Advisory Council shall serve without compensation and at the pleasure of the Governor.
4. The Advisory Council may establish working groups consisting of one or more Advisory Council members and the heads of one or more State agencies or their designees.
5. The head of each principal department in the Executive Branch of State government shall designate a senior-level employee to perform the functions of Chief Diversity Officer or equivalent role to administer the department's diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives and programs (as distinct from the responsibilities of Equal Employment Opportunity and/or Affirmative Action officers), and to serve as a liaison with and inform the work of the Advisory Council and the Civil Service Commission's Diversity Council as appropriate.
6. The Advisory Council may call upon any State agency to provide information or other assistance as the Advisory Council deems necessary to discharge its duties under this Order, including but not limited to data regarding the measures, activities, and benchmarks relied upon to effectuate the goals of the Statewide Equity Infrastructure Policy. Each State agency shall, to the extent not inconsistent with law, cooperate fully with any such request and with the Advisory Council generally, within the limits of each agency's statutory authority, and shall furnish such assistance on as timely a basis as is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Order.
7. The Advisory Council shall be purely advisory in nature and shall provide advice to the Governor and other Executive Branch departments and agencies as requested.
8. For purposes of this Order, "State agency" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission, or other instrumentality within or created by such department, and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality, or agency over which the Governor exercises executive authority, as determined by the Attorney General.
9. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to confer any legal rights upon entities whose activities are regulated by State agencies; construed to create a private right of action on behalf of any such regulated entities; or used as a basis for legal challenge to rules, approvals, permits, licenses, or other action or inaction by a State agency. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to supersede any federal, State, or local law.
10. This Order shall take effect immediately.