32:36-6 Organization of the commission; meetings.

6. Organization of the Commission; meetings.

a. The co-chairpersons of the commission shall serve from among the commissioners appointed by the state of New Jersey and the commissioners appointed by the state of New York and shall include one co-chairperson from New Jersey and one co-chairperson from New York. The commissioner who shall serve as co-chairperson from each state shall be decided in accordance with the laws of each respective state or if the respective state has no laws related to the selection of a co-chairperson then as elected by the commissioners appointed from each respective state.

b. The commission shall meet regularly as it may determine. Meetings shall be held at such times and places as the co-chairpersons of the commission deem appropriate. To the maximum extent practicable, meetings shall be held on an alternating basis in New Jersey and New York.

c. The powers of the Commission may be exercised by the commissioners at a meeting duly called and held where at least two New York commissioners, two New Jersey commissioners, and the Amtrak commissioner are present. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions adopted by the Commission at any meeting thereof by the affirmative vote of at least two New York commissioners, two New Jersey commissioners, and the Amtrak commissioner. The commissioners shall adopt bylaws providing for attendance protocols, voting procedures, and other matters related to the conduct of the business of the Commission, including designating officers of the Commission.

d. The Commission may request the assistance and services of such employees and agents as it may require and as may be made available to it for the purpose of carrying out its duties under this act, which agents may include private consultants and persons employed by or acting as a consultant for the federal government, the state of New Jersey, any local government thereof, the state of New York, any local government thereof, any agency, instrumentality, department, commission or authority of any one or more of the foregoing, any bi-state agency, or of Amtrak, and each such government and enumerated party is authorized to provide any such assistance and services to the Commission.

e. The Commission may, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for those purposes, employ such professional, technical, clerical staff and consultants and incur such expenses as it may deem necessary or appropriate in order to perform its duties.

f. The Commission shall:

(1) adopt a mission statement that shall include facilitating and completing the Project;

(2) adopt a code of conduct applicable to commissioners, officers, employees, and vendors and other contractors with the Commission that shall, at minimum, include applicable standards established by law in each state;

(3) no later than January thirtieth, two thousand twenty, establish a whistleblower access and assistance program protecting employees from retaliation for disclosing information concerning acts of wrongdoing, misconduct, malfeasance, or other inappropriate conduct based upon the recommendations of the chief ethics and compliance officer;

(4) establish a policy requiring all commissioners, officers, and employees with decision-making authority to maintain records regarding contact with lobbyists. As used in this paragraph, "contact" means any conversation, in person or by telephonic or other electronic means, or correspondence between any lobbyist engaged in the act of lobbying and any person within the Commission who can make or influence a decision on the subject of the lobbying on the behalf of the Commission, and shall include, at a minimum, all members of the board and all officers of the Commission, "lobbyist" shall have the same meaning as defined in the laws or, rules or regulations of either state, and "lobbying" shall mean and include any attempt to influence: the adoption or rejection of any rule or regulation having the force and effect of law by the Commission, the outcome of any proceeding by the Commission to establish, levy or collect fees, tolls, charges or fares, the authorization, approval or award of any agreements, contracts or purchase orders valued at $500,000 or more; and

(5) have an efficiency study of the Commission and its operations conducted by an independent entity upon the request of the governors of New York and New Jersey, and if no request is made, no longer than every five years from initiation of Project construction.

g. Whistleblower Program.

(1) The chief ethics and compliance officer shall recommend to the board a whistleblower access and assistance program to be administered by the inspector general that shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) establishing an email address and toll-free telephone, facsimile, and text messaging lines available to employees;

(b) offering advice regarding employee rights under applicable state and federal laws and advice and options available to all persons; and

(c) offering an opportunity for employees to identify concerns regarding any issue at the Commission.

(2) Any communication between an employee and the inspector general pursuant to this subsection shall be held strictly confidential by the inspector general, unless the employee specifically waives in writing the right to confidentiality, except that such confidentiality shall not exempt the inspector general from disclosing such information, where appropriate, to the board and/or any law enforcement authority.

(3) The Commission shall not fire, discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or discriminate against an employee because of the employee's role as a whistleblower, insofar as the actions taken by the employee are legal.

(4) As used in this subsection:

"Employees" means those persons employed at the Commission, including but not limited to: full-time and part-time employees, those employees on probation, temporary employees, officers, and commissioners.

"Whistleblower" means any employee of the Commission who discloses information concerning acts of wrongdoing, misconduct, malfeasance, or other inappropriate behavior by an employee or board member of the Commission, including, but not limited to, such acts concerning the Commission's investments, travel, acquisition of real or personal property, the disposition of real or personal property, or the procurement of goods and services.

h. Inspector General.

(1) The inspector general shall be responsible for receiving and investigating, where appropriate, all complaints regarding fraud, waste, and abuse by commissioners, officers, and employees or third-parties doing business with the Commission. The inspector general shall also be responsible for conducting investigations upon the inspector general's own initiative, as the inspector general shall deem appropriate.

(2) The inspector general shall inform the board and the chief executive officer of allegations received by the inspector general and the progress of investigations related thereto, unless special circumstances require confidentiality.

(3) The inspector general shall determine with respect to allegations received by the inspector general whether disciplinary action or civil prosecution by the Commission is appropriate, and whether the matter should be referred to an appropriate governmental agency for further action.

(4) The inspector general shall prepare and make available to the public written reports of completed investigations, as appropriate and to the extent permitted by law, subject to redactions to protect a need for confidentiality. The release of all or portions of reports may be deferred to protect the confidentiality of ongoing investigations.

(5) The inspector general shall have the power to:

(a) administer oaths or affirmations and examine witnesses under oath;

(b) require the production of any books and papers deemed relevant or material to any investigation, examination, or review;

(c) notwithstanding any law to the contrary, examine and copy or remove documents or records of any kind prepared, maintained, or held by the Commission and its subsidiaries;

(d) interview any officer or employee of the Commission or its subsidiaries on any matter related to the performance of such officer or employee's official duties. To the extent that the terms and conditions of employment of any employee are established by collective negotiations, any interview conducted pursuant to this paragraph must be in accordance with any applicable provisions of the current, or most recent, if expired, collective negotiations agreement covering the terms and conditions of employment of the employee;

(e) monitor the implementation by the Commission of any recommendations made by the inspector general; and

(f) perform any other functions that are necessary or appropriate to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of office.

i. Open Meetings.

(1) All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public and members of the news media, individually and collectively, for the purpose of observing the full details of all phases of the deliberation, policy-making, and decision-making of the board, except for an executive session initiated upon a majority vote taken in an open meeting pursuant to a motion. Such motion shall identify the general nature of the subjects to be considered in the closed, executive session and, if it is not to take place immediately, state, as closely as possible the time and circumstances for such session and when the matters discussed or acted upon may be disclosed. The board may exclude the public only from that portion of a meeting at which the board discusses any:

(a) matter in which the release of information would impair a right to receive funds from the government of the United States;

(b) material the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of individual or personal privacy;

(c) collective bargaining agreement, or the terms and conditions which are proposed for inclusion in any collective bargaining agreement, including the negotiation of the terms and conditions thereof with employees or representatives of employees of the Commission;

(d) matter involving the purchase, lease, or acquisition of real property with Commission funds, the proposed acquisition of securities, the sale or exchange of securities held by the Commission, or the investment of Commission funds, if public discussion of the matter would adversely affect the public interest;

(e) matter which would imperil the public safety if disclosed;

(f) pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation in which the Commission is, or may become, a party, or matters falling within the attorney-client privilege, to the extent that confidentiality is required for the attorney to exercise the attorney's ethical duties as a lawyer;

(g) contract negotiations disclosure of which would imperil the Commission's position or an outcome in the best interest of the Commission, its mission, and the public;

(h) matter involving the employment, appointment, termination of employment, terms and conditions of employment, evaluation of the performance of, promotion or disciplining of any specific prospective officer or employee or current officer or employee employed or appointed by the Commission, unless all the individual employees or appointees whose rights could be adversely affected request in writing that the matter or matters be discussed at a public meeting;

(i) deliberation of the Commission occurring after a public hearing that may result in the imposition of a specific civil penalty upon the responding party or the suspension or loss of a license or permit belonging to the responding party as a result of an act or omission for which the responding party bears responsibility; or

(j) information relating to current or future investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense which would imperil effective law enforcement if disclosed;

(2) The Commission shall make meeting agendas available to the public at least seventy-two hours before each meeting of the board and each meeting of any committee. Public notice of the time and place of a meeting shall be provided to appropriate media outlets, shall be conspicuously posted in one or more designated areas, and shall be conspicuously posted via the Commission's official website at least five business days before the meeting.

(3) The Commission shall make available to the public documents in the following manner: the agenda and public documents pertaining to a board meeting shall be available for public inspection at least 72 hours before each meeting or as soon as practicable at an office of the Commission; and the agenda and public documents pertaining to a board or committee meeting shall be posted on the Commission's website.

(4) At each public meeting of the Commission, the public shall be allotted thirty minutes, or a reasonable time as determined by the Commission, in order to allow any persons in attendance an opportunity to comment on any topic on the agenda.

(5) The Commission shall keep reasonably comprehensible minutes of all its meetings showing the time and place, the members present, the subjects considered, the actions taken, and the vote of each member. The minutes shall be available to the public within two weeks from the date of the meeting to the extent that public disclosure shall not be inconsistent with clause (a) of paragraph (1) of this subsection. The minutes shall indicate for each item on the agenda the vote or recusal of each board member in attendance at an open meeting, or an executive session of the board or a committee of the board. Each item on the agenda shall be voted on separately.

(6) Attendance at an executive session shall be permitted to any member of the Commission and any other persons authorized by the Commission.

(7) The Commission shall adopt and promulgate appropriate bylaws, rules, or regulations concerning the rights of the public to be present at meetings of the Commission. Any rules, regulations, or bylaws adopted hereunder shall become part of the minutes of the Commission and be posted on the Commission's website.

j. Meeting Notice. The board shall, within six months of the effective date of this act, adopt appropriate policies concerning proper notice to the public and the news media of its meetings and the right of the public and the news media to be present at meetings of the Commission. The board may incorporate in its policies conditions under which it may exclude the public from a meeting or a portion thereof consistent with this act.

k. Freedom of Information.

(1) The Commission shall be deemed an "agency" and treated as such under the laws of New York, for all purposes under articles 6 and 6-A of the public officers law, and shall be deemed a "public agency" and treated as such under New Jersey, P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), pertaining to the disclosure of government records.

(2) When there is an inconsistency between the law of the state of New York and the law of the state of New Jersey, the law of the state that provided the greatest rights of access shall apply.

(3) The provisions of article 78 of the civil practice law and rules of the state of New York or P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), of the laws of New Jersey, as applicable, shall apply to enforce the provisions of this act.

(4) The Commission shall adopt and promulgate appropriate bylaws, rules, or regulations concerning the rights of the public to obtain records of the commissioner's activities or public business. Any rules, regulations, or bylaws adopted hereunder shall become part of the minutes of the Commission and be posted on the Commission's website.

l. Legislative hearings.

(1) The Commission, at the request of the Assembly or Senate of the New York state legislature or the General Assembly or Senate of the New Jersey state legislature, may appear before a committee of the requesting state legislative house, upon request by the presiding officer of that state legislative house, to present testimony on any topic or subject requested by the committee or to respond to questions by members of the committee. The Assembly of the New York state legislature, the Senate of the New York state legislature, the General Assembly of the New Jersey state legislature, and the Senate of the New Jersey state legislature shall each be entitled to two such requests per calendar year.

(2) The Assembly or Senate of the New York state legislature or the General Assembly or Senate of the New Jersey legislature may request attendance at such hearing of any named officer of the Commission.

L.2019, c.195, s.6.