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 December 1993 the total adult inmate population of State-sentenced
prisoners was 23,133, including 3,629 State-sentenced inmates in
county jails; and
WHEREAS, the
State's adult and youth correctional institutions are currently
operating at 133.5 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 23,133, 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 warrants a
centralized management approach to inmate housing assignments; and
WHEREAS, despite
the construction of three prisons constructed since the issuance
of Executive Order No. 106 (Byrne) and designed for 3,000 inmates
and which now house 5,034 inmates at a construction cost of approximately
$150 million, expansions of all existing facilities, and the opening
of a facility at Fort Dix under a lease agreement with the federal
government, 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, Executive
Order No. 80 (Florio) of January 15, 1993, will expire on January
20, 1994; 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, the
Supreme Court of New Jersey has determined that executive authority
to address these emergency conditions under the Disaster Control
Act expires on April 22, 1994;
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, 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; No. 52 (Florio) of January 17, 1992, and No. 80 (Florio)
of January 15, 1993, shall remain in effect until April 22, 1994,
when Executive Order No. 80 (Florio) shall expire in accordance
with the judicial order set forth by the New Jersey Supreme Court
in County of Gloucester v. State of New Jersey (decided April
22, 1993), except that, so long as the foregoing Orders are in
effect, the per diem rate established as a result of Executive
Order No. 106 (Byrne) shall be increased as established in P.L.1993,
c.155.
2. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN,
under my hand and seal,
this 19th day of January in the Year
of Our Lord, one thousand nine hundred
and ninety-four, and of the Independence
of the United States, the two hundred
and eighteenth.
/s/
Christine Todd Whitman
Governor
Attest:
/s/ Peter Verniero
Chief Counsel to the Governor
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