2. a. The Ellis Island Advisory Commission is hereby created and established in the Executive Branch of the State Government. For the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1, of the New Jersey Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of State.

The commission shall consist of 19 voting members, as follows:

(1) a representative of the Governor’s office, the Secretary of State or a designee, the State Treasurer or a designee, the Attorney General or a designee, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or a designee, the Commissioner of Education or a designee, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Commerce Commission or a designee, the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services or a designee, the Commissioner of Transportation or a designee, the New Jersey State representative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation or a designee, and the President of Save Ellis Island, Inc. or a designee, each serving ex officio;

(2) four members of the Legislature, of whom one shall be appointed by the Senate President, one by the Senate Minority Leader, one by the Speaker of the General Assembly and one by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. Legislators appointed to the commission shall serve as members thereof for terms co-extensive with their respective terms as members of the Houses of the Legislature from which they were appointed; and

(3) four members shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, of whom one shall be a representative of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, chosen with expertise in immigration issues, and three shall be members of the public, chosen with due regard for their knowledge of the role of Ellis Island in American history, including one member with expertise in the hospitality industry and one member with expertise in the development industry. No public members shall hold elective office.

b. Each public member of the commission shall serve for a term of three years, except that of the initial members so appointed: one member shall serve for one year, two members shall serve for two years, and two members shall serve for three years. Public members shall be eligible for reappointment. They shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified, and the term of any successor of any incumbent shall be calculated from the expiration of the term of that incumbent. A vacancy occurring other than by expiration of the term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but for the unexpired term only. Public members may be removed by the Governor for cause.

c. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties subject to the availability of funds.

d. The Secretary of State, or a designee, shall serve as chair, and the members of the commission shall elect annually one of the public members to serve as vice-chair. The chair may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission. The presence of a majority of the full membership of the commission shall be required for the conduct of official business.

e. The commission shall meet at the call of the chair. The commission shall hold at least two meetings annually which shall be held at the State capitol and at such other times and places as the commission may deem expedient, including on Ellis Island.
L.2008, c.85, s.2; amended 2012, c.45, s.132.