§ 38A:21A-1 — Office of the Veteran Advocate established.

1. There is established the Office of the Veteran Advocate in the Executive Branch of the State Government. For purposes of complying with Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the office is allocated within the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, but notwithstanding the allocation, the office shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department, or a division, office, or officer thereof, in the performance of its duties. If there is established a Department of Veterans Affairs separate from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Office of the Veteran Advocate shall be established in the Department of Veterans Affairs. If the Department of Veterans Affairs is established after the effective date of this act, then the Office of the Veteran Advocate shall be transferred to be in, but not of, the Department of Veterans Affairs, pursuant to the “State Agency Transfer Act,” P.L.1971, c.375 (C.52:14D-1 et seq.). All references in this act to the department shall mean the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. If there is established a Department of Veterans Affairs, all references to the department in this act shall thereafter mean the Department of Veterans Affairs. L.2025, c.172, s.1.