Legislator
Legislator > Christian Barranco
State Assemblymember
Christian Barranco
(R) - New Jersey
New Jersey Assembly District 25
In Office - Started: 01/09/2024
contact info
Lake Hopatcong Office
762 Route 15 South
Suite 1A
Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849
Suite 1A
Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849
Phone: 973-810-2695
General Capitol Building Address
P.O. Box 068
State House, 145 W. State St.
Trenton, NJ 08625-0068
State House, 145 W. State St.
Trenton, NJ 08625-0068
Phone: 609-847-3905
| Bill | Bill Name | Summary | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|
| A5649 | Allows counties and municipalities to use open space trust funds for remediation of collapsed mine shafts and sinkholes on property owned by county or municipality. | This bill would allow a county or municipality to use monies in their "open space trust fund" for the remediation of collapsed mine shafts and sinkholes on property owned by the county or municipality. Under current law, counties are authorized to establish "County Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Funds" and municipalities are authorized to establish "Municipal Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Funds." These funds are often referred to as "open space trust funds." This bill would expand this authorization to allow counties and municipalities to use the monies in such funds for the additional purpose of remediation of collapsed mine shafts and sinkholes on property owned by the county or municipality. Under this bill, a county or municipality would not be required to obtain voter approval to use funds in their open space trust fund for the remediation of collapsed mine shafts and sinkholes; however, the county or municipality would be required to adopt a resolution or ordinance, as appropriate, prior to doing so, and comply with public notice requirements contained in the bill. | In Committee |
| S2594 | Appropriates $28,670,924 in 2003 and 1992 bond act monies for loans for dam restoration and repair projects and inland waters projects. | An Act appropriating $22,431,294 from the "Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water Resources, and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act of 2003," P.L.2003, c.162, and $6,239,630 from the "Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 1992," P.L.1992, c.88, to provide loans for dam restoration and repair projects and inland waters projects. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| A3951 | Appropriates $28,670,924 in 2003 and 1992 bond act monies for loans for dam restoration and repair projects and inland waters projects. | Appropriates $28,670,924 in 2003 and 1992 bond act monies for loans for dam restoration and repair projects and inland waters projects. | In Committee |
| A3169 | Allows property tax rebate for disabled veterans. | Allows property tax rebate for disabled veterans. | In Committee |
| A4380 | Establishes "Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Repair Compensation Act"; revises motor vehicle franchise agreements. | Establishes "Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Repair Compensation Act"; revises motor vehicle franchise agreements. | In Committee |
| AR177 | Commemorates 75th anniversary of Sport Fish Restoration Program. | The Sport Fish Restoration Program, established by the "Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act" (commonly known as the Dingell-Johnson Act), was signed into law in 1950 to provide critical funding for the management, conservation, and restoration of sportfish populations and aquatic habitats in the United States. The funding for the Sport Fish Restoration Program is derived from excise taxes on fishing and motorboat equipment, as well as excise taxes on motorboat fuels, allowing the users of these natural resources to directly contribute to their conservation. The Sport Fish Restoration Program, along with the Wildlife Restoration Program constitute the American System of Conservation Funding, and collectively are widely regarded as having funded the most successful conservation effort in American history. The Sport Fish Restoration Program has played a vital role in sustaining the health of the nation's aquatic resources, ensuring access to fishing opportunities for millions of Americans, and preserving aquatic ecosystems for future generations. New Jersey, with its diverse aquatic habitats, from the freshwater rivers and streams of the Delaware River Basin to the coastal saltwater ecosystems of the Atlantic Ocean, has greatly benefited from the restoration efforts and funding provided by the Sport Fish Restoration Program. New Jersey's iconic aquatic species, including the striped bass, brook trout, and American shad, have experienced population increases and habitat improvements due to efforts supported by the Sport Fish Restoration Program. The Sport Fish Restoration Program continues to fund numerous conservation projects in New Jersey's waters, fostering collaborative partnerships with local organizations and conservationists to ensure long-term ecological balance in the State's waterways. The 75-year legacy of the Sport Fish Restoration Program stands as a testament to the dedication of countless hunters and anglers who were among the first conservationists to recognize American's natural resources were in peril and could not sustain unregulated harvest and habitat destruction, and who worked together with governmental organizations to protect and enhance the future of sportfishing and aquatic conservation in New Jersey and across the nation. | In Committee |
| A4733 | "Welcome Home Veterans Act"; requires MVC to provide veteran benefit information packets. | This bill establishes the "Welcome Home Veterans Act" which requires the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (commission) to provide information concerning federal and State benefits that are available to veterans upon the issuance of an initial license, renewal license, probationary license, or an identification card to a veteran, provided the document issued includes a veteran designation. The information required to be provided to veterans under the bill is to be available in both a hardcopy version at each commission agency as well as in a digital format on the commission's Internet website. The information provided to veterans is to include, at a minimum: (1) a copy of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs Veterans' Benefits Guide; (2) a copy of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs' "Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, Survivors, and Caregivers" booklet; (3) information on where veterans can find more information about available benefits; and (4) any other information the commission, in conjunction with the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, believes is necessary for veterans in this State. | In Committee |
| A5175 | Reinstates automatic COLAs for retirement benefits of certain PFRS members. | This bill reinstates automatic cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for annual pension, ordinary disability pension, or accidental disability pension retirement benefits for certain members of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS). Provisions contained in P.L.2011, c.78 (C.43:3C-16 et al.), signed into law on June 28, 2011, had suspended the automatic annual adjustment for current and future retirees and beneficiaries of PFRS and other State-administered retirement systems until those systems reach a target funded ratio. Decades of underfunding those systems by the State had placed the systems in precarious financial conditions. Although this bill does not reinstate COLAs for other retirees, it serves as the first step in reinstating COLAs for all retirees of the State-administered retirement systems. Through the prioritization of PFRS, the State will begin this process with retired first responders, police and firefighters, to provide them greater financial security and stability at a time when inflation has significantly eroded the value of their retirement benefit payments, which are already based on the lower salaries of years ago. To that end, the bill includes restrictions intended to limit costs and focus on segments among PFRS retirees expected to be most in need of an immediate benefit. Under the bill, members of PFRS will receive automatic COLAs for annual pension, ordinary disability pension, and accidental disability pension benefits if the member has been retired and receiving retirement benefits for a minimum of ten years. Longer-term retirees generally will have lower pension benefits and be less able to obtain employment to offset the erosion of their benefits. Members of PFRS who are hired more than 30 days following the effective date of this act will not be considered eligible to receive these automatic COLAs. Additionally, members who are enrolled in deferred retirement will not be considered eligible for these automatic COLAs, nor will members who retired with 20 or more years of service but less than 25 years of service. The COLAs will only apply to future pension benefit payments. The bill does not provide for retroactive COLAs. The adjustment in eligible members' pension benefits will be calculated based on an amount up to $75,000 of a retiree's benefit for the first year following the enactment of this bill. Eligible members receiving up to $75,000 of pension benefits will receive a COLA tied to the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. This will ensure that greater initial benefits will be provided to those likely to be most in need. The adjustment in eligible member's pension benefits will be limited to one percent if the member receives more than $75,000 in benefits for the first year following the enactment of the bill. After the first calendar year following the enactment of the bill, the $75,000 threshold will be adjusted annually according to the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, except that the adjustment will be calculated at a rate not to exceed three percent. The bill also grants the cost-of-living adjustment to the monthly pension or survivorship benefit of a surviving spouse, child, or beneficiary that is provided by PFRS. Under the bill, if the Board of Trustees of PFRS fails to comply with the provisions of this bill within six months following the effective date, then the State Treasurer will be responsible for implementing the cost-of-living adjustments. The bill requires the Legislature to appropriate monies from the General Fund as necessary to effectuate the cost-of-living adjustments established under the bill that are sufficient to cover both State and local expenses, and to reimburse each PFRS local employer for the full cost incurred. The bill further provides that this appropriation will take precedence over any additional funding added to the annual State budget by the Legislature through non-emergency supplemental appropriations, resolutions or other changes to the Governor's budget message. | In Committee |
| A1878 | Makes supplemental appropriation of $500,000 to DOH for Huntington's Disease Grant Program. | This bill makes a supplemental appropriation of $500,000 to Division of Community Health in the Department of Health (DOH) for the Huntington's Disease Grant Program. The amount appropriated under the bill, in addition to any other State or federal funds allocated for the same purposes, is to be allocated to support grants to institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, or New Jersey based and operated research organizations for the provision of pre-symptomatic testing, neurology and psychiatry services, neurophysiological evaluations, treatment, disease management, and counseling for people living with or at risk for Huntington's disease. According to the department's Notice of Fund Availability, the Huntington's Disease Grant Program is currently estimated to distribute $200,437 in FY 2023. This supplemental appropriation would increase that amount to $700,437. Huntington's disease is a fatal rare, inherited disease that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. It deteriorates a person's physical and mental abilities during their prime working years and has no cure. Huntington's disease has a wide impact on a person's functional abilities and usually results in movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders. Many describe the symptoms as having amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease simultaneously. According to the DOH, there are approximately 900 to 1,200 New Jersey residents who are living with Huntington's disease. The incidence of the disease is estimated between 1 in 8,000 and 1 in 10,000 State residents. There are also about 7,000 at-risk individuals in New Jersey. But since this is a fatal disease, this number may be low since the majority of people who go through genetic counseling decide to not get tested. | In Committee |
| A5142 | Requires school bus personnel members working with students with disabilities to call 911 emergency line in potential life-threatening emergencies; requires school buses transporting students with disabilities to be equipped with certain safety features. | This bill requires school bus drivers, school bus aides, and any other individual who works, and is otherwise responsible for the safety of students, on a school bus transporting one or more students with disabilities to call the 911 emergency telephone service for assistance in the event of a potential life-threatening emergency on the school bus. A school bus personnel member is required to report that call to the Office of Special Education in the Department of Education. Under the bill, a board of education, or a school bus contractor providing pupil transportation services under contract with a board of education, that employs a school bus personnel member, as well as the office, is to maintain a record of the calls. A board of education, or a school bus contractor as applicable, is required to ensure that certain training related to school bus safety and interacting with students with disabilities are provided to each school bus personnel member who works on a school bus transporting students with disabilities. Pursuant to current law, these training programs are required to be administered to school bus drivers and school bus aides. The bill expands these programs to cover all other school bus personnel members who work, and are responsible for the safety of students, on a school bus transporting one or more students with disabilities. A board of education or school bus contractor that does not properly administer these training programs is to be subject to applicable penalties established under current law. Pursuant to the bill, the parent or guardian of a student with disabilities, who believes that a school bus personnel member did not properly call the 911 emergency telephone service in the event of a potential life-threatening emergency, may file a complaint with the Office of Special Education within the Department of Education. A school bus personnel member who is found by the office to have violated the provisions concerning 911 emergency notification and follow-up reporting requirements is to be liable for certain civil penalties. The bill also requires a school bus that transports one or more students with disabilities to be equipped with: 1) a video camera on the interior of the school bus to monitor student safety while the students are being transported; 2) a global positioning system that provides information about the location and speed of each school bus in real time; and 3) two-way communications equipment, which may include, but not be limited to, a cellular or other wireless telephone. Under the bill, any video footage collected from a video camera and any data collected from a global positioning system is to be retained for not less than 180 days from the date it was recorded. Finally, the bill requires that each in-terminal school bus inspection conducted by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is to provide for the inspection of the equipment required to be installed on school buses pursuant to the bill. | In Committee |
| A5103 | "Small Modular Nuclear Energy Incentive Act." | This bill, to be known as the "Small Modular Nuclear Energy Incentive Act," would direct the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to establish a program to solicit bids for the construction of new small modular nuclear reactors in the State. The bill would authorize the BPU to issue financial incentives to SMRs, to be known as SMR incentives, for each megawatt hour of electric energy produced by the reactor. The amount of the incentive would be determined through a competitive solicitation process. Private entities would submit bids to the BPU, which state the level of SMR incentive they estimate they would require to achieve profitability. The BPU would select the lowest bids, except that the bill authorizes the BPU to give preference to certain projects, for example projects sited at former nuclear energy facilities or fossil fuel power plants. The bill would authorize the BPU to use moneys in the "Global Warming Solutions Fund," which serves as the repository for funds collected by the State under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), in order to fund the SMR incentives. The bill would direct the BPU to develop the program within one year after the bill's enactment, and to begin the first competitive solicitation round within two years after the bill's enactment. The bill would restrict the owner or operator of an SMR that receives an incentive from otherwise profiting from the environmental attributes of the energy it produces. Finally, the bill would require each SMR that is selected to participate in the incentive program to pay an annual administrative fee to the BPU, to compensate the BPU for its costs in administering the program. | In Committee |
| A4967 | Requires DEP to implement Advanced Clean Trucks regulations no earlier than January 1, 2027. | This bill would delay the implementation of the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP's) Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulations to January 1, 2027. Under current law, N.J.A.C. 7:27-31.3, the regulations would become operative on January 1, 2025. The DEP adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks regulations in 2021. Pursuant to P.L.2003, c.266 (C.26:2C-8.15 et al.), the DEP is authorized to implement California's Low Emission Vehicle Program in New Jersey. The ACT regulations would require, among other things, that manufacturers of medium-duty and heavy-duty motor vehicles sell an increasing percentage of zero-emissions vehicles, capping at 40 percent to 75 percent of annual sales in 2035, depending on the type of vehicle sold. | In Committee |
| A3226 | Requires MVC to safeguard automatic voter registration process. | This bill expressly prevents the automatic voter registration process, via the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), from allowing ineligible applicants to register to vote. An "ineligible applicant" means a person submitting an application to the MVC for a motor vehicle driver's license, an examination permit, a probationary driver's license, or a non-driver identification card who does not meet the requirements for eligibility to vote under R.S.19:4-1 and the New Jersey Constitution. Under the bill, the MVC is required to establish and provide separate forms for persons applying for a motor vehicle driver's license, an examination permit, a probationary driver's license, or a non-driver identification card who are not eligible to vote. Because those applicants are not eligible to vote, those forms are prohibited from providing the applicant an option to register to vote. The bill also requires the MVC to provide information on what disqualifies a person from voting under statute and the New Jersey Constitution. With the implementation of automatic voter registration through the MVC, the MVC has not provided evidence that the agency has sufficient safeguards in place to prevent persons who are ineligible to vote from registering to vote through the MVC. Currently, it appears that the MVC uses the same form for all applicants for a driver's license, examination permit, probationary driver's license, or non-driver identification card, regardless of eligibility to vote, which provides the option to register to vote while submitting an application for these documents. The sponsor believes that having separate forms for persons ineligible to vote will help safeguard the voter registration process. | In Committee |
| A5066 | "Daniel Kearney's Law"; establishes criminal penalties for driving in violation of probationary driver's license restrictions in certain circumstances. | This bill establishes criminal penalties for driving in violation of the State's probationary driver's license restrictions in certain circumstances involving death, serious bodily injury, and bodily injury. Under the provisions of the bill, a person is guilty of vehicular homicide if the person is determined to be at fault for a motor vehicle accident that occurs while the person is driving a vehicle in violation of the probationary driver's license restrictions and the motor vehicle accident causes the death of another. Vehicular homicide committed in violation of the bill is a crime of the second degree. Additionally, the bill provides that a person is guilty of assault by auto if the person is determined to be at fault for a motor vehicle accident that occurs while the person is driving a vehicle in violation of the State probationary driver's license restrictions and the motor vehicle accident causes bodily injury or serious bodily injury to another. Under the bill, assault by auto is a crime of the fourth degree if serious bodily injury results and a disorderly persons offense if bodily injury results. Under current law, a driver with a probationary driver's license who is under the age of 21 is restricted from driving with more than one passenger, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, and driving between the hours of 11:01 p.m. and 5:00 am, with certain exceptions. The bill is designated as "Daniel Kearney's Law" in honor of Daniel Kearney, a 19 year-old resident of West Milford, New Jersey who tragically died as a passenger in a single vehicle motor vehicle accident on September 3, 2021. The operator of the vehicle was under 21, driving with a probationary driver's license, and had two passengers in the vehicle at the time of accident. | In Committee |
| A5078 | Prohibits aquaculture of any species of octopus for purpose of human consumption. | This bill prohibits the aquaculture of any species of octopus for the purpose of human consumption. In addition, this bill prohibits a business entity from selling, possessing, or transporting any species of octopus that is the result or product of aquaculture. Any violation of the bill's provisions would be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000, and each day during which the violation continues would constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense. The practice of octopus aquaculture has raised ethical and environmental concerns due to the highly advanced cognitive abilities and complex behaviors exhibited by these animals. Octopus farming practices and conditions, including inadequate living environments and confinement, may subject octopus to significant stress and suffering, compromise their well-being, and lead to adverse behavioral changes. As carnivores, octopuses require a high-protein diet sourced from wild fish and shellfish which could substantially increase demand on marine resources, further depleting fish stocks and disrupting marine ecosystems. Additionally, octopus aquaculture poses further risks to the marine ecosystems due to the heightened potential for the spread of infectious pathogens, which may impact other marine species and ecosystems. | In Committee |
| A4429 | Expands prohibitions on employers concerning requirements for employees to attend or listen to communications related to political matters. | Expands prohibitions on employers concerning requirements for employees to attend or listen to communications related to political matters. | Crossed Over |
| A4875 | Establishes Farmland Assessment Review Commission to annually review and recommend changes to farmland assessment program, as necessary to ensure fair, equitable, and uniform Statewide application and enforcement of program requirements and allocation of program benefits. | This bill would establish a new Farmland Assessment Review Commission in the Department of Agriculture. The purpose of the commission would be to regularly review, and to recommend and facilitate the incorporation of appropriate substantive updates to, the State's farmland assessment program, as well as rules, regulations, procedures, protocols, standards, and guidelines adopted for program purposes, in order to promote and ensure, on a Statewide basis, across all local jurisdictions, and regardless of implementing agency, office, or official, the consistent, accurate, reliable, and uniform application and enforcement of, and ongoing site compliance with, existing farmland assessment program requirements, as necessary to ensure the continued fair and equitable Statewide allocation and distribution of farmland assessment program benefits to and among all sites, and only those sites, that continue to satisfy the eligibility requirements therefor, consistent with the requirements of Article VIII, Section I, paragraph 1(b) of the State Constitution and the provisions of the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.). The commission would consist of nine total members, including the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, who would serve as ex officio members, and seven appointed members who are to be residents of the State, including: two residents who are departmental representatives actively engaging in, or overseeing, the operation of the State's farmland assessment program; four residents who are the owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, or who represent the interests of owners or operators of farmland-assessed sites, in diverse regions of the State; and one resident who is a local tax assessor or other local official responsible for overseeing, or for actively engaging in, farmland assessment benefits eligibility determinations, compliance inspections, or benefits valuations at relevant sites within the local taxing district. Each appointed member of the commission is to be separately and respectively appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the Division of Taxation, the Governor, the Senate President, the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Senate Minority Leader, and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. The commission would have the duty to engage in the regular evaluation of certain eligibility-related, funding-related, and other specific requirements established under the farmland assessment program, and to develop recommendations designed to simplify and clarify program requirements, in this regard, as well as recommendations that are designed to address and mitigate various program-related funding issues, program-related impacts resulting from inflation or inflationary influences, and conflicts existing between the farmland assessment program and the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et seq.), the State's Green Acres, Blue Acres, and historic preservation programs, the State's forest stewardship plans and program, and any other plans, programs, or laws relating to the acquisition, preservation, stewardship, management, or maintenance of open spaces, green spaces, historic spaces, forested or woodland spaces, and other non-farmland spaces in the State, whether implemented or administered by the State, by individual counties or municipalities therein, or cooperatively, by both State and local government officials, as may be necessary to ensure ongoing fairness, equitability, and uniformity in the Statewide application and enforcement of farmland assessment program requirements, the Statewide allocation and distribution of farmland assessment benefits, and the Statewide achievement of farmland assessment goals. Within one year after the commission's organizational meeting, and annually thereafter, the commission would be required to prepare and submit, to the Governor, the State Board of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, and the Legislature, a written report describing the activities undertaken, setting forth any new findings and recommendations developed thereby during the preceding year, and providing any supplemental data and guidance or advice as may be deemed, by the commission, to be necessary to facilitate the timely and effective implementation of commission-recommended changes to the farmland assessment program, upon the Legislature's approval thereof. The bill would require the Legislature, following its receipt of each annual commission report, and acting through the standing authority of the Senate Economic Growth Committee and the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development, and Agriculture Committee, or their successor committees, to review the recommendations set forth in each such report, and to develop and adopt new legislation, as necessary and appropriate to implement, or to legislatively authorize the implementation of, any commission-recommended program changes of which the Legislature approves. Any recommendations that are included in a commission report, but which have not yet been incorporated into, or otherwise expressly addressed in, legislation adopted pursuant to the bill, would be deemed to be unapproved for implementation at the present time; however, nothing in the bill's provisions would be deemed to prohibit the Legislature from approving and adopting any such previously unapproved recommendations, at a later time, through the enactment of new legislation pursuant to, and as provided by, the bill. Whenever a commission report includes a recommendation advocating for the regular review or the specific updating of guidelines that are required to be developed, pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2013, c.43 (C.54:4-23.3d), for the purposes of the State's farmland assessment program, the bill would require the State Agriculture Development Committee and the Department of Agriculture to cooperatively develop and implement relevant rules, regulations, procedures, and protocols, as appropriate, to facilitate the regular and ongoing review thereby of such guidelines, at intervals recommended by the commission and approved by the Legislature pursuant to the bill, or to facilitate the timely revision and updating of such guidelines, as necessary to incorporate any commission-recommended definitional or language changes or other substantive revisions or updates which have been approved by the Legislature pursuant to the bill, or both. The commission established by this bill is intended, by the sponsor, to provide a formal mechanism and means by which the State can better ensure and facilitate the ongoing review and updating of all relevant State laws, rules, regulations, procedures, protocols, standards, and guidelines which are used in, or which are or may be impacting, the State's farmland assessment program and the allocation of farmland assessment benefits thereunder. Although the sponsor agrees with the premise of keeping New Jersey lands protected from overdevelopment, it is the sponsor's hope and intention that this bill, by facilitating the ongoing commission-initiated review and legislatively approved revision of farmland assessment program requirements, will serve to improve and facilitate clarity, certainty, equitability, and uniformity, both in the Statewide application and enforcement of farmland assessment program requirements and in the allocation and distribution of farmland assessment tax benefits, thereby resulting in a greater sense of fairness, among all taxpayers, in association with the implementation of the State's farmland assessment program and the distribution of tax benefits thereunder. | In Committee |
| A2717 | Authorizes proportional property tax exemption for honorably discharged veterans having a service-connected permanent disability and proclaims that the State shall reimburse municipalities for costs of exemption. | The bill grants a property tax exemption to honorably discharged veterans having a service-connected disability in proportion to their disability percentage rating. The exemption is only granted to those with a disability percentage rating of at least 30 percent, and the exemption is capped at $10,000. Those with a 100 percent disability percentage rating would still be allowed a 100 percent property tax exemption without a cap, as is the case under current law. In addition, the bill grants those honorably discharged veterans having less than a 100 percent service-connected disability, but who are unemployable, a 100 percent property tax exemption, which matches the current 100 percent property tax exemption for honorably discharged veterans having a 100 percent disability percentage rating. As under current law, the bill allows the 100 percent property tax exemption to extend to the surviving spouse of a veteran. However, the newly allowed property tax exemption for a veteran with a less than 100 percent property tax exemption would not extend to the surviving spouse. The bill also eliminates all references to medical conditions so that any service-connected disability, as determined by the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs, will make a veteran eligible for the property tax exemption. Finally, the bill proclaims that the State shall annually reimburse taxing districts, including for administrative costs, for the property tax exemptions granted to disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. The bill includes reporting provisions so proper reimbursement can be made. | In Committee |
| A1341 | Requires certain group homes to install electronic monitoring devices in common areas, upon request and with uniform resident consent, and to permit consensual use of such devices in private rooms. | This bill would provide certain requirements in association with the use of electronic monitoring devices (EMDs) at group homes for individuals with developmental disabilities. An "EMD" is a camera or other electronic device that uses video, but not audio, recording capabilities to monitor the activities taking place in the area where the device is installed. The safety and quality of life of individuals with developmental disabilities who receive care from group homes is of paramount concern, and the use of video monitoring is one way in which the State can better ensure the prevention of, and the institution of a more proactive response to, the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of group home residents. This bill would make video monitoring technology more readily available in group home settings, while taking great care to strike the important and delicate balance between protecting the privacy rights and protecting the overall well-being of group home residents. Specifically, the bill would enable, but not require, group home residents or their authorized representatives, as the case may be, to cooperatively and collectively decide whether to allow for the installation and use of EMDs in the common areas of the group homes, and to individually decide whether to allow for the installation and use of EMDs in the private residential room of each such resident, so that the treatment of such residents can be recorded and instances of abuse, neglect, or exploitation documented with video evidence. In providing these authorizations, the bill respects the rights of all individuals with developmental disabilities, places a premium on their individuality, and recognizes that different people have different needs and preferences with respect to the use of video surveillance. Scope of Bill The term "group home" is defined more broadly in this bill than it is in other laws. Specifically, the term is defined to mean a living arrangement that is operated in a residence or residences leased or owned by a licensee; which living arrangement either provides the opportunity for multiple adults with developmental disabilities to live together in a non-institutional, home-based setting or provides the opportunity for a single adult with developmental disabilities and extreme behavioral difficulties to live more independently, outside of an institution, while still receiving full-time care; and in which on-site staff provides supervision, training, or assistance, in a variety of forms and intensity, as required to prevent or delay the institutionalization of the individual or individuals residing in the home or to otherwise assist the individual or individuals as they move toward independence. "Group home" does not include a living arrangement that is dedicated for use by children with developmental disabilities. The revised definition used in the bill makes it clear that this term not only includes facilities that house multiple persons with developmental disabilities, but also includes facilities that, while commonly referred to as supervised apartments, provide group home-style living for a single person who has developmental disabilities and particularly severe behavioral difficulties that prevent them from being housed in a group home with other disabled persons. The bill would require group homes, as defined thereunder, to install EMDs in the common areas, upon the agreement, request, and uniform consent of all residents. "Common areas" is defined to include entrances, living areas, dining areas, stairwells, and outdoor areas, but not bathroom areas. The bill would additionally require group homes to permit the installation and use of EMDs in the private rooms of group home residents. The bill is not intended to impose new electronic monitoring requirements on those group home providers who already engage in electronic monitoring pursuant to an internal organizational policy. As a result, the bill includes a provision that grandfathers-in and exempts from the bill's provisions those group homes that have already installed, and are utilizing, EMDs as of the bill's effective date. Specifically, the bill provides that any such group home: 1) may continue to use previously installed EMDs in accordance with the organization's written policies; 2) will not be required to comply with the bill's consent requirements in order to continue utilizing the devices; and 3) will not be required to remove the existing devices from service unless the residents collectively indicate, within six months after the bill's effective date, that they want such devices to be removed. To the extent that a group home's common areas or private rooms do not contain EMDs on the bill's effective date, the licensee will be required to comply with the bill when installing new EMDs in such unmonitored areas. The bill is intended to give residents - particularly those with severe behavioral difficulties - the right to request electronic monitoring in the group home, as necessary to ensure their safe care. The bill is not intended to impose new electronic monitoring requirements on providers that already engage in electronic monitoring; and it is not intended to require other group home providers to commence electronic monitoring, except in those cases where the residents have requested and agreed to such monitoring. Installation and Use of EMDs in Common Areas Under the bill's provisions, any group home that does not have EMDs already installed in the group home's common areas will be required to install EMDs in those common areas, upon the collective request of the residents and the residents' authorized representatives, if all of the residents of the group home and their authorized representatives agree to have EMDs installed and expressly consent to the installation and use of such devices. A licensee will be prohibited from requiring the group home's current residents to consent to the installation and use of EMDs in the common areas as a condition of their continued residency in the group home. A licensee operating a group home that does not have EMDs already installed in the common areas will be required: 1) within six months after the group home adopts an internal electronic monitoring policy pursuant to the bill's provisions, to take affirmative action to determine whether the residents of the group home and their authorized representatives want and collectively consent to have EMDs installed and used in the group home's common areas; 2) annually provide written notice to all residents and their authorized representatives informing them of their right to collectively request and consent to the installation and use of EMDs in the group home's common areas; and 3) install new EMDs in the common areas within one year after receipt of a collective request therefor. The bill would require any group home that installs and uses EMDs in its common areas, pursuant to the agreement, request, and consent of the residents, to: 1) require each person employed by the group home to provide express written consent to the use of the EMDs in the group home's common areas, as a condition of the person's employment; 2) ensure that a prominent written notice is posted at the entrance and exit doors to the home informing visitors that they will be subject to electronic video monitoring while present in the home; and 3) ensure that, following the installation of EMDs in the common areas, the group home only allows residence by those individuals who consent to the ongoing use of EMDs in the group home's common areas. The licensee is to comply with the first two of these requirements within one year after receiving a collective request from residents authorizing electronic monitoring of the common areas. The EMDs installed in a group home's common areas are to be unobstructed and recording at all times. Each licensee will be required to inspect the devices, and document the results of each inspection, on a weekly basis. The DHS will further be required to annually conduct an on-site device inspection, as part of its broader group home inspection authority, in order to ensure that the EMDs installed in a group home's common areas are functioning properly, as required by the bill. A resident or the resident's authorized representative will be authorized to access and review any footage that is recorded by an EMD in the common areas of the group home; provided that the person first submits a request indicating that the resident has experienced, or that the resident or authorized representative has witnessed, an incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation occurring in the common areas. A group home licensee may require that a resident or the resident's authorized representative remain on the premises of the group home when accessing and reviewing footage recorded in the common areas. All of the costs associated with installation and maintenance of an EMD in the group home's common areas are to be paid by the group home licensee. The bill would specify that an individual's refusal to consent to the use of EMDs in a group home's common areas may not be used as a basis to prevent the timely placement of the individual in appropriate housing without surveillance. Removal of EMDs from Common Areas A group home that has EMDs installed in the common areas will be required to remove those EMDs from service, as provided by the bill, if all of the residents of the group home and their authorized representatives collectively agree to, and request, the removal of the EMDs from the common areas. The bill provides that, if the EMDs in a group home's common areas were already in operation as of the bill's effective date, the licensee will be required to take affirmative action, within six months after the bill's effective date, to determine whether the residents of the group home and their authorized representatives want, and collectively agree, to have the existing EMDs removed from the common areas. If the residents do not collectively agree to the removal of the EMDs, the licensee will be authorized to: 1) continue using the devices in the common areas, in accordance with the group home's internal policies, as provided by section 7 of the bill (which is the section of the bill that exempts from the bill's requirements any group home that already has EMDs installed as of the bill's effective date); and 2) accept, as new residents, only those persons who consent to the ongoing use of the devices in the common areas. The bill further provides that, if the EMDs in a group home's common areas were not in operation as of the bill's effective date, or if the EMDs existing in a group home's common areas on the bill's effective date were removed by the licensee pursuant to the collective agreement of residents, as described above, the licensee will be required to provide written notice to all residents and their authorized representatives, within 10 days after EMDs are newly placed into the common areas under the bill, and annually thereafter, informing the residents and their authorized representatives of their right to collectively request the removal of existing EMDs from the group home's common areas. The bill requires a group home licensee to remove any EMDs from the common areas within one year after receipt of a collective request from residents therefor. Installation and Use of EMDs in Private Rooms The bill would further require all group homes to permit EMDs to be installed and used, on a voluntary and noncompulsory basis, in the private rooms of residents. The installation and use of EMDs in a private single occupancy room may be done by the resident or the resident's authorized representative, at any time, following the resident's provision of written notice to the licensee of the resident's intent to engage in electronic monitoring of the private room. Such written notice is to be submitted to the licensee at least 15 days prior to installation of the devices in the private single occupancy room. Any resident, or the authorized representative thereof, who provides such a notice of intent to install EMDs in a private single occupancy room, or who so installs such devices, will be deemed to have implicitly consented to electronic monitoring of the private room. The installation and use of EMDs in a private double occupancy room may be effectuated only with the express written consent of the roommates of the resident who requested the monitoring, or of the roommates' authorized representatives, as the case may be. A roommate may place conditions on his or her consent to the use of EMDs within the double occupancy room, including conditions that require the EMDs to be pointed away from the consenting roommate at all times during operation, or at certain specified times. The roommate's consent to electronic monitoring, and any conditions on the roommate's consent, are to be memorialized in a formal electronic monitoring agreement that is executed between the consenting roommate and the resident who requested the monitoring, or between their authorized representatives, as appropriate. The licensee, either through its own activities or through a third-party's activities, will be required to ensure that the conditions established in the agreement are followed. If a resident's roommate or the roommate's authorized representative, as appropriate, refuses to consent to the installation and use of an EMD in a private double occupancy room, or if the licensee is unable to ensure compliance with the conditions on such installation and use that are imposed by a consenting roommate or the roommate's authorized representative, the licensee will be required, within a reasonable period of time, and to the extent practicable, to transfer the resident requesting the installation of the device to a different private room, in order to accommodate the resident's request for private monitoring. If a request for private monitoring cannot be accommodated, the resident or resident's authorized representative may notify the DHS, which will be required to make every reasonable attempt to timely transfer the resident to a group home that can accommodate the request. All of the costs associated with installation and maintenance of an EMD in a private room are to be paid by the resident who requested the monitoring, or by the authorized representative thereof. Any recordings produced by an EMD installed in a private room will remain the property, and are to be retained in the possession, of the resident or the authorized representative who installed the EMD in the private room. The bill would specify that a licensee may not require a resident or the resident's authorized representative, as a condition of installing or using an EMD in the resident's private room, to turn over to the licensee, or to otherwise allow the licensee to access or review, any recordings that are produced by the EMD in the private room. Whenever an EMD is proposed to be installed in a private double occupancy room, the consenting roommate or authorized representative thereof, as the case may be, may elect to provide that, as a condition of the installation and ongoing use of the device in the room, the roommate and the roommate's authorized representative shall have the right and ability to access and review any recordings that are produced by the EMD, upon request submitted to the resident or authorized representative who owns the device. This condition, if elected by a consenting roommate or the roommate's authorized representative, is to be memorialized in the electronic monitoring agreement that is executed pursuant to bill's provisions. Any such electronic monitoring agreement will also be required to describe the procedures or protocols that are to be used by the owner of the device to ensure that the consenting roommate or the authorized representative thereof, as the case may be, is provided with timely access to all relevant footage recorded by the device, upon submission of a request therefor.Removal of EMDs from Private Rooms A resident, or the authorized representative thereof, who installs an EMD in a private single-occupancy room or private double-occupancy room will be authorized to remove the device from service at any time following its installation. Any resident or authorized representative who removes an EMD will be required to provide written notice of such removal, to the licensee, within 48 hours after the device is removed from service. Whenever the roommate of a resident, or the roommate's authorized representative, revokes the roommate's previously granted consent for the use of EMDs in a private double-occupancy room, the licensee will be required to transfer the resident who installed the devices to another private room, if possible, or to another group home, if necessary, to accommodate the resident's preexisting request for electronic monitoring. (This is the same requirement that applies, under the bill, whenever a roommate refuses to consent to, or imposes unattainable conditions on, the use of an EMD in a private double-occupancy room). Additional Provisions The bill would require a group home licensee, when seeking to obtain consent from residents for electronic monitoring, to comply with best practices that apply to professional interactions or communications being undertaken with persons with developmental disabilities, and particularly, with those persons who have difficulty with communication or understanding. The DHS would be authorized to impose any additional consent or consent declination requirements that it deems to be necessary. Any recordings produced by an EMD in a group home's common areas will be the property of the group home licensee, and are to be retained by the licensee for a period of 90 days. Any consent forms, consent declination forms, and notice of intent forms submitted under the bill are to be retained by the group home for a period of time to be determined by the DHS. The bill requires each group home employee to maintain the confidentiality of each recording that is retained by the licensee pursuant to the bill, and it prohibits group home employees from disclosing any such recording to any person who is not authorized by law to receive or review it. The bill similarly provides that any authorized representative who installs an EMD in a private single-occupancy or double-occupancy room, and any resident of a private double-occupancy room where an EMD has been installed, will be required to maintain the confidentiality of recordings produced by the installed device and will be prohibited from disclosing any such recording to any person who is not authorized by law to receive or review it. The bill would specify that nothing in its provisions is to be construed to prohibit a group home employee or resident, or a resident's authorized representative, from disclosing a recording, upon request or otherwise, to a State or local law enforcement agency or officer or to any other person who is authorized by law to investigate, prosecute, or take other official remedial action to address instances of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or other improper care or treatment occurring in the group home. Within 180 days after the bill's effective date, each group home will be required to develop and submit to the division a written internal policy specifying the procedures and protocols that are to be used by program staff when installing and utilizing EMDs, when removing EMDs from the common areas, and when transferring, to another room or group home, a resident whose request for private electronic monitoring cannot be accommodated. The internal EMD policy is also to: 1) describe the make and model of EMDs that may be used within the group home; 2) authorize the use of various types of EMDs in the home; and 3) indicate how the licensee will ensure the proper installation, positioning, and use of EMDs in a private double-occupancy room, in a manner that is consistent with all conditions established by the consenting roommate, and establish protocols and procedures to be used by the licensee when an EMD in a private double-occupancy room makes an unauthorized recording of the roommate. Finally, the policy is to describe the procedures and protocols that will be used in the review of footage recorded by EMDs in the group home. Among other things, such procedures and protocols are to identify the persons who will have access to recorded footage, and the standards that are to identify, at a minimum, the types of information that will constitute incidents of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, as are required to be submitted by a resident or the resident's authorized representative in order to receive authorization to access and review any footage that is recorded by an electronic monitoring device in the common areas of the group home. Whenever a licensee receives notice about a complaint, allegation, or reported incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation occurring within the group home, the licensee will be required to forward to the DHS, for appropriate review, all potentially relevant footage recorded by EMDs in: 1) the common areas of the group home; 2) the private room of the resident who is the alleged victim of the abuse, neglect, or exploitation; and 3) any other private room where the abuse, neglect, or exploitation is alleged to have occurred. Notwithstanding the provisions of the bill to the contrary, any resident or authorized representative who is in possession of potentially relevant footage related to an incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation will be required to turn over the pertinent recording or recordings to the licensee, upon request, for transmission to the division. However, the bill specifies that nothing in its provisions may be deemed to authorize a licensee to review, or to make copies of, any footage contained on those private recordings, absent the express written consent of the resident or authorized representative. Any residential program that fails to comply with the bill's requirements will be subject to a penalty of $5,000 for the first offense, and a penalty of $10,000 for the second or subsequent offense, as well as an appropriate administrative penalty, the amount of which is to be determined by the DHS. However, a group home licensee will not be subject to penalties or other disciplinary action for failing to comply with the bill's requirements if the group home licensee establishes, through documentation or otherwise, that the group home is exempt from compliance with the bill's provisions related to the placement of EMDs in unmonitored areas. The Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the assistant commissioner of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, will be required to annually report to the Governor and Legislature on the implementation of the bill's provisions. Each annual report is to include: 1) a list of group homes that are currently using EMDs in the common areas; 2) a list of group homes that have not installed EMDs in the common areas; 3) a list of group homes that have failed to install and use EMDs in the common areas, despite the licensee's receipt of uniform resident consent, and an indication of the penalties imposed in response to such failures; 4) a list of group homes that are exempt from the bill's provisions; 5) a list of group homes that have authorized the use of EMDs in the private rooms of one or more residents, and an indication of the number and percentage of private single occupancy rooms and the number and percentage of private double occupancy rooms in each such facility where EMDs are installed and being used; 6) a list of group homes that have removed EMDs from the common areas, pursuant to the collective request of residents; 7) to the extent known, a list of group homes that have failed to remove EMDs from the common areas, despite the licensee's receipt of a collective request from residents, and an indication of the penalties imposed in response to such failures; and 8) recommendations for legislative, executive, or other action that can be taken to improve compliance with the bill or otherwise expand the consensual use of EMDs in group homes. The commissioner, in consultation with the assistant commissioners, will also be required to post, at a publicly accessible location on the department's Internet website, the various lists of group homes that the department has produced for its annual reports. Each list posted online is to be searchable both by location and by name of group home. The commissioner will be required to annually update the website to ensure that each posted list contains the most recently reported data. In addition to the commissioner's annual reports, the bill requires the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families to include, in each of the ombudsman's annual reports, a section evaluating the implementation of the bill and providing recommendations for improvement. The bill further requires the commissioner, within five years of the bill's effective date, to provide the Governor and Legislature with a written report that: 1) identifies best practices for the installation and use of EMDs under the bill; 2) identifies best practices and provides recommendations regarding the obtaining of informed consent for electronic monitoring under the bill; and 3) provides recommendations for the implementation of new legislation, policies, protocols, and procedures related to the use of EMDs in group homes. | Dead |
| A4591 | Establishes "Energy Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships Program"; amends law concerning NJ infrastructure Bank; and authorizes certain energy contracts under "Public School Contracts Law" and "Local Public Contracts Law" up to 25 years. | This bill, entitled the "Energy Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership Act," would permit private entities to propose to public-private partnership eligible entities, as defined in the bill, certain energy-related projects through a public-private partnership (P3) agreement. The bill would create an Energy Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership Program (Energy P3 Program) and an Energy Infrastructure Financing Program within the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (NJIB). The Energy P3 Program would be responsible for the formulation and execution of a comprehensive Statewide policy for P3 agreements that facilitate the development of energy-related projects and for the development, promotion, coordination, oversight, and approval of P3 agreements for energy-related projects. The Energy Infrastructure Financing Program would provide loans and other forms of financial assistance to P3 eligible entities that are parties to public-private partnership agreements to develop and finance energy-related projects pursuant to the bill. The bill defines "public-private partnership eligible entity," or "P3 eligible entity," as the State, its subdivisions, and any department, agency, commission, authority, board, or instrumentality thereof, a county, a municipality, a board of education, a State college or university, a county college, a private not-for-profit higher education institution, a regional or municipal utility authority, a quasi-State agency, a State-created corporation, and a private not-for-profit hospital licensed by the Department of Health pursuant to the "Health Care Facilities Planning Act," P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.). The Energy P3 Program would consult and coordinate with representatives of other State departments, agencies, boards, and authorities to accomplish the goals of the bill and facilitate P3 agreements for energy-related projects. The bill directs the NJIB to develop criteria by which a P3 eligible entity would award an energy-related project to a private entity whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous. The bill prescribes competitive contracting procedures to govern P3 agreements, including procurements and prevailing wage requirements for workers engaged in construction activities and other worker protections, and provides oversight authority to the Energy P3 Program to protect the interests of participating entities. The bill permits the inclusion of a project labor agreement in all energy-related projects created pursuant to the provisions of the bill. The bill also requires, beginning three years after the bill is enacted into law, an annual report concerning energy-related P3 projects to be submitted to the Governor and to the Legislature. The bill amends the "New Jersey Infrastructure Trust Act" to establish an Energy Infrastructure Financing Program in the NJIB to provide loans and other forms of financial assistance, as the NJIB deems appropriate, to P3 eligible entities and private entities that are parties to P3 agreements to develop and finance energy-related projects pursuant to the bill. The bill would also add the President of the Board of Public Utilities as an ex-officio member to the board of directors for the NJIB. The bill makes various changes to existing statutes related to the NJIB in order to expand its mission from water, environmental infrastructure, and transportation projects, to include energy-related projects. The bill requires that funds and accounts of the NJIB be segregated in such a way as to prevent the mixing of transportation monies and water or environmental infrastructure monies with energy-related monies. The bill creates an interim financing program for energy-related projects and establishes an Energy Loan Origination Fee Fund similar to the existing interim financing programs and fee funds for environmental and transportation projects. The bill would require the NJIB to submit to the Legislature, on or before May 15 of each year, a financial plan designed to implement the financing of the energy-related projects on the Energy Financing Program Project Priority List or the Energy Financing Program Project Eligibility List. The bill provides that on or before June 30 of each year the Legislature may reject the financial plan through the adoption by both houses of a concurrent resolution. If the Legislature rejects the financial plan, the project list would be removed from the annual appropriations act and the NJIB would not undertake any of the proposed activities contained in the plan. If the Legislature takes no action on the financial plan on or before June 30, the financial plan would be deemed approved. Under the bill, the development of an energy-related project would be deemed to constitute the performance of an essential public function. A component of an energy-related project predominantly used by, or developed in furtherance of the purposes of a P3 eligible entity that is owned by or leased to a P3 eligible entity, foreign or domestic nonprofit business entity, or business entity wholly owned by a nonprofit business entity, would be exempt from property taxation and special assessments of the State, a municipality, and any other political subdivision of the State, and, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, would not be required to make payments in lieu of taxes, and the land upon which an energy-related project is located would be exempt from property taxation for the useful life of the project. The bill provides that the provisions of P.L.2009, c.136 (the requirements for certain public contracts with private firms) do not apply to energy-related projects developed under the bill. The bill also provides that nothing in the bill limits the powers of the Office of the State Comptroller or the authority of the Board of Public Utilities. Finally, the bill amends the "Public School Contracts Law" and the "Local Public Contracts Law" to provide that a contract may be for up to 25 years for the sale of electricity or thermal energy, or both, produced by a combined heat and power facility, cogeneration facility, on-site generation facility, a district energy system, or a distributed electric generation resource constructed and operated pursuant to a public-private partnership agreement under the bill. | In Committee |
| A4557 | "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act"; bans abortion 20 weeks or more after fertilization. | This bill, designated as the "Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act," provides that an abortion is not to be performed or attempted if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater, with certain exceptions noted below. It is to be unlawful for a person to perform an abortion or attempt to do so, unless the person is a physician who has first made a determination of the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child or has reasonably relied upon this determination made by another physician. In making the determination, a physician is to make inquiries of the pregnant woman and perform any medical examinations or tests necessary to accurately determine post-fertilization age. The bill provides an exception to the above provisions if: (1) the abortion is necessary to save the life of a pregnant women whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by, or arising from, the pregnancy itself; (2) the pregnancy is the result of rape, if reported to a law enforcement agency prior to the abortion; or (3) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest against a minor, if reported to a law enforcement agency or to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) in the Department of Children and Families prior to the abortion. In terminating or attempting to terminate a pregnancy under these circumstances, the physician may do so only in a manner which, in reasonable medical judgment, provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive, unless the termination of the pregnancy in that manner would pose a greater risk of death of the pregnant woman or substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. The bill also: outlines the procedures that a physician who performs or attempts an abortion must follow, consistent with the federal "Born Alive Infant Protection Act", if an exception provided in the bill exists and the pain-capable unborn child survives the abortion or attempted abortion; outlines the documentation from a law enforcement agency, Department of Defense victim assistance personnel, or DCCP, that a physician is required to file proving a pregnant woman or minor seeking an abortion has been raped or is a victim of incest; requires the woman seeking the abortion, the physician performing or attempting to perform the abortion, and a witness to sign an informed consent authorization form; and requires any physician who performs or attempts an abortion pursuant to the bill to annually submit a summary of all such abortions to the National Center for Health Statistics as provided by the conditions outlined in the bill. A person who performs or attempts to perform an abortion in violation of the bill's requirements is to be guilty of a crime of the third degree (punishable by three to five years imprisonment or a fine of up to $15,000, or both); however, a woman upon whom an abortion is to be performed is to be immune from civil or criminal liability. A woman or the parent of a minor upon whom an abortion is performed in violation of the provisions of the the bill may, in a civil action against any person who committed the violation, obtain appropriate relief the conditions delineated in the bill. The bill, which is modeled on H.R.36 of the 114th Congress, is intended to address the concern that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain by 20 weeks after fertilization, if not earlier. Surgeons in the field of maternal and fetal medicine have found it necessary to sedate an unborn child to prevent the unborn child from engaging in vigorous movement in reaction to invasive surgery. It is the purpose of this Legislature to assert a compelling governmental interest in protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage at which substantial medical evidence indicates they are capable of feeling pain. | In Committee |
| A4364 | Establishes EMS part of PERS; provides enhanced benefits for emergency medical services employees. | This bill creates an EMS Part in the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) to provide enhanced pension benefits under terms identical to those provided to prosecutors under the Prosecutors Part of the PERS, including mandatory retirement at age 70. The members of the EMS Part will include State, county, or municipal employees serving in one of the following positions: emergency medical technician; mobile intensive care paramedic; paramedic; flight paramedic; mobile intensive care nurse; flight nurse; emergency medical services supervisor or deputy supervisor; emergency medical services chief or deputy chief; emergency medical services hazardous materials responder technician; emergency medical services coordinator, dispatcher, or instructor; or any position the primary or essential duties of which require the employee to be trained in basic or advanced life support services and who is certified or licensed by the Department of Health to perform these services. The State will be liable for the increased pension costs payable by counties or municipalities as a result this bill. | In Committee |
| A4319 | "Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act"; prohibits distribution of State aid to an institution of higher education that authorizes, funds, or supports antisemitic events or organizations or fails to punish acts of antisemitism on campus. | This bill, entitled the "Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act" prohibits the disbursement of any State aid to an institution of higher education that:· authorizes, facilitates, provides funding for, or otherwise supports or encourages antisemitism or any event or organization promoting antisemitism on campus; · fails to enforce its own student code of conduct and policies and procedures on harassment, intimidation, and bullying; or· fails to adequately and appropriately punish the perpetrators of antisemitism with academic, professional, and legal consequences, which may include expulsion and referral for criminal prosecution.The bill defines "antisemitism" to mean the same as the term defined in the working definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016. | In Committee |
| A4253 | Extends closing time of polling places by one hour. | This bill extends the closing time of polling places by one hour. Under current law, in most circumstances, polling places open at 6:00 A.M. and close at 8:00 P.M. This bill changes the closing time, in most circumstances, to 9:00 P.M. The bill extends the closing time for early voting sites. Early voting sites are currently open 10:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Sunday. This bill requires early voting sites to stay open until 9:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday and until 7:00 P.M. on Sunday. The office of the municipal clerk is open on election day to assist voters. Under current law, the office of the municipal clerk is open from 6:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. This bill requires the office of the municipal clerk to stay open until 9:00 P.M. This bill extends the time for which minors between 16 and 18 years of age serving at an election are required to stop. Under current law, they are permitted to serve until 9:00 P.M. This bill changes the time minors must complete service from 9:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. to account for the later poll closing time. Requiring the polls to stay open an extra hour will allow for more flexibility for voters who choose to vote in the evening hours. | In Committee |
| ACR133 | Constitutes special committee of Senate and General Assembly entitled "New Jersey Public Employee Health Care Program Costs Investigation Committee." | This concurrent resolution constitutes a special committee of the Legislature entitled the "New Jersey Public Employee Health Care Program Costs Investigation Committee." The creation of this committee is in response to several news articles highlighting the recommended increase in premiums and periodic charges for the State health care programs and allegations the Governor's Office may have intervened during contract disputes with the State's contractor, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. The committee will review and investigate the recommended increases in the premiums of the State Health Benefits Program and School Employees' Health Benefits Program. The committee will also investigate allegations that the Governor's Office may have pressured staff at the Department of the Treasury to halt the contract dispute with Horizon and the effort by the department to recoup the $34 million from the contract. Additionally, the committee will review the implementation, if any, of P.L.2019, c.143, which created subaccounts in the State Health Benefits Program Fund and the School Employees' Health Benefits Program Fund and also required the State to procure a professional services contract for a third-party medical claims reviewer for the State Health Benefits Program and School Employees' Health Benefits Program. The committee will make recommendations that address this subject. | In Committee |
| A4259 | Expands scope of New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act dealing with economic impact of rules on small businesses. | This bill makes changes to the "New Jersey Regulatory Flexibility Act" in order to expand the scope of the law with regard to small businesses, defined as businesses that employ fewer than 100 full-time employees or having gross annual sales of less than $6 million. The bill requires an agency to use, when developing rules, the consolidation or simplification of a compliance or reporting requirement for small businesses as an approach to minimize the rule's impact on small businesses, so long as the public health, safety, or general public welfare is not endangered. Under the bill, an agency seeking to continue in effect an expiring rule by duly proposing for re-adoption the rule, with amendment, prior to its expiration, is to consider a series of factors, as part of the regulatory flexibility analysis, which are set forth in the bill. This review is to be conducted by the agency at the time a rule is proposed for re-adoption (which is generally every seven years), to ensure that the rule continues to have a minimal impact on small businesses. The bill establishes a process by which a small business that is adversely affected economically or aggrieved by final rule-making action may file a petition with the agency objecting to all or a part of a rule subject to regulatory flexibility analysis. For cases in which the agency rejects the petition, this process addresses concerns about frivolous appeals without creating unprecedented procedures with respect to the courts. Specifically, the bill: (1) establishes a petition process as a prerequisite for a court appeal; (2) requires the appeal petition to be filed within 90 days after final rule-making action; (3) creates an optional summary disposition process based on affidavits; (4) sets sanctions for frivolous appeals; and (5) places a restriction on appeals based on compliance with the regulatory flexibility process. | In Committee |
| AR135 | Opposes President Biden's revocation of Presidential Permit for Keystone XL pipeline. | This resolution expresses the Assembly's opposition to the revocation of the Presidential Permit granted to TC Energy for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed project that would have added up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day to the United States oil supply. The resolution asks President Biden to reconsider his decision and to reverse course in the best interest of American energy security, economic interests, and environmental impacts. If President Biden fails to reinstate the Presidential Permit, this resolution then calls on the United States Congress to overturn President Biden's decision to revoke the permit. Based on analyses performed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Fraser Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, the Keystone XL pipeline would likely reduce the transportation costs, incidence of oil spills, and frequency of safety incidents that are involved with the transportation of oil from the remote Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Canada currently holds the third largest proven oil reserves worldwide. Promoting a mutually beneficial trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada by constructing the Keystone XL Pipeline is in America's best interest with respect to energy security and economic, safety, and environmental concerns. | In Committee |
| AJR169 | Designates The Growing Stage Children's Theatre of New Jersey as New Jersey State children's theatre. | This resolution would designate The Growing Stage Children's Theatre of New Jersey as the New Jersey State children's theatre. The Growing Stage plays a unique role in the State by introducing children and families to the performing arts. The theatre has had a long history of enriching the community by presenting a variety of productions to thousands of people. The theatre actively engages communities of all economic and social backgrounds to be a part of the performing arts. | In Committee |
| A4146 | Requires entities to verify age of persons accessing certain online material and prohibits minors from accessing certain online material. | This bill requires imposes several requirements on entities that operate certain Internet websites and webpages, including requiring the entity to verify the age of all State residents that attempts to access the website or webpage and prohibiting minors from accessing certain material that is not suitable to minors. Specifically, the bill provides that an entity may not allow a State resident under the age of 18 years to access an Internet website or an individual webpage that contains a "substantial portion" of material harmful to minors, as defined in the bill, unless: (1) the entity verifies the age of each resident that attempts to access the Internet website or webpage using reasonable age verification methods; and (2) if the resident is determined to be a minor, the material contained on the Internet website or webpage is suitable to the minor, as determined by the Division of Consumer Affairs (division) in the Department of law and Public Safety. For the purposes of this bill, "substantial purpose" means that following amounts with respect to each of the following interactive computer services: (1) for a social media platform, more than one-third of total user accounts contain any material harmful to minors, or more than one-third of the content on one or more user's account on that platform contains material harmful to minors; (2) for a search engine, more than one-third of the webpages displayed in response to any user query contain any material harmful to minors, or more than one-third of the thumbnail images displayed in response to any user query contain any material harmful to minors; or (3) for any website or webpage, including a search engine, more than one-third of the total content on the website or on any individual webpage contains any material harmful to minors. The bill also provides that an entity or third party that performs the required age verification may not retain any identifying information of the individual after access has been granted to the material. Under this bill, an entity is required to use reasonable age verification methods that comply with standards and guidelines established by the division. However, the bill provides that the permitted age verifications methods may generally include: (1) use of a digitized information card; (2) verification through an independent, third-party age verification service that compares the personal information entered by the individual who is seeking access to the material that is available from a commercially available database, or aggregate of databases, that is regularly used by government agencies and businesses for the purpose of age and identity verification; or (3) any available, reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of the individual attempting to access the material. In developing the standards and guidelines concerning the permitted methods of age verification, the division may consider such factors as technological feasibility, operational effectiveness of the age verification system, and the scale and number of users and the primary consumer use of an interactive computer service. Under this bill, the division would also be required to establish standards and guidelines to determine the types of content that would be deemed "material harmful to minors," as defined in the bill. Additionally, the division would also be required to determine the types of content that would be deemed suitable to minors of each of the following ages, which standards would be based on the different degrees of material harmful that such content may have on minors of such ages: (1) minors under the age of 10 years; (2) minors over the age of 10 years but less than 15 years; and (3) minors from the age of 15 years but less than 18 years. This bill would not apply to any bona fide news or public interest broadcast, website video, report, or event. The bill also provides that interactive computer services, search engines, and certain cloud service providers would not be deemed to violate the provisions of this bill solely for providing access or connection to or from a website or other information or content on the Internet, or a facility, system, or network, unless the interactive computer service participates in a venture with, and knowingly benefits from, an entity in violation of this bill, regarding an entity's knowing and intentional publishing or distribution of material harmful to minors. Under the bill, the division is required to receive consumer complaints related to, investigate alleged violation of, and enforce the provisions of this bill. The division would be entitled to any penalties, fines, or fees collected for a violation, which monies would be deposited into a fund, established by this bill, to provide aid in the investigation of cyber-crimes involving the exploitation of children. State law agencies may apply for monies from this fund in a manner prescribed by the division. Before initiating an enforcement action, the bill requires the division to provide written notice identifying and explaining the basis for each alleged violation to be enforced. Thereafter, an entity receiving notice may prevent the need for an enforcement action by curing the violation. If the entity does not cure a violation, the division may initiate a civil action as provided in the bill. The division is authorized to impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation or to initiate a civil suit in Superior Court. A court may grant an additional $10,000 per violation. If the division proves a violation, the division is entitled to reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and investigative fees. Additionally, the bill permits an individual to bring an action in the Superior Court against an entity for failure to comply with the provisions of this bill. If the suit is successful, an individual would be entitled to reasonable attorney fees and court costs. An individual would also be entitled to up to $2,500 per instance of violation, and if the violation resulted from a minor accessing material harmful to minors, may include compensatory damages and damages for emotional pain and suffering, provided the conduct of the defendant is found to be willful, wanton, or reckless. | In Committee |
| A4129 | Designates "New Jersey's For You and Me" by Kathleen Golden Murphy and Shannon Murphy Flannery as New Jersey State song. | This bill designates "New Jersey's For You and Me" by Kathleen Golden Murphy and Shannon Murphy Flannery as the New Jersey State song. The State of New Jersey does not have an official State song commemorating our founding, history, traditions, and natural beauty. In the 1990s, New Jersey residents Kathleen Murphy and her daughter, Shannon, composed a song named "New Jersey's For You and Me" as a show of pride for our great State. The lyrics of "New Jersey's For You and Me" pay homage to State symbols, such as the Eastern goldfinch, red oak, and violet. There are two published performances of the song by former New Jersey Senator Dick LaRossa and the St. Thomas the Apostle Choir of Oak Ridge. Unity and State pride are important themes expressed throughout the song, which emphasizes the State's love for freedom and justice. Each performance has been viewed over a thousand times on YouTube. In recognition of the artistry of residents Kathleen Golden Murphy and Shannon Murphy Flannery expressed through their song "New Jersey's For You and Me," the bill designates the aforementioned song to be the official State Song of New Jersey. | In Committee |
| A4098 | Revises "New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority Act"; extends process for calculating gas tax rate until Fiscal Year 2032; imposes sales and use tax and additional registration fee on electric vehicles; appropriates $2.5 billion. | This bill amends the "New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority Act of 1984" to make changes necessary to support the State's Annual Transportation Capital Program (capital program) for Fiscal Years (FY) 2025 through 2032. These changes also (1) extend the process for calculating the rate of tax imposed on highway fuels under the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax (PPGRT) through Fiscal Year 2032; (2) impose an additional registration fee for electric vehicles; (3) appropriate funds to the New Jersey Transit Corporation; (4) appropriate funds from the Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund to the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF); and (5) repeal the sales and use tax exemption for zero emission vehicles. Transportation Trust Fund Authority Renewal This bill extends the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority's (authority) existing authorization to issue transportation program bonds and creates the potential to increase the authority's bonding authorization from FY 2029 through FY 2032. Under current law, the authority is authorized to issue such transportation program bonds as are necessary to fund the capital program, in an amount not to exceed $12 billion, through June 30, 2024. The bill extends this authorization through June 30, 2032. The bill requires the authority, on or before June 30, 2028, to assess whether its remaining bonding capacity is sufficient to fund the capital program through FY 2032 and report its findings to the Legislature and Governor. If the authority determines that additional authorization is needed to fund the capital program, the Legislature and Governor may authorize the authority to issue a maximum of $4 billion in transportation program bonds from FY 2029 through FY 2032. This bill authorizes $15.96 billion in capital program expenditures for an eight-year period from FY 2025 through FY 2032. Specifically, this bill allows for an average annual capital program size of $2 billion from FY 2025 through FY 2032. The bill requires $500 million to be annually appropriated to the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) for capital projects during FY 2027 through FY 2032. However, under the bill, no monies are to be appropriated in the capital program to NJ Transit for these purposes in FY 2025 and FY 2026. Extension of PPGRT Rate Adjustment Procedure Until 2032 This bill extends the PPGRT annual rate adjustment procedure through FY 2032. Under current law, the rate of tax imposed under the PPGRT is annually adjusted by the State Treasurer to ensure that the State realizes a statutorily prescribed revenue target, more commonly referred to as the "highway fuel cap," based on 2016 collections of highway fuel taxes. The cap amount is based on the Fiscal Year 2016 sum of: (1) the taxes collected under the Motor Fuel Tax, (2) the amount derived from taxing the gallonage of highway fuel subject to the four cent motor fuel tax, and (3) the amount that would have been derived from taxing the gallonage of highway fuel subject to the motor fuel tax at a rate of 23 cents per gallon. All revenues collected are deposited into the TTF to support transportation infrastructure projects and debt service on transportation bonds. This annual adjustment mechanism is currently set to expire at the conclusion of FY 2026. The bill allows this process to continue through FY 2032. Additional Vehicle Registration Fee for Electric Vehicles The bill imposes an additional registration fee for electric vehicles registered in the State. The fee would be collected by the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission at the same time the vehicle is initially registered or renewed, as the case may be. Beginning on July 1, 2024, the amount of the fee would be $300 for passenger electric vehicles and $450 for commercial electric vehicles. Under the bill, the revenues generated from these fees would be credited to the "Transportation Trust Fund Account - Subaccount for Capital Reserves" to support transportation projects. However, the bill specifies that these collections may not be used to pay debt service on transportation system bonds, transportation program bonds, or any other bonds, notes or other obligations, including subordinated obligations of the authority until such time as these revenues may be constitutionally dedicated to the TTF. Appropriation of Funds to New Jersey Transit The bill makes a supplemental appropriation of $1 billion from the General Fund to NJ Transit. The bill requires $760 million of these funds to be used for the financing of capital projects and $240 million to be used for NJ Transit operating expenses. The bill also requires the State to appropriate an additional $1 billion in FY 2026 for those same purposes. Appropriation of Funds from Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund to TTF The bill appropriates $1.5 billion from the "New Jersey Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund" to the "Transportation Trust Fund Account - Subaccount for Capital Reserves" to be used for the funding of transportation capital projects on a pay-as-you-go basis. The bill prohibits the expenditure of these funds for debt service on transportation system bonds, transportation program bonds, or any other bonds, notes, or other obligations, including subordinated obligations of the TTF. Repeal of Sales Tax Exemption for Electric Vehicles The bill repeals the sales and use tax exemption currently provided for the sales of zero emission vehicles and annually dedicates the revenues derived from the sales of these vehicles, up to $100 million, to the TTF. Specifically, these revenues would be credited to the "Transportation Trust Fund Account - Subaccount for Capital Reserves" to be used for transportation projects. The bill also specifies that these collections may not be used to pay debt service on transportation system bonds, transportation program bonds, or any other bonds, notes, or other obligations, including subordinated obligations of the authority, until such time as these revenues may be constitutionally dedicated to the TTF. | In Committee |
| A3929 | Requires certain preliminary approval by municipality prior to licensure of cooperative sober living residence. | This bill requires preliminary approval by a municipality as a condition for the Commissioner of Community Affairs (commissioner) to be able to issue a license to operate a cooperative sober living residence (CSLR), as defined in the bill. Specifically, the bill requires an applicant who seeks a license from the commissioner to operate a CSLR to first obtain, notwithstanding R.S.55:13B-7, a certificate of preliminary approval from the appropriate municipal officials in the municipality in which the CSLR is located. The bill requires the preliminary approval to consist of a letter or affidavit from the appropriate municipal officials that the proposed CSLR conforms to all applicable municipal ordinances and regulations adopted prior to the date of the request for preliminary approval, including but not limited to, zoning and land use ordinances and regulations. The bill further requires that the commissioner not approve an application for a license to operate a CSLR if the applicant fails to provide this certificate of preliminary approval to the commissioner with the license application. | In Committee |
| A3909 | "Max's Law"; requires school districts to provide instruction on dangers of fentanyl and xylazine. | This bill, to be known as "Max's Law," requires school districts to provide instruction on the dangers of fentanyl and xylazine as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. Under the bill, the instruction is required to include information on: (1) fentanyl and xylazine abuse prevention; (2) fentanyl and xylazine poisoning awareness; (3) the dangers of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl or any substituted derivative of fentanyl, xylazine, and counterfeit drugs; (4) recognizing the symptoms of fentanyl and xylazine poisoning; (5) how to respond to a fentanyl or xylazine poisoning emergency; and (6) laws that provide immunity or other protections for persons who report drug or alcohol use, or who seek medical treatment for drug or alcohol poisoning or overdoses for themselves or others. Additionally, the bill requires the Commissioner of Education to provide school districts with age-appropriate resources designed to implement the requirements established under the bill. The information is required to utilize information and resources provided by: (1) the National Institutes of Health; (2) the United States Drug Enforcement Administration; (3) the United States Department of Health and Human Services; (4) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; or (5) any State, county, or municipal department or agency. The bill requires the Department of Education to post and maintain on its Internet website: (1) information for instruction on the dangers of fentanyl and xylazine provided to school districts; (2) informational materials containing awareness and safety information for school staff, students, and parents, on opioid poisoning prevention; (3) information on outreach organizations with resources concerning opioid awareness and opioid poisoning prevention; and (4) preventative mental health resources available from applicable federal, state, county, or municipal departments and agencies. Xylazine, commonly referred to as "tranq," is a non-opioid sedatitve, or tranquilizer. While xylazine is not considered a controlled substance in the United States, it is not approved for use in people. The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration reported that xylazine and fentanyl mixtures place users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug poisoning. It is the sponsor's intent that this bill raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and xylazine and to honor the memory of Max Lenowitz of Woodcliff Lake, a beloved son, brother, and friend, and the thousands of other New Jersey residents who have lost their lives to fentanyl or xylazine poisoning. | In Committee |
| A3819 | "Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act"; requires Internet-connected devices to have blocking capability in certain circumstances. | This bill, to be known as the "Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act," makes it an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, lease, or distribute a product that makes content accessible on the Internet unless the product contains digital blocking capability that renders any obscene material inaccessible. Additionally, it would be an unlawful practice for a minor to receive such a product unless the digital blocking capability is active and properly operating. Under the bill, a person who manufactures, sells, offers for sale, leases, or distributes a product that makes content accessible on the Internet is to: (1) make reasonable and ongoing efforts to ensure that the digital content blocking capability functions properly; (2) establish a reporting mechanism, such as a website or call center, to allow a consumer to report unblocked obscene material or report blocked material that is not obscene; (3) ensure that all child pornography and revenge pornography is inaccessible on the product; (4) prohibit the product from accessing any hub that facilitates prostitution; and (5) render websites that are known to facilitate human trafficking inaccessible. An unlawful practice is punishable by a monetary penalty of not more than $10,000 for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for any subsequent offense. Additionally, a violation can result in cease and desist orders issued by the Attorney General, the assessment of punitive damages, and the awarding of treble damages and costs to the injured. The bill provides that any digital blocking capability may be deactivated after a consumer: requests in writing that the capability be disabled; presents identification to verify that he or she is 18 years of age or older; acknowledges receiving a written warning regarding the potential danger of deactivating the digital blocking capability; and pays a one-time $20 digital access fee. A person who manufactures, sells, offers for sale, leases, or distributes a product that makes content accessible on the Internet may elect to pay a $20 opt-out fee for each product that enters this State's stream of commerce. The digital access fee and opt-out fee would be collected and submitted by the manufacturer or seller to the State Treasurer each quarter, to be forwarded to the Attorney General to help fund the operations of the Commission on Human Trafficking. If the digital blocking capability blocks material that is not obscene and the block is reported to a call center or reporting website, the material is to be unblocked within a reasonable time, but no later than five business days after the block is first reported. A consumer may seek judicial relief to unblock filtered content. The Attorney General or a consumer may file a civil suit for any report of unblocked obscene material that does not receive a response. The Attorney General or consumer may seek damages of up to $500 for each piece of content that was reported but not subsequently blocked. The prevailing party in the civil action may seek attorneys' fees. | In Committee |
| A3393 | Exempts municipal electric utilities from regulation by BPU. | This bill exempts municipal electric utilities from regulation by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU). Under current law, municipal utilities generally are not regulated by the BPU. However, if a municipality provides any product, including electricity, beyond its boundaries, the municipality is considered to be a public utility and is regulated by the BPU. In this event, the BPU is responsible for regulating the rates imposed by the municipality for the provision of these regulated services. Under the bill, if a municipality provides electricity to customers beyond its boundaries, the municipality would not be considered a public utility and would not be subject to regulation by the BPU. As a result, the bill provides that municipal electric utilities would no longer be subject to rate regulation by the BPU. However, the bill provides that the BPU would retain jurisdiction to determine disputes concerning the service territory of any municipal electric utility, consistent with current law governing rural electric cooperatives. | In Committee |
| A3357 | Modifies method of calculating impervious surface percentage for municipal parks in Highland preservation area. | This bill would allow municipalities to use the total, summed area of each of their municipal parks as a single lot, for the purposes of complying with the impervious surface restrictions of the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et seq.). Current law prohibits placing impervious surfaces on more than three percent of any lot in the Highlands preservation area. Under this bill, a municipality would be permitted to place impervious surfaces on greater than three percent of one municipal park, provided that the total area of impervious surface in all of the municipal parks in that municipality does not exceed three percent of the total area of the parks. | In Committee |
| A3349 | Limits speculative development of warehouses until 500,000 acres of farmland are preserved under farmland preservation programs. | This bill limits speculative development of warehouses until the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) catalogs 500,000 acres of preserved farmland under farmland preservation programs (programs). An application for the speculative development of a warehouse on active farmland may be considered by an approving authority if the applicant commits to the approving authority and to the SADC to preserve an area of farmland in the State equal in size to the number of acres proposed for development in the application. The SADC is to report to the Governor and to the Legislature when the SADC catalogs 500,000 acres of preserved farmland under these programs. The bill is to expire upon the submission of that report. In 1998, the Governor's Council on New Jersey Outdoors issued a report recommending that at least 500,000 acres of farmland should be preserved to maintain a critical mass of land for agricultural production and to assure the future success of farming in this State. As of January 9, 2023, the SADC has accounted for 248,009 acres of preserved farmland under these programs. | In Committee |
| A530 | Allocates $10 million of constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues for grants for certain lake management activities for recreation and conservation purposes. | This bill would amend and supplement the "Preserve New Jersey Act" to allocate $10 million annually from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax (CBT) revenues for providing grants to assist certain entities to pay the cost of development of lands for recreation and conservation purposes for the management and maintenance of lakes. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to establish a program for the issuance of these grants. The bill requires the DEP to develop criteria for the evaluation and ranking of applications to provide priority to projects located in the Highlands Region and Pinelands area and to improve water quality and increase recreational access and use of lakes, including projects to control nutrient levels in lakes in order to prevent future harmful algal blooms. The bill provides priority for funding for projects located in the Highlands Region and Pinelands area in recognition of the critical role lakes in these ecologically significant locations provide in the supply of drinking water to residents throughout the State, watershed protection, and for recreation and conservation purposes. The bill provides that a grant issued pursuant to the bill may be used for stormwater and nonpoint source pollution management activities, if the DEP determines that those activities would directly enhance, improve, or protect the use of a lake for recreation and conservation purposes. Harmful algal blooms occur when colonies of microscopic algae or bacteria grow at exponential rates and produce toxins harmful to humans and animals. Exposure to these algal blooms can cause a range of health effects, including skin rashes, allergy-like reactions, flu-like symptoms, gastroenteritis, respiratory irritation and eye irritation. The issuance by the DEP of "no contact" advisories or other warnings cautioning against contact with the water in certain lakes due to the presence of harmful algal blooms directly impacts the public's use of lakes for recreation and conservation purposes. Certain stormwater and nonpoint source pollution management activities may control harmful algal blooms, which would result in improvements to water quality and increase recreational access to lakes. The Greenwood Lake Commission, the Lake Hopatcong Commission, and local government units may apply for grants pursuant to the bill. The DEP would be required to approve any applications submitted by the Greenwood Lake Commission and the Lake Hopatcong Commission, and each commission would receive a minimum grant award of $750,000 in each fiscal year under the bill. The funding in this bill is provided from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax (CBT) revenues pursuant to Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 6 of the State Constitution, approved by the voters of the State in November 2014. The "Preserve New Jersey Act," P.L.2016, c.12 (C.13:8C-43 et seq.), implements the constitutional dedication of CBT revenues for open space, farmland, and historic preservation. The act provides that a certain amount of the portion of dedicated CBT revenues allocated each year for the Green Acres program is to be used for: the acquisition of lands for open space, including Blue Acres projects, and development projects, including stewardship activities, on State lands administered by the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife and Division of Parks and Forestry; grants and loans to fund local government open space acquisition and development projects; and grants to nonprofit entities to acquire or develop lands for recreation and conservation purposes. The "Preserve New Jersey Green Acres Fund" was established by section 6 of the "Preserve New Jersey Act." This bill provides that $10 million of the amount currently allocated for development of lands by the State for recreation and conservation purposes would be used instead to fund the grants to be awarded pursuant to the bill. The bill requires the DEP, each fiscal year, to submit a list of projects to receive funding pursuant to the bill to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly to be introduced in the Legislature as appropriations bills. The bill further provides that the DEP shall not submit, and the Legislature shall not approve, any other list of projects to receive funding pursuant to the "Preserve New Jersey Act" until the DEP has submitted to the Legislature the list of projects recommended to receive funding pursuant to the program established by the bill. The "Preserve New Jersey Act" defines the terms "development," "recreation and conservation purposes," and "stewardship." "Development" means any improvement, including a stewardship activity, made to a land or water area designed to expand and enhance its utilization for recreation and conservation purposes, and includes the construction, renovation, or repair of any such improvement, but does not mean shore protection or beach nourishment or replenishment activities. "Recreation and conservation purposes" means the use of lands for beaches, biological or ecological study, boating, camping, fishing, forests, greenways, hunting, natural areas, parks, playgrounds, protecting historic properties, water reserves, watershed protection, wildlife preserves, active sports, or a similar use for either public outdoor recreation or conservation of natural resources, or both. "Stewardship activity" means an activity, which is beyond routine operations and maintenance, undertaken by the State, a local government unit, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization to repair, or restore lands acquired or developed for recreation and conservation purposes for the purpose of enhancing or protecting those lands for recreation and conservation purposes. | In Committee |
| A535 | Prohibits any foreign company created under laws of foreign adversary from participating in critical infrastructure. | This bill prohibits any foreign company created under the laws of a foreign adversary from participating in critical infrastructure in this State. The bill defines "foreign adversary" to mean any foreign government determined by the United States Secretary of Commerce to have engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct significantly adverse to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons. Under the bill, the State of New Jersey, and all agencies or political subdivisions thereof, are prohibited from allowing a foreign company created under the laws of a foreign adversary to participate in the construction, maintenance, or control of any critical infrastructure in this State. Critical infrastructure includes communication networks, electric generation, gas distribution systems, water pipelines, and related support facilities, such as buildings, offices, lines, poles, pipes, structures, and equipment. The State's safety, security, and stability depend on protecting critical infrastructure from foreign adversaries. The disruption of these key services would significantly disrupt the well-being of the people of this State and the functioning of the economy. The involvement of a foreign company created under the laws of a foreign adversary raises substantial security threats, such as cyber-attacks or the intentional disruption of services. Accordingly, to protect against risks posed by foreign adversaries, it is crucial to ensure that only trusted entities control the State's critical infrastructure. | In Committee |
| ACR33 | Proposes constitutional amendment authorizing municipalities, by ordinance, to provide partial property tax exemption on primary residence of certain volunteer first responders. | If approved by the voters of the State, this proposed constitutional amendment would authorize a municipality, by ordinance, to provide a partial property tax exemption on the primary residence of volunteer first responders serving in the municipality. The exemption would mean the volunteer first responder would not pay property taxes on part of the home's assessed value. An eligible first responder would be an active member of a volunteer fire department or a volunteer first aid or ambulance squad who owns a home in the municipality in which the volunteer serves, and the home must be the volunteer's primary residence. The municipality would decide the percentage amount of the exemption, which cannot exceed 10 percent of the assessed value. The State would not be required to reimburse municipalities for the cost of the exemption. | In Committee |
| A534 | "Energy Security and Affordability Act"; requires BPU to consider energy security, diversity, and affordability when preparing Energy Master Plan and perform economic and ratepayer impact analysis of energy generation projects and Energy Master Plan. | This bill would amend P.L.1977, c.146 (C.52:27F-14), which establishes the State's Energy Master Plan Committee, to require the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), when preparing the Energy Master Plan or any portion thereof or amendment thereto, to consider the following: (1) the energy needs, supplies, and reliability in all geographic areas of the State; (2) the use and development of diverse energy generation sources including, but not limited to, solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen, natural gas, and renewable natural gas to assure a reliable and sufficient energy supply; (3) the affordability of energy generation, transmission, and distribution to ratepayers; (4) the prioritization of in-State energy generation, to the extent practicable and feasible to minimize subsidies for out-of-State energy generation; and (5) the use of incentives, rather than mandates, when feasible, to increase consumer transparency and choice. The bill would also require the Energy Master Plan to provide that intermittent energy sources are not to exceed 50 percent of the State's energy generation portfolio. The bill updates membership of the Energy Master Plan Committee in accordance with Governor Murphy's Executive Order No. 28. The bill also adds the heads of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of the Rate Counsel, and New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, or their designees, as members of the Energy Master Plan Committee. In addition, the bill would require the BPU to perform an analysis of any energy generation facility project prior to issuing final approval, and of the State's Energy Master Plan no later than six months after publishing an update thereto. Specifically, the analysis would: (1) detail the cost, financial impact to the State and any applicable local government unit, effect on ratepayers, and economic impact of the energy policy or project, as applicable; (2) provide a breakdown of all associated costs including, but not limited to, the capital cost of energy generation, transmission, and distribution as well as the capital cost of any infrastructure upgrades needed; (3) use only open source modeling software, and provide details about the software used and all parameters entered into the model; (4) provide an opportunity for public comment at least 30 days prior to the publication of the analysis, and include all pertinent written comments received as part of the analysis; and (5) be published and maintained for at least 10 years on the board's Internet website. The bill would also require the BPU, upon invitation, to present testimony each year to the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on the analyses it performed during the previous year. | In Committee |
| AR28 | Urges federal government to approve construction of oil and natural gas pipelines within United States including those that have been shut down or have had approval denied. | This resolution urges the federal government to take action to approve the construction of oil and natural gas pipelines within the United States, including approving pipelines that have been shut down or disapproved. The United States relies, and will continue to rely for many years, on gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel despite the recent focus on renewable energy and alternative sources of energy. In order to fuel the country's economy, the United States will need more oil and natural gas while also developing additional alternative energy sources. Constructing more pipelines within the United States would help the country achieve energy independence and enhance national security by reducing reliance on energy from the Middle East, Russia, and Venezuela. Constructing more pipelines within the United States would also result in lower oil prices and provide a significant economic advantage to the United States. Although the United States has achieved significant levels of energy independence in recent years, there is always room to improve the country's energy independence. Steps have been taken to create greater North American energy independence, including the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have connected the United States oil supply to oil fields in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta, providing oil at a rate of up to 830,000 barrels per day. The Keystone XL Pipeline would have increased the United States' energy independence, lowered the cost of gasoline, produced up to 11,000 high-paying jobs for United States citizens, and resulted in more stable trade relationships. President Trump issued a Presidential Permit to begin construction on the cross-border segment of the Keystone XL Pipeline, however, the permit for this construction was revoked by President Biden. The reapproval and continued construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline is very important for the energy independence of the United States. In addition, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has resulted in global tension and fear. The United States and other European nations have responded by enforcing strict economic sanctions on Russia. One of the sanctions is the decertification of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, which stretches for 1,200 kilometres from Vyborg, Russia through the Baltic Sea to Lubmin, Germany and was designed to carry natural gas from Russia to Western Europe. The decertification of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline will likely also have global economic consequences. It is more important than ever for the United States to become more energy independent. Based on the geopolitical, energy security, environmental, and economic benefits of oil and natural gas pipeline construction within the United States, it is in the country's, and by extension New Jersey's, best interests to support the construction of oil and natural gas pipelines, including the approval of pipelines that have been shut down or disapproved, within the United States. | In Committee |
| A524 | Requires electric service providers to integrate energy storage systems into long-term planning process. | This bill directs the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to adopt rules and regulations providing for mechanisms for the procurement of an "energy storage system," as that term is defined in the bill, by a basic generation service provider, an electric power supplier, and electric public utility (electric service provider) as part of the electric distribution and transmission system planning process for an energy storage system; except that the rules and regulations are not to affect any BPU-approved acquisition or competitive bidding process for an energy storage system that existed prior to the effective date of the bill. In adopting the rules and regulations, the BPU is to use its best efforts to create conditions under which the procurement of an energy storage system by an electric service provider is to provide systemic benefits, including: 1) an increased integration of energy into the distribution and transmission grid of an electric public utility; 2) an improved reliability of the grid; 3) a reduction in the need for the increased generation of electricity during periods of peak electric demand; and 4) the avoidance, reduction, or deferral of investment by an electric service provider. In consideration of all known and measurable benefits and costs to an electric service provider, the BPU rules and regulations are to: 1) establish mechanisms for the inclusion of benefits and costs associated with an energy storage system into the planning conducted by an electric service provider; 2) require an electric service provider to submit to the BPU and any BPU-approved third party, appropriate data and analysis of potential energy storage system acquisition in an electric service provider's planning processes, including potential interconnection points; 3) ensure that an energy storage system connected to the grid is not to compromise the security, safety, or reliability of the grid or any part of the grid; 4) establish that any energy storage system may be owned by an electric service provider or by any other person; 5) establish requirements for the filing by an electric service provider of an acquisition plan containing an analysis of the integration and use of an electric storage system; and 6) require an electric service provider to include other information as the BPU may require in its documentation relating to grid planning. The bill requires the BPU to treat information provided to it or an approved third party, as confidential and ensure that the BPU and any approved third party manages the information in accordance with any applicable State and federal law concerning customer data and personally identifiable information. The bill allows an energy service provider to file an application with the BPU for an energy storage system not exceeding 15 megawatts of capacity prior to the BPU adopting the rules and regulations required in the bill. The bill exempts from its provisions any cost-effective energy storage system deployment, as determined by the BPU, that existed prior to the effective date of the bill. | In Committee |
| A1629 | Revises membership of New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling. | This bill revises the membership of the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling. Currently, the board requires one licensed teacher who has engages in teaching at a licensed school of beauty culture or cosmetology and hairstyling in New Jersey to be appointed. Under the bill, two individuals representing public school vocational programs are to be appointed to the board. Two individuals representing private licensed schools of cosmetology and hairstyling are also to be appointed. Additionally, the bill modifies the number of public members on the board. Currently, three public members are appointed. The bill adjusts this to two members who are to represent the interests of the public. Moreover, the bill modifies the type of professional that is to be appointed to the board. Instead of allotting six slots for cosmetologist-hairstylists, beauticians, and barbers, those same slots are to be filled by individuals licensed in any of the professions for which the board issues a license. With the revisions, total board membership is expanded from 13 to 15 individuals. | In Committee |
| A288 | Establishes independent State Office of Consumer. | This bill establishes the independent State Office of the Consumer in the Legislative Branch of State Government. The head of the office will be a director who will serve a term of six years. The director will be appointed the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Senate Minority Leader and the Assembly Minority Leader by consensus and be a person qualified by education, training, and prior work experience to direct the work of the office and to perform the duties and functions and fulfill the responsibilities of the position. The Office of the Consumer will be responsible for conducting routine, periodic, and random phone call assessments of local government, school district, and State offices and the offices of regulated health insurance companies by calling those offices to determine the responsiveness and accessibility of the office. The office will also be responsible for periodic assessments of the websites of local government, school district, and State offices and the offices of regulated health insurance companies and by assessing the user-friendliness of the websites. The director will make monthly reports to the Legislature and the Governor that include the frequency and ease of reaching a live person to speak to when calling offices and the ease of finding information and user-friendliness of the websites visited during the reporting period. | In Committee |
| A532 | Excludes contributions to volunteer first aid or rescue squads from appropriations cap and property tax levy cap for certain local units. | The bill moves contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad outside of the budget appropriation and property tax levy caps for certain local units. N.J.S.A.40A:4-45.3 requires that a municipality limit appropriation increases to 2.5 percent or the cost-of-living adjustment, whichever is less, over the previous year's final appropriations, but provides for certain exceptions. The bill would add contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad that serves the municipality to an existing list of allowable exceptions. N.J.S.A.40A:4-45.45 concerns the preparation of a local unit's budget with respect to the amount to be raised by taxation. The bill would allow local units to raise funds from property taxpayers for certain contributions to a volunteer first aid or rescue squad by making this purpose an exclusion from the property tax levy cap. | In Committee |
| A1125 | "Fully Funding Schools and Cutting Property Taxes Act"; repeals certain sections of law; requires additional aid to lower property taxes commensurate with residents' ability to support schools; appropriates $2.9 billion. | The bill is to be known as the "Fully Funding Schools and Cutting Property Taxes Act." The bill requires that, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, State school aid will be provided to school districts at levels consistent with the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 (SFRA) up to their adequacy budget, and prevents future cuts to State aid. It also requires a school district to reduce its tax levy in an amount equal to any increase in State school aid above the prior budget year under certain circumstances, allowing the district to subsequently increase its levy from a lower level than the prior budget year. It is the sponsors' intent to bring equity to New Jersey's school system by increasing State aid contributions to SFRA adequacy budget levels in a manner consistent with the "thorough and efficient" education clause in the State Constitution (N.J. Const. art. VIII, sec. 4, par.1). Providing school aid in this manner will reduce property taxes based on the ability of each school district's residents to support schools. The bill repeals certain sections of law enacted as part of P.L.2018, c.67 (commonly referred to "S2") that resulted in loss of aid and higher property taxes in certain school districts. The bill requires the State to provide aid to school districts equal to the greatest amount of:· aid according to the SFRA; · aid according to the SFRA and, if applicable, additional aid to provided to school districts that lost funding as a result of the implementation of S2; or· State school aid received in any of the school years between and including the 2017-2018 school year and the 2022-2023 school year. Under the bill, a district may petition the Commissioner of Education and State Treasurer for additional aid if it demonstrates a willingness to reduce its adjusted tax levy by an amount equal to any additional aid received. The bill requires a school district to reduce its school tax levy by the same amount of their State school aid increase above the prior year if the total tax levy of the municipality or municipalities comprising the district is more than five percent of school district income. After lowering its levy commensurate with a State aid increase, a school district may increase its levy by an amount necessary to cover an increase in per pupil administrative costs and deferred revenue. The bill requires a district to submit a proposal to voters of the district if it wishes to exceed this limitation. If the voters do not approve the proposal, a school district may add to its adjusted tax levy the difference between the maximum amount to be raised by taxation for the current budget year and the actual amount to be raised by taxation for the current school year if the amount of State school aid and the adjusted tax levy is below the adequacy budget in the next three succeeding budget years. Lastly, the bill appropriates $2,946,618,000 for the purposes of providing additional aid under the bill. The bill stipulates that any unexpended balances are appropriated to the Schools Development Authority for the purposes of supporting school facilities projects and supporting emergent needs and capital maintenance in school districts. | In Committee |
| A1307 | "Informed Consent for Vaccination Act"; revises requirements for administration of vaccines to patients. | This bill, designated as the "Informed Consent for Vaccinations Act," revises the requirements to administer vaccines to patients. Specifically, the bill requires that, at least at least 48 hours prior to administration of the vaccine, the health care practitioner who will administer the vaccine is to furnish to the to the patient, or to the patient's parent or guardian in the case of a patient who is an unemancipated minor, a copy of the vaccine insert for the vaccine and information concerning the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) co-managed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Food and Drug Administration, including an overview of the VAERS, instructions on how to report vaccine injuries, a copy of the Reportable Events Table, and a copy of the Vaccine Injury Table. a vaccine may be administered only if the patient, or the patient's parent or guardian, returns a signed copy of the vaccine insert confirming the patient consents to receive the vaccine. The health care practitioner will additionally be required to provide the patient, or the patient's parent or guardian, as applicable, with the option to opt out of receiving the vaccine, along with a description of the potential implications of opting out of the vaccine, including the risks of contracting or transmitting a communicable infectious disease and the potential that the patient may not be allowed to attend school unless the patient obtains a medical or religious exemption from student immunization requirements for that vaccine. The bill provides that a health care practitioner may not refuse to provide health care services to a patient or seek to transfer care of the patient to another health care practitioner solely on the basis of the patient's refusal to receive a vaccine. The bill further provides that, except in the course of a public health emergency declared pursuant to P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.), no vaccine may be administered pursuant to a standing order. | In Committee |
| A533 | Permits certain special law enforcement officers and auxiliary police officers to carry firearms on duty. | This bill authorizes all classes of special law enforcement officers (SLEOs) and members of the volunteer auxiliary police to carry firearms in the performance of their duties. Current law establishes three classes of SLEOs. Class One SLEOs specifically are prohibited from carrying a firearm or being assigned duties requiring a firearm. Class Two SLEOs may carry firearms in the performance of duties, if they complete firearm training as prescribed by the police training commission and are authorized to carry by a municipality. Class Three SLEOs are retired full-time law enforcement officers who are permitted to carry a firearm in the performance of their duties and do not require additional firearm training. This bill removes the prohibition on carrying a firearm for Class One SLEOs and municipal discretion to choose to authorize Class Two SLEOs to carry. Under the bill, both classes of SLEOs would be permitted carry in the performance of their duties after completion of firearm training. Additionally, this bill requires municipalities to permit members of the volunteer auxiliary police to carry in the performance of their duties after completion of the firearm training required for SLEOs. Volunteer auxiliary police officers are volunteers who are trained to assist law enforcement officers and perform certain functions, such as crowd and traffic control or uniformed foot patrol. | In Committee |
| A536 | Authorizes State Treasurer to sell as surplus property certain land and improvements in Township of Morris in Morris County. | This bill authorizes the State Treasurer, on behalf of the Department of Children and Families, to sell and convey to the Township of Morris in Morris County a 7.8 acres parcel of land and all improvements located at 15 Jean Street in the Township of Morris, Morris County. The property has been declared to be surplus to the needs of the state. The proceeds of the sale will be deposited into the fund created by law which requires that the deposits be used for the relief of State debt or to assist in funding capital improvement projects. The State House Commission will set the terms and conditions of sale. The sale will be a direct sale as determined by an appraisal. If the direct sale does not occur, the department will dispose of the property by internet auction for a minimum bid price as determined by the appraisal. The property has been appraised for $580,000. The Office of Education in the Department of Children and Families (DCF) provides educational services that support the needs of children and young adults who require a different educational setting for a period of time. During its operation, the former DCF Regional Day School located at 15 Jean Street in Morris Township, Morris County, offered students access to the department's Transitional Education Center program, a year-round alternative educational environment for at-risk adolescents. | Dead |
| A1507 | Restricts establishment of mandates to become vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); establishes reimbursement program to cover certain out-of-pocket costs incurred in obtaining COVID-19 vaccine. | This bill prohibits State, county, and local government entities, as well as public and private child care centers, preschool programs, elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education, from mandating that any person be immunized against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The restriction will not apply to health care workers or individuals employed by or providing services at a licensed health care facility who are required to receive the immunization as a condition of working with a medically-vulnerable population. The bill additionally provides that any requirement that health care workers and other individuals working or providing services at a licensed health care facility be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be subject to State and federal laws and health care facility policies that apply to other vaccines that are required for health care workers and other vaccines that are required as a condition of working or providing services at a health care facility, including any exemptions that apply when a vaccine is medically-contraindicated for the individual or when the individual objects to the vaccine based on sincerely-held religious belief. The bill further requires the Department of Health (DOH) to establish a program to reimburse health care workers and other individuals who are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for out-of-pocket costs. To be eligible for reimbursement, the individual will be required to certify to the DOH: (1) the actual out-of-pocket costs incurred by the individual; (2) that all or part of the cost of the vaccine is not covered by health insurance; (3) that the individual's employer will not cover any portion of the cost of the vaccine that is not covered by health insurance; (4) that the out-of-pocket costs incurred are not a copay, coinsurance, or other cost sharing imposed by the individual's health insurer; and (5) that the out-of-pocket costs of the vaccine represent an undue financial burden to the individual. A person who submits a false certification will be required to repay to the DOH the full amount of any reimbursement received from the program, and will be liable to a civil penalty of up to $1,000, to be collected by and in the name of the DOH. Although several vaccines against COVID-19 have shown promise in preventing against the spread of the disease, the development of COVID-19 vaccines has proceeded at an unprecedented pace, and the vaccines first being made available to the general public have not completed the full process ordinarily mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure the safety of new drugs and devices for human use. It is the sponsor's belief that, until there is a fuller record concerning the safety, effectiveness, and long-term effects of the COVID-19 vaccines being made available to the general public, these vaccines should not be made mandatory outside of certain health care settings. | In Committee |
| AR77 | Declares support for Ukraine; expresses solidarity with its citizens. | The resolution declares support for Ukraine in the current conflict with Russia and expresses solidarity with the people of Ukraine. This resolution condemns the actions of Russia, including the attacks and bombings of various regions of Ukraine, such as Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odessa and importantly, the city of Kyiv. This resolution calls on Russia to stop the violence and work to bridge peace with the Ukrainian people. Further, this resolution condemns the violations of international law committed by Russia in the annexation of Crimea, blocking of parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Finally, this resolution recognizes and supports Ukraine as a sovereign state, one that is free to choose its own leader and future. | In Committee |
| A669 | Establishes State definition of anti-Semitism. | This bill establishes a State definition of anti-Semitism. Under the bill, the term "definition of anti-Semitism" refers to the definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016, including the "contemporary examples of antisemitism," while noting that criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country is not antisemitic. The bill provides that in reviewing, investigating, or deciding whether there has been a violation of any policy, law, or regulation prohibiting discriminatory acts, the State must take into consideration this definition of anti-Semitism for purposes of determining whether the alleged act was motivated by anti-Semitic intent. Under the bill, nothing contained in the bill would be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, or paragraph 6 of Article I of the New Jersey State Constitution. The bill also provides that nothing in the bill would be construed to conflict with local, State, or federal anti-discrimination laws or regulations. | In Committee |
| A3220 | Permits car wash business to operate during state of emergency or public health emergency. | This bill provides that if, during a state of emergency or public health emergency, the Governor orders all non-essential businesses to suspend operations, car wash businesses will be deemed essential and may continue to operate as they would under normal circumstances. Nothing in the bill prohibits the owner of a car wash business from choosing to suspend operations of the car wash during a state of emergency or public health emergency. The bill provides that the designation of car wash businesses as essential during a state of emergency or public health emergency does not relieve the owner of a car wash from complying with safety standards issued in response to a state of emergency or public health emergency for the continued operations of essential businesses. | In Committee |
| A2641 | Requires school districts to allow home-schooled students to participate in school-sponsored extracurricular activities in the student's resident district. | This bill requires school districts to allow home-schooled students to participate in any school-sponsored extracurricular activity including, but not limited to, clubs, musical ensembles, Statewide interscholastic sports programs, and theatrical productions in the student's district of residence in accordance with the same criteria established for students enrolled in the district. Under the bill, a home-schooled student who wishes to participate in an extracurricular activity in his resident district must: (1) provide proof that he resides in the district; (2) meet the eligibility and try out criteria for participation in the activity; and (3) comply with all policies, rules, and regulations of the governing organization of the extracurricular activity. In the event that the extracurricular activity involves participation in interscholastic athletics, the student must demonstrate to the board of education that he did not transfer to a home-school program for athletic advantage. Under the bill, if the extracurricular activity requires the completion of a physical examination or medical test as a condition of participation and the school district of residence offers the examination or test to the students enrolled in the school district, then the school district is required to allow a home-schooled student to access the examination or test and must publish the dates and times of the examination or test on its website. | In Committee |
| A3224 | Requires institutions of higher education to maintain supply of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for opioid overdose emergencies and permits emergency administration of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray by licensed campus medical professionals and resident assistants. | This bill requires institutions of higher education to maintain a supply of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for opioid overdose emergencies and permits emergency administration of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray by licensed campus medical professionals and resident assistants. Institutions of higher education would obtain a supply of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray pursuant to a standing order issued by a health care practitioner to be maintained in secure and easily accessible locations throughout the residence halls of the institution to respond to an opioid overdose emergency. Institutions would also be required to develop a policy concerning the emergency administration of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for opioid overdose emergencies occurring in residence halls. The policy would be required to: (1) designate a licensed campus medical professional to oversee the institution's program for the maintenance and emergency administration of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray in residence halls; (2) permit a licensed campus medical professional to designate residence assistants to administer naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray to any person whom the resident assistant in good faith believes is experiencing an opioid overdose in a residence hall; and (3) require the transportation of an overdose victim to a hospital emergency room by emergency services personnel after the administration of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, even if the person's symptoms appear to have resolved. A resident assistant designated to administer naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray by a licensed campus medical professional would only be authorized to administer the spray after receiving required training. The bill also directs the Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health and appropriate medical experts, to establish guidelines for the development of a policy by an institution of higher education for the emergency administration of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray. Institutions of higher education would be required to implement the guidelines in developing a policy pursuant to the bill. Specifically, the guidelines would include a requirement that a licensed campus medical professional and resident assistants designated by the licensed campus medical professional receive training on standard protocols for the emergency administration of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray to a person experiencing an opioid overdose in a residence hall. The training would also include overdose prevention information described in the State's "Overdose Prevention Act." The guidelines would further specify an appropriate entity or entities to provide the training. The bill provides immunity from liability for licensed campus medical professionals, resident assistants, pharmacists, or authorized health care practitioners who issue a standing order for naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray to an institution of higher education for any good faith act or omission consistent with the provisions of the bill. For purposes of this bill, good faith would not include willful misconduct, gross negligence, or recklessness. | In Committee |
| AJR55 | Designates March 16 as "Paws Healing Heroes Day" in New Jersey. | This joint resolution designates March 16 as "Paws Healing Heroes Day" in New Jersey. Service dogs play an important role in assisting veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), military sexual trauma, and seizure disorder. It is estimated that 29 percent of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom may experience PTSD, and 28 percent of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom may experience TBI. New Jersey has a current veteran population of over 300,000. However, despite federal law to expand the availability of service dogs to veterans, the training and placement of service dogs falls primarily upon community non-profit organizations that depend on charitable donations, such as Paws Healing Heroes of Glassboro. The average cost to rescue, train, and present a service dog to a veteran can be $3,000 to $5,000, which is not covered by insurance or other veterans' benefits. Designating "Paws Healing Heroes Day" will promote greater awareness of the unique role of service dogs in assisting veterans. | In Committee |
| A523 | Requires electric public utilities to disseminate through social media and text message certain information during power outages. | This bill requires an electric public utility to develop and establish a plan to disseminate, through Internet-based social media accounts and text message alert services voluntarily maintained by the electric public utility, information concerning the location of warming centers, electronic communication device charging stations, and the availability of potable water and ice to the public from the electric public utility during power outages. The information is to include, but not be limited to: 1) the address of each warming center and the dates and hours of operation; 2) the address of each electronic communication device charging station and the dates and hours of operation; 3) the address of each location where potable water and ice will be available to the public; and 4) the dates and hours potable water and ice will be available to the public. The Office of Emergency Management, the Division of State Police, and any other appropriate State, county, or municipal entity may, on their respective Internet-based social media accounts or websites, disseminate the information concerning potable water and ice pursuant to this bill. | In Committee |
| A522 | Permits public utilities to lease equipment from National Guard in event of emergency. | This bill would allow public utilities to lease equipment from the National Guard to respond to damage incurred in the event of an emergency, such as a storm or other disaster, for 48 hours following the conclusion of the event. The equipment would be leased to the extent permitted by federal law. The Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs is required to compile and make publicly available a list of equipment for lease for use in the event of an emergency. | In Committee |
| A1274 | Permits Legislature to terminate certain declarations by Governor for state of emergency or public health emergency and limits duration of such declarations unless Legislature approves extension. | This bill provides for the termination of a state of emergency declaration issued by the Governor pursuant to P.L.1942, c.251 (C.App.A:9-33 et seq.) or a public health emergency declaration issued pursuant to P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.) by the Legislature by concurrent resolution if the resolution receives a two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of each House of the Legislature. Also, the bill limits the duration of a state of emergency to 60 days after the date of issuance unless an extension is authorized by the Legislature, and limits a public health emergency declaration to a total of 60 days (the initial 30 day duration and one 30-day renewal by the Governor as provided by current law). The bill permits the Legislature to authorize, after a notice required in this bill is received, an extension of the state of emergency declaration or public health emergency declaration, with as many extensions of not less than 30 days, but not more than 90 days, by concurrent resolution that receives a majority vote of the authorized membership of each House of the Legislature. The bill prohibits the Governor from issuing for the same emergency a declaration to the same or substantially same effect as one terminated pursuant to this bill, except in accordance with a law that permits the issuance of another declaration specifically for that emergency. The bill permits the Legislature to conduct the vote on any concurrent resolution specified in the bill by any means it deems necessary and appropriate, including, but not limited to, in-person, teleconference, and remotely by electronic means. For the purpose of this bill, "same emergency" means the initial event or events that gave rise to the emergency declaration that has been terminated, and any event that occurs subsequent to the initial event or events as a direct result, continuation, or consequence of the initial event or events or the origin of which can be traced directly to the initial event or events. The bill requires the Governor to notify the Legislature in writing of the need for an extension of any state of emergency declaration or public health emergency declaration at least seven business days before an extension is authorized by the Legislature pursuant to this bill. The notice will provide information on the need for the extension of such declaration and the threat to the public health or safety that requires the extension. When notice cannot be given at least seven business days before an extension is authorized by the Legislature, the notice has to be given by the Governor as soon as possible, but not later than at least 24 hours before the extension is authorized, and the notice has to include an explanation of why the notice could not have been given at least seven days before the extension. Under the bill, the Governor will receive and publish in the New Jersey Register any comments from the chairs and ranking minority members of the relevant standing reference committees of the Legislature on any notice given in accordance with this bill. The publication is to include a response from the Executive Branch. If the Governor fails to provide the notice required by this bill for an extension, the state of emergency declaration or public health emergency declaration will be terminated unless an extension of the declaration is approved, after the notice required in the bill is received, by the Legislature by concurrent resolution that receives a majority vote of the authorized membership of each House of the Legislature. The provisions of the bill do not apply to any state of emergency declaration or public health emergency declaration: (1) rescinding an order, rule, or regulation issued pursuant to P.L.1942, c.251 (C.App.A:9-33 et seq.) or to P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.); (2) applying exclusively to any or all of the executive and administrative offices, departments, and instrumentalities of the Executive Branch of State government; or (3) issued under the authority of the Governor as the Commander-in-Chief of all the military and naval forces of the State. The bill provides that any state of emergency declaration issued by the Governor and any public health emergency declaration issued by the Governor to address the COVID-19 pandemic or any other emergency that is in effect on the effective date of the bill, and (1) that has been in effect for more than 60 days as of that effective date, or (2) that has been in effect for 60 days or less but was issued for the same emergency as the term is defined in the bill and has the same or substantially the same effect as a declaration that was issued more than 60 days prior to the effective date, will terminate automatically on the effective date of this bill unless, on the day that this bill has passed both Houses of the Legislature, or has passed both Houses of the Legislature after amendments recommended by the Governor have been made to the act or after objections to the bill have been received from the Governor, whichever occurs later, a concurrent resolution to extend the state of emergency declaration or public health emergency declaration, or both, for not less than 30 days, but not more than 90 days, receives a majority vote of the authorized membership of each House of the Legislature. The termination and extension provisions of the bill will apply to any state of emergency declaration or public health emergency declaration issued pursuant to P.L.1942, c.251 (C.App.A:9-33 et seq.) or P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.) after the effective date or within 60 days prior to the effective date of this bill. Any other emergency declaration issued pursuant to P.L.1942, c.251 (C.App.A:9-33 et seq.) or P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.) that is in effect on the date of enactment will automatically terminate upon enactment unless the Legislature authorizes an extension by concurrent resolution. The bill provides that it is not to be construed as limiting the authority of the Governor to designate a state of emergency as may be authorized under the annual appropriations act, for the sole and limited purpose of establishing the eligibility of the State to receive federal funds. However, no such emergency declaration may under any circumstances serve as the basis for invoking any authority or powers set forth in P.L.1942, c.251 (C.App.A:9-33 et seq.) or P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.). | In Committee |
| ACR102 | Urges Department of Education to impose moratorium on new Student Learning Standards. | This resolution respectfully urges the Department of Education to impose a moratorium on the development and implementation of new Student Learning Standards for a period of two years. The most recent Student Learning Standards were adopted by the State Board of Education in June 2020, however there has been considerable discontent among parents and guardians with regards to the standards. As a result, there are numerous bills pending before the Legislature that may affect the Student Learning Standards. Additionally, the United States has been falling in the global education rankings, reaching its lowest level ever in overall competitiveness in the most recent administration of the Program for International Student Assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant learning loss for students around the State, exacerbating the United States' decline compared to other countries. It would be appropriate to impose a moratorium while the Legislature considers bills that may impact the Student Learning Standards and that would focus on addressing learning loss. | In Committee |
| ACR31 | Applies to Congress for an Article V Convention of States to limit certain powers of the federal government and terms of office. | This Assembly concurrent resolution applies to Congress for the calling of an Article V Convention of the States limited to proposing amendments to the United States Constitution that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government and limit the terms of office for its officials. | In Committee |
| A526 | Directs BPU to conduct study to determine whether deployment of microgrids and generators will reduce length of power outages. | This bill directs the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to study, prepare, and submit, within six months of the enactment of the bill, to the Governor and to the Legislature a written report that is to contain findings and recommendations concerning whether the utilization of microgrids and the deployment of electric generators will assist in reducing the length of long-term power outages in this State. The BPU's report is to also provide recommendations for improvements to the resilience and reliability of the State's electric distribution system. In conducting the study, the BPU is to: 1) compare the general performance of this State's electric distribution system as compared to that of other states; 2) assess the impact of the utilization of microgrids and the deployment of electric generators on long-term power outages in other states; 3) consult with relevant persons and public and private entities in this State and other states that have utilized microgrids during power outages; 4) consult with relevant electric public utilities in this State and other states that have deployed electric generators to communities during power outages; 5) and consider the cost to ratepayers, municipalities, electric public utilities, and the State associated with the implementation of the findings and recommendations submitted pursuant to this bill. The bill defines "microgrid" as a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the electric grid, which can connect and disconnect from the electric grid to enable it to operate both connected to, or independent of, the electric grid. | In Committee |
| A531 | Establishes "Parents' Bill of Rights." | This bill establishes the "Parents' Bill of Rights." Under the provisions of this bill, the Legislature finds and declares that it is a fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children. The Legislature finds that important information relating to a minor child should not be withheld, either inadvertently or purposefully, from the child's parent, including information relating to the minor child's health, well-being, and education, while the minor child is in the custody of the school district. The Legislature finds it is necessary to establish a consistent mechanism for parents to be notified of information relating to the health and well-being of their minor children. The provides that the State, any of its political subdivisions, any governmental entity, or any other institution will not infringe on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of the parent's minor child without demonstrating that such action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling State interest and that such action is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means. Under the provisions of the bill, all rights are reserved to the parent of a minor child in this State, including, but not limited to, all of the following rights of the parent of a minor child in this State: (1) the right to direct the education and care of the parent's minor child; (2) the right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of the parent's minor child; (3) the right to apply to enroll the parent's minor child in a public school or, as an alternative to public education, a private school, including a religious school, a home education program, or any other available options permitted by law; (4) the right to enroll the parent's minor child in a school outside of the public school system if the school in which the parent's minor child is currently enrolled in is classified by the State Department of Education as consistently underperforming, as that term is defined by the State pursuant to the federal "Every Student Succeeds Act," Pub.L. 114-95; (5) the right to access and review all school records relating to the minor child; (6) the right to make health care decisions for the parent's minor child, unless otherwise prohibited by law; (7) the right to access and review all medical records of the parent's minor child, unless prohibited by law or if the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor child and a law enforcement agency or official requests that the information not be released; (8) the right to consent in writing before a biometric scan of the parent's minor child is made, shared, or stored; (9) the right to consent in writing before any record of the parent's minor child's blood or deoxyribonucleic acid is created, stored, or shared, except as may be required by law or authorized pursuant to a court order; (10) the right to consent in writing before the State or any its political subdivisions, any governmental entity, or any other institution make a video or voice recording of the parent's minor child unless such recording is made during or as part of a court proceeding or a forensic interview in a criminal or Department of Children and Families investigation, or to be used solely for the following purposes: (a) a safety demonstration, including the maintenance of order and discipline in the common areas of a school or on school transportation vehicles; (b) a legitimate academic or extracurricular activity; (c) regular classroom instruction; (d) security or surveillance of buildings or grounds; or (e) a photo identification card; and (11) the right to be notified promptly if an employee of the State, any of its political subdivisions, any other governmental entity, or any other institutions suspect that a criminal offense has been committed against the minor child, unless the incident has first been reported to law enforcement or the Department of Children and Families and notifying the parent would impede the investigation. This bill does not: (1) authorize the parent of a minor child in this State to engage in conduct that is unlawful or to abuse or neglect the parent's minor child in violation of any State or federal law; (2) condone, authorize, approve, or apply to a parental action or decision that would harm or end life; (3) prohibit a court of competent jurisdiction, a law enforcement officer, or an employee of a government agency that is responsible for child welfare from acting in their official capacity within the reasonable and prudent scope of their authority; or (4) prohibit a court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order that is otherwise permitted by law. The bill provides that an employee of the State, any of its political subdivisions, or any other governmental entity who encourages or coerces, or attempts to encourage or coerce, a minor child to withhold information from the child's parent may be subject to disciplinary action. This bill also provides that the parent of a minor child in this State has inalienable rights that are more comprehensive than those listed in this bill, unless such rights have been legally waived or terminated. This bill does not prescribe all the rights to the parent of a minor child in this State. Unless required by law, the rights of the parent of a minor child in this State may not be limited or denied. The bill is not be construed to apply to a parental action or decision that would harm or end life. This bill requires each district board of education, in consultation with the parents, teachers, and administrators in that district, to develop and adopt a policy to promote parental involvement in the district's public school system. The policy will include: (1) a plan for parental participation in schools to improve parent and teacher cooperation in areas such as homework, school attendance, and discipline; (2) a procedure for the parent to learn about the parent's minor child's course of study including the source of any supplemental education materials; (3) procedures for the parent to object to instructional materials and other materials used in the class, where such objection may be based on beliefs regarding morality, sex, and religion that such materials are harmful; (4) procedures for the parent to withdraw the parent's minor child out of the school district's comprehensive health education that relates to sex education or instruction regarding sexuality, sexual orientation, and sexual transitioning, if the parent provides a written objection to the minor child's participation, and for the parent to be notified in advance of such course content so that the parent may withdraw the parent's minor child from those portions of the course; (5) procedures for the parent to learn about the nature and purpose of clubs and activities offered at the minor child's school, including those that are extracurricular or part of the school curriculum; and (6) procedures for the parent to learn about the rights of parents including all of the following: (a) the right to review information concerning school choice options including open enrollment; (b) the right of the parent to exempt the minor child from immunizations; (c) the right of the parent to review Statewide, standardized assessment results; (d) the right of the parent to enroll the child in gifted or special education programs; (e) the right of the parent to inspect school district instructional materials; (f) the right of the parent to access information relating to the school district's policies for promotion or retention including high school graduation requirements; (g) the right of the parent to receive a school report card and be informed of the minor child's attendance requirements; (h) the right of the parent to access information relating to the State public education system, State standards, report card requirements, attendance requirements, and instruction materials requirements; (i) the right of the parent to participate in parent-teacher associations and organizations that are sanctioned by a district board of education or the Department of Education; (j) the right of the parent to enroll the parent's minor child in the local school within the child's school district; and (k) the right of the parent to opt out of any district-level data collection relating to the minor child not required by law. This bill requires each district board of education to provide the information required by the bill electronically or post such information on its Internet website. The bill provides that the parent of a minor child may request, in writing, from the school superintendent the information required by the bill. Within 10 days, the school superintendent will provide such information to the parent. If the school superintendent denies the parent's request for information or does not respond to the parent's request within 10 days, the parent may appeal the denial to the district board of education. The district board of education will place the parent's appeal on the agenda for its next public meeting, or as soon as practicable, if the agenda can no longer be amended. Except as otherwise provided by law, the bill prohibits a health care provider from providing, soliciting, or arranging to provide health care services or prescribe medicinal drugs to a minor child without first obtaining written parental consent. Except as otherwise provided by law, the bill prohibits a health care facility from allowing a medical procedure to be performed on a minor child in its facility without first obtaining written parental consent. The provisions of the bill will not apply to the performance of medical or surgical care and procedures by a hospital, or by a physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery, on a married person who is a minor or a pregnant person who is a minor, who has provided consent to the care or procedure pursuant to P.L.1965, c.217 (C.9:17A-1). The provisions of the bill will also not apply to services provided by a clinical laboratory, unless the services are delivered through a direct encounter with a minor child at the clinical laboratory. The bill provides that a health care provider or any other person who violates this bill will be subject to disciplinary action and will be guilty of a misdemeanor. | In Committee |
| A1800 | Establishes "Innovation Partnership"; provides funding for certain nonprofit partnerships to promote certain emerging technology businesses. | This bill establishes the "Innovation Partnership," (partnership) to be administered by the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (commission) and which is to include one or more independent nonprofit organizations (partners) either certified by or established and incorporated by the commission, working individually, in partnership with each other, and in partnership with the commission, to advance the development of emerging technology businesses in this State and to create a supportive and collaborative innovation ecosystem across New Jersey. This bill lists the goals and policies of the partners. The commission is to establish the exact geographical boundaries for the partners to focus their efforts, and the partners are to be responsible for implementing the following goals for the following regions: 1) the northern region of the State having a primary, but not exclusive, focus on financial information technology, cybersecurity, or a combination thereof; 2) the central region of the State having a primary, but not exclusive, focus on healthcare, life sciences, biotechnology, or a combination thereof; 3) the southern region of the State having a primary, but not exclusive, focus on agriculture, aviation, or a combination thereof; and 4) the shore region of the State, having a primary, but not exclusive, focus on renewable energy and autonomous vehicles. A nonprofit organization established as of the date of the bill's enactment and meeting one of the regional requirements may submit to the commission an application, in a form and manner determined by the commission, for certification as a partner. Once certified, a partner may apply to the commission, in a form and manner determined by the commission, to receive grant funds from the fund established pursuant to this bill. The commission, upon approving a grant application submitted by a partner, is to sign a grant agreement with the partner, which is to permit the partner to execute the goals and policies pursuant to this bill only if matched by private sector funds on a minimum basis to be established by the commission. In selecting and certifying a nonprofit organization as a partner, the commission is to give priority to a nonprofit organization with diverse leadership, organized with at least one location in a municipality that meets the criteria for State aid pursuant to State law. If the commission is unable to certify a nonprofit organization as a partner for a certain regional focus, pursuant to the bill, the commission is to establish and incorporate an independent nonprofit organization to serve as a partner for that particular regional focus. In appointing the board for the partner, the commission is to consider the ethnic, racial, and gender diversity of the community in which the partner is located. The commission may modify or revoke a partner's participation in the partnership if the commission determines the partner does not achieve the goals or does not implement the policies of this bill. Additionally, upon receipt of a grant, a partner is to implement the terms of the grant agreement. Failure to comply with the grant agreement is to result in the forfeiture of the grant. Lastly, this bill directs partners to annually submit certain information to the commission and the commission to annually issue a report to the Governor and the Legislature describing the activities of the commission and each partner. | In Committee |
| A3185 | Permits dogs as service and emotional support animals at State veterans' residential facilities. | This bill permits veterans to have dogs as service and emotional support animals at a State veterans' residential facility. Under federal law, service animals are permitted on federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) property with some restrictions. The federal regulation defines service animals as any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal are required to be directly related to the individual's disability. The federal regulation does not include emotional support animals in its definition of service animals; therefore, emotional support animals are not permitted on VA property. Under the bill, the State law is aligned with federal standards by permitting dogs as service animals at State veterans' residential facilities. The bill further expands beyond federal law to permit dogs as emotional support animals at State veterans' residential facilities. As veterans become increasingly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), health care providers are recommending an emotional support animal to many veterans. Under the bill, those veterans with emotional support needs will not be excluded from having a dog on State veterans' residential facility property. The bill prohibits animals other than service animals or emotional support animals on a State veterans' residential facility property unless the animal is present for law enforcement purposes or under the control of the Office of Research and Development in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill also requires a veteran accompanied by a service animal or emotional support animal to provide documentation with the following information: (1) the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal or emotional support animal, that lists the work or tasks the animal has been trained to perform; and (2) confirms the service animal or emotional support animal has had a current rabies vaccine as determined by State and local public health requirements, and current core canine vaccines and immunizations as dictated by local veterinary practice standards, which at minimum includes distemper, parvovirus, and adenovirus-2. Under the bill, State veterans' residential facility" means any State veterans' memorial home or Veterans Haven facility. | In Committee |
| A2699 | Requires distribution of State aid to certain municipalities located in whole or in part in the Highlands preservation area. | This bill would require the distribution of State aid to municipalities located in whole, or in part, in the Highlands preservation area of the Highlands Region. The Highlands Region was designated in the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), which controls and limits, as appropriate, development in the New Jersey Highlands, an essential source of drinking water for one-half of the State's population, covering portions of 88 municipalities in seven counties, through a regional approach to land use planning and more stringent environmental standards. The Highlands Region consists of a planning area and a preservation area. The law designated a preservation area of the New Jersey Highlands to be subject to stringent standards governing major development. As part of the "Highlands Water and Planning Protection Act," the Legislature included a 10-year State aid program to municipalities located in whole or in part in the Highlands preservation area, to provide these municipalities with funds for the vacant land that was subject to development restrictions. Due to State budgetary restrictions, the FY 2010 Appropriations Act was the last State budget that provided this aid. However, the land in the preservation area is still subject to the permanent development restrictions enacted in the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," and therefore, municipalities located in the preservation area have little ability to approve development projects that will provide property tax relief to property taxpayers. This bill is intended to provide a new, permanent State program to provide property tax relief to the taxpayers in those municipalities located in whole, or in part, in the preservation of the Highlands. This bill would establish the "Highlands Preservation Area Municipal Property Tax Relief Fund" in the General Fund as a special nonlapsing fund for the purpose of providing State aid to qualified municipalities pursuant to the bill. In each State fiscal year, the bill requires that there be credited from the "Highlands Protection Fund" to the "Highlands Preservation Area Municipal Property Tax Relief Fund" such sums as shall be necessary to provide State aid to qualified municipalities. A "qualified municipality" under the bill would be a municipality located entirely in the Highlands preservation area; or a municipality wherein, of the total municipal land area that is located in the Highlands Region, at least 60 percent of that land is located in the Highlands preservation area; and which has conformed its municipal master plan and development regulations to the Highlands regional master plan pursuant to the "Highlands Water and Planning Protection Act." Under the bill, every qualified municipality would be eligible for a distribution from the fund. The bill would set property tax year 2023 (calendar year 2023) as the base year for the calculation of the State aid to be provided under the bill. The bill would require the assessor of every qualified municipality to certify to the county tax board on or before December 1 annually, a report of the assessed value of each parcel of vacant land in the base year and the change in the assessed value of each such parcel in the current tax year attributable to successful appeals of assessed values of vacant land to the county tax board, or attributable to a revaluation approved by the director and implemented or a reassessment approved by the county board of taxation. Upon receipt of these reports, the county tax board would compute and certify to the director on or before December 20 of each year, in such manner as to identify for each qualified municipality the aggregate decline, if any, in the true value of vacant land, comparing the current tax year to the base year. The aggregate changes identified for each qualified municipality would constitute its valuation base. The State Treasurer would certify to each qualified municipality, on or before February 15, its property tax stabilization amount, and the State Treasurer would pay to each qualified municipality its State aid in two equal installments, pursuant to a schedule prescribed by the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs. The bill would require that, in the event the amount available in the "Highlands Preservation Area Municipal Property Tax Relief Fund" in any year is insufficient to pay the full amount to which each qualified municipality is entitled, the payments would be made from the Property Tax Relief Fund. | In Committee |
| A679 | Permits public and nonpublic schools to utilize security categorical aid to hire school security personnel. | This bill would permit a board of education to utilize security categorical aid to hire school security personnel. Under the bill, school security services that are provided to a nonpublic school under the provisions of the "Secure Schools for All Children Act" would include the hiring of school security personnel. Under the "School Funding Reform Act of 2008," school districts throughout the State receive a category of funding identified as security categorical aid. This bill would permit a board of education to utilize security categorical aid to hire school security personnel. Under the "Secure Schools for All Children Act," a board of education is required to adopt policies and procedures to provide students enrolled full-time in a nonpublic school within the district with security services, equipment, or technology to help ensure a safe and secure school environment. Current Department of Education Guidance concerning the "Secure Schools for All Children Act" includes the hiring of security guards as acceptable security service expenditures. This bill amends the "Secure Schools for all Children Act" to specify that school security services may include hiring of school security personnel. | In Committee |
| A2105 | Makes FY2023 supplemental appropriation of $17 million to DEP for grants for certain lake management activities. | This bill makes a one-time supplemental appropriation of $17 million for Fiscal Year 2023 to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from the General Fund. The bill directs the DEP to establish a program to use these funds for grants to assist qualified entities to pay certain costs associated with the management and maintenance of lakes for recreation and conservation purposes. The bill requires the DEP to develop criteria for the evaluation and ranking of applications to provide priority to projects submitted by qualified entities responsible for a lake with public access; and projects to improve water quality and increase recreational access and use of lakes, including projects to control nutrient levels in lakes in order to prevent future harmful algal blooms. The bill provides that a grant issued pursuant to the bill may be used for stormwater and nonpoint source pollution management activities, if the DEP determines that those activities would directly enhance, improve, or protect the use of a lake for recreation and conservation purposes. The bill defines "qualified entity" to mean: the Greenwood Lake Commission; the Lake Hopatcong Commission; a local government unit; an entity established pursuant to law or an entity established pursuant to ordinance by the municipalities surrounding a publicly-accessible lake for the management of the lake, including, but not limited to, the Deal Lake Commission or the Lake Topanemus Park Commission; or a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal taxation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. s.501 (c)(3) and whose mission is the management or maintenance of a publicly-accessible lake. | In Committee |
| A1363 | The "New Jersey Bleacher Safety Act." | The "New Jersey Bleacher Safety Act" would require stricter safety standards to be adopted for existing bleachers at places of public accommodation within the State. Each year, there are an average of 19,100 injuries to people in the United States, many of them children, directly attributable to falls from bleachers or unsafe conditions of bleachers. In the past twenty years, there have been at least 10 deaths related to falls from bleachers, four of them involving children under the age of 15. Recently in New Jersey, three-year old Adam J. Graham suffered severe injuries when he tumbled through a gap in the bleacher seating at a school athletic event. According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, falls from bleachers can occur when guardrails are missing from the backs or open sides of bleachers. Falls from bleachers also occur when there are large enough openings between components in the seating and the guardrails to permit a person to pass through them. Often the falls involve openings between the components of the seating, such as between the footboard and seat board, as was the case with Adam's fall, but other falls through spaces related to the guardrails have occurred as well. In addition to the risk of falls, some bleachers are dilapidated or poorly constructed, and are at risk of collapsing. Although the New Jersey State Uniform Construction Code (UCC) has incorporated standards for bleacher safety, these standards are applicable to new bleachers only, and do not require the retrofitting of existing bleachers with safety features to prevent falls or injuries. This bill would require the Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt, within six months of the effective date of the bill, safety standards for existing bleachers, which would involve replacement of these bleachers, or their retrofitting to make them safe. In promulgating the standards, the commissioner is directed by the bill to utilize the guidelines created by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for the retrofitting of existing bleachers, or to use standards for the retrofitting of bleachers developed by nationally or internationally recognized model code agencies. The commissioner is also directed by the bill to establish certification and inspection procedures. The bill requires a place of public accommodation, defined as a public or privately- owned sports or entertainment arena or park, gymnasium, auditorium, stadium, hall, special event center in a public park or other facility for public assembly, to replace or retrofit existing bleachers in compliance with the code. Governmental entities from which funding would be available for such purposes are required to comply immediately after regulations are adopted by the commissioner. An example of governmental entities which may have access to funding for such purposes would be school districts, which are eligible for funds from bond acts or other funding for school facilities. Governmental entities not having access to immediate funding would have one year from the date of the promulgation of the regulations requiring retrofitting to comply. Private or nonprofit entities would have two years to comply with the regulations. Entities would be required to post a warning notice on bleachers that have not yet been certified as being in compliance with the UCC for safety features. A bleachers that is not certified as in compliance with the State Uniform Construction Code by the end of the allotted time period (one year for governmental entities, two years for all others) will be required to have a notice posted in a conspicuous place forbidding its use until certification has occurred. | In Committee |
| A198 | Expands crime of human trafficking to include individuals who benefit financially. | The bill expands the reach of the statute by including those individuals who receive a "financial benefit" from participating in human trafficking without necessarily being an "organizer, supervisor, financier or manager" of the enterprise or scheme. Under the current law, a person commits the crime of human trafficking if he: (1) knowingly holds, recruits, lures, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains, by any means, another, to engage in unlawful sexual activity or to provide labor or services:? by threats of serious bodily harm or physical restraint against the person or any other person;? by means of any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that the person or any other person would suffer serious bodily harm or physical restraint;? by criminal coercion; or? by destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any passport, immigration-related document or other government document; or? by means of the abuse or threatened abuse of the law or legal process; or (2) receives anything of value from participation as an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager in a scheme or course of conduct which violates paragraph (1) of this subsection. | In Committee |
| A1301 | Requires State Planning Commission to adopt model buffer ordinances detailing different regulatory options for siting warehouses; allows conforming updates to municipal master plans and zoning ordinances. | This bill requires the State Planning Commission to prepare and adopt model buffer ordinances to be applicable to lots on or near the boundaries between different zoning districts detailing different regulatory options for the siting of warehouses, including design and setbacks. The bill also allows municipal master plans and zoning ordinances to be consistent and compatible with one or more of those model buffer ordinances. The bill also defines "warehouse" to mean a building that stores cargo, goods, or products of any type on a short-term or long-term basis for later distribution to wholesale or retail customers, and includes, but is not limited to, a distribution center, flex-warehouse, or any other type of warehouse. | In Committee |
| A1304 | Establishes Office of Citizen Involvement, Land Use, and Planning Advocate and transfers basic course in land use law and Office of Planning Advocacy to newly established office. | This bill establishes the Office of Citizen Involvement, Land Use, and Planning Advocate in the Department of State to provide information, guidance, and training to members of the public concerning land use law and planning, to: (1) increase public awareness of the impact that land use and zoning matters, including developments of regional impact, warehouses, and other similar projects, have on the lives of citizens of this State; (2) promote accountability, transparency, and advocacy in the State and local planning process; and (3) develop innovative ways to assist individuals and local government units with certain projects, including developments of regional impact and warehouses. The bill abolishes the Office of Planning Advocacy in the Department of State, and transfers the State programs and personnel, obligations, and duties pertaining to the Office of Planning Advocacy to the Office of Citizen Involvement, Land Use, and Planning Advocate (office). The bill requires the Secretary of State to appoint a Director of the office (director), who is required to: (1) create and maintain a database for, and provide information pertaining to, the planning, siting, construction, and maintenance of developments of regional impact, warehouses, and other similar projects, which would serve as a consolidated and centralized public information resource. The bill requires the director to advertise the information and resources provided by the office on the office's Internet website; (2) consult with the New Jersey Planning Officials related to the preparation and offering of the basic course in land use law and planning, keep records of the persons that have taken and have passed the required course; and provide for the removal of individuals from the local planning board and zoning board of adjustment who did not satisfy the requirements of the course, and for the notification of the governing body of the municipality of the names of the members on the local planning board or zoning board of adjustment that did not satisfy the requirements of the course; (3) maintain a list of the State personnel that review plans for the siting, construction, and maintenance of developments of regional impact, warehouses, and other similar projects; (4) create and maintain a list of information and questions that the public State and local officials are advised to ask developers to provide prior to the planning, siting, construction, and maintenance of developments of regional impact, warehouses, and other similar projects; (5) provide plain language guidance materials concerning the development process for members of the public; and (6) proactively assist communications and coordination between local officials and State offices concerning land use and zoning matters, developments of regional impact, warehouses, and other similar projects. The bill also requires the transfer of the funds available for the Office of Planning Advocacy to be transferred to the Office of Citizen Involvement, Land Use, and Planning Advocate, and requires the director, instead of the Commissioner of Community Affairs, to prepare and establish standards for the curriculum and administration of the basic course in land use law and planning. This bill is to take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, except that the Secretary of State is to be permitted to take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill. | In Committee |
| A525 | Allows electric public utilities to enter into agreements to place power restoration equipment on private property in anticipation of certain power outages. | This bill allows an electric public utility (utility) to enter into an agreement with an owner of private property to place the utility's power restoration equipment, as determined by the utility, on that private property for deployment in anticipation of a "sustained interruption" caused by a "major event" as those terms are defined in the bill. | In Committee |
| A2408 | Requires public schools to develop policy for emergency administration of nasal seizure rescue medication and use of manual vagus nerve stimulator on student with seizure disorder. | This bill requires a board of education to develop a policy in accordance with the guidelines established by the Department of Education for the emergency administration of nasal seizure rescue medication and the emergency use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator on a student with a seizure disorder. Pursuant to the policy, the school nurse is to have the primary responsibility for the administration of nasal seizure rescue medication. The certified school nurse is required to designate at least two additional employees of the school district who volunteer to administer the nasal seizure rescue medication and use a manual vagus nerve stimulator on a student when the school nurse is not physically present at the scene. The certified school nurse is required to determine that:· the designees have been properly trained;· the parents of the student consent in writing to the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication and use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator by the designees;· the parents are informed in writing that the district and its employees have no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication and the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator; and· the parents sign a statement acknowledging their understanding that the district has no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication and the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator. The policy developed by the school district is to require: (1) the transportation of the student to a hospital emergency room by emergency services personnel after the administration of the nasal seizure rescue medication, and if indicated in the emergency action plan after the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator. The student is to be evaluated and receive medical clearance in order to return to school; (2) an alternative plan in the case that a student's seizure action plan does not permit the administration of nasal seizure rescue medication or the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator by a designee; and (3) the parent to provide an ample supply of the prescribed nasal seizure rescue medication to the school nurse and to the designees. Alternatively, if provided for in the seizure action plan, the nasal seizure rescue medication may be permitted to be carried on the student's person. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, appropriate medical experts, and professional organizations representing school nurses, principals, and teachers, is required to establish and disseminate to each board of education guidelines for the development of a policy by a school district for the emergency administration of nasal seizure rescue medication and the use of a manual vagus nerve stimulator on students. The Departments of Education and Health are also required to jointly develop protocols, in consultation with the New Jersey State School Nurses Association, for the training of additional school employees as volunteer designees to administer the nasal seizure rescue medication and use a manual vagus nerve stimulator when the school nurse is not physically present. The bill requires the Department of Education to take appropriate action to ensure that each school district incorporates age-appropriate education on epilepsy and seizure disorders, consistent with the classroom education programs developed by the Epilepsy Foundation of America, at least once between kindergarten and third grade and at least once between grades six and 12. The bill will take effect on the first day of the 12th month next following the date of enactment, except that the Department of Education may take anticipatory administrative action to implement the bill's provisions. This delayed effective date will allow time for the development of training protocols for school employees designated by the certified school nurse to administer the nasal seizure rescue medication or use the manual vagus nerve stimulator when the school nurse is not present. | In Committee |
| A2615 | Increases distribution to municipalities from Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Fund over five years to restore municipal aid reductions; requires additional aid to be subtracted from municipal property tax levy. | This bill requires the distribution of additional State aid to municipalities under the "Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Act." Budget constraints required reductions in the amount of Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid (CMPTRA) distributed to all municipalities in Fiscal Years 2009, 2010, and 2011. Some municipalities also experienced reductions in their Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Aid (ETR Aid) distribution during that period. This supplemental funding would restore, over a five-year period, approximately $331 million in reductions to CMPTRA and ETR Aid. In Fiscal Year 2017, municipalities would receive an aid increase equal to 20% of the difference between their total payment of CMPTRA and ETR Aid in Fiscal Year 2008 and Fiscal Year 2012. Municipalities would receive equal increases in each of the following four fiscal years. The fully restored amount would be distributed beginning in State Fiscal Year 2021 and in each fiscal year thereafter. The total amount of aid to be restored to each municipality would be in addition to the total amount of CMPTRA and ETR Aid distributed to each municipality in Fiscal Year 2012. This legislation also extends the existing ETR Aid "poison pill" protection to ensure that each municipality received an aid amount not less than the combined payment of CMPTRA and ETR Aid to municipalities in Fiscal Year 2012 and the additional aid distributed under the bill. This bill also amends current law to require a municipality to subtract any additional amount of ETR aid it receives, pursuant to the bill, from its adjusted tax levy when computing that amount for its next fiscal year. By deducting the additional amount of ETR Aid from the previous year's levy, municipalities would be permitted to raise a lower amount of taxes through the levy for municipal purposes, thereby benefitting property taxpayers. | In Committee |
| ACR58 | Proposes constitutional amendment to increase amount of veterans' property tax deduction from $250 to $2,500 over four years. | If approved by the voters of the State, this proposed constitutional amendment would increase the amount of the veterans' property tax deduction from the current $250 to $2,500. The increase would occur over four years. Veterans who are honorably discharged from active service in a branch of the United States Armed Forces qualify for the deduction. A qualified veteran's surviving spouse would receive the deduction after the qualified veteran dies. The amendment would increase the amount of the deduction to $1,000 in tax year 2024, $1,500 in tax year 2025, $2,000 in tax year 2026, and $2,500 in tax year 2027, and every tax year thereafter. The voters of the State last approved an increase in the amount of the deduction in 1999, from $50 to $250, over four years. The amount of the deduction has been $250 since 2003. | In Committee |
| A972 | Prohibits imposition of builder's remedy in exclusionary zoning litigation. | This bill prohibits the imposition of a builder's remedy in exclusionary zoning litigation. The builder's remedy, as a method of achieving fair share housing, has been contrary to the public interest and public policy goals in that it resulted in the development of extraordinary amounts of market rate housing in densely populated regions while producing comparatively little affordable housing, to the overall detriment of specific communities and the State as a whole. Municipalities have attempted to navigate the rulings of the court for nearly four decades, but have been unable to adequately address the affordable housing needs of the State despite the threat of builder's remedy lawsuits. Under the bill, if a court determines that a municipality has failed to meet its obligation to provide a reasonable opportunity for the development of affordable housing, a court may impose a remedy other than a builder's remedy. For the purposes of the bill, "builder's remedy" means a court imposed remedy for a litigant who is an individual or a profit-making entity in which the court requires a municipality to utilize zoning techniques such as mandatory set-asides or density bonuses which provide for the economic viability of a residential development by including housing which is not for low and moderate income households. | In Committee |
| A967 | Requires COAH to administer affordable housing obligations of municipalities based on statewide obligation. | This bill would require that affordable housing obligations be calculated and administered at the State level. Affordable housing is an issue of Statewide concern and importance. It is also a highly complex issue that requires technical expertise, often ends up in litigation, and is expensive to administer. This bill would eliminate the current municipality-to-municipality patchwork approach to affordable housing. The bill would centralize administration of this issue in the State agency with the necessary Statewide policy perspective and technical expertise, and which can serve as a cost-effective, fair forum to address this issue - the Council on Affordable Housing (the "council"). Currently, affordable housing need is calculated at the regional level and fair share plans are created by municipalities. Under the bill, the council would calculate the affordable housing need of the entire State. The council would then select which municipalities will have a role to play in fulfilling this Statewide need and will assign them a fair share of this obligation. Such municipality would then submit a housing element that provides basic information on the current housing stock and properties suited for affordable housing development that could satisfy the municipal fair share. After receipt of the housing element, the bill requires the council to grant the municipality a substantive certification that shields it from exclusionary zoning suits. The council would next draft a fair share plan for the municipality that directs the municipality on how to satisfy its fair share obligation. The municipality would be required to adopt a fair share ordinance effectuating that fair share plan. The council would be required to engage in a mediation process if an objection is made to its fair share plan for a municipality. Any exclusionary zoning suit to a fair share plan for a municipality would have to be brought against the council, with the municipality having the option to be a party in the litigation. | In Committee |
| A1264 | Establishes crime of gang shoplifting. | This bill establishes the crime of gang shoplifting as a crime of the third degree. A person commits the crime of gang shoplifting if, in concert or participation with one or more other persons, the person enters the premises of a store or retail mercantile establishment and in an open and conspicuous manner: (1) purposely or knowingly takes possession of, carries away, transfers or causes to be carried away or transferred, any item displayed, held, stored, or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the possession, use, or benefit of the item or converting the item to the use of the person without paying to the merchant the full retail value thereof; or (2) purposely, knowingly, or recklessly tampers with tangible property within or on the premises of the store or retail mercantile establishment so as to endanger any person, or the property or premises of the store or retail mercantile establishment, including the damaging or destroying of any item on the premises of the store or retail mercantile establishment. A crime of the third degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. A person who commits gang shoplifting is required to minimum term of imprisonment of not less than one year, during which time the person is not eligible for parole. It is the intent of the sponsor to address the rise in flash mobs which organize the looting of stores in an open and conspicuous manner. | In Committee |
| A1111 | Requires certain commercial motor vehicles to be equipped with certain global positioning systems. | This bill requires a commercial motor vehicle operating upon the public highways of this State to be equipped with a global positioning system navigation program that provides information about upcoming highway infrastructure with low vertical clearance and weight restrictions and dynamic route directions that account for commercial motor vehicle restrictions. | In Committee |
| A969 | Requires COAH to calculate affordable housing obligations on Statewide basis. | This bill would change the calculation of affordable housing obligations to a Statewide perspective rather than a local level. In addition, under the bill, the Council on Affordable Housing would submit a report every five years on housing affordability. The report would calculate the ratio of the median cost, including property taxes, mortgage rates and payments, insurance, cost of utilities, and other necessary factors in the discretion of the council, to maintain the home to the median income for the State. This report would be used to update the growth-share calculation each time the council issues a report. | In Committee |
| A968 | Authorizes municipal challenge to non-redevelopment housing projects ordered by COAH unless order is based on exclusionary zoning; excludes flood-prone land from affordable housing vacant land analysis; provides housing obligation cap. | This bill allows a municipality to challenge an order by the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) to construct, or allow to be constructed, a non-redevelopment housing project on undeveloped land. The municipal challenge would be successful, unless the order by COAH is based on exclusionary zoning practices occurring in the municipality at the time the order is made. Additionally, this bill caps the number of units a municipality may have allocated as its fair share affordable housing obligation with regard to the size of the municipal population. Current law provides that no municipality shall be required to address a fair share of affordable housing units beyond 1,000 low and moderate income units within 10 years from the grant of substantive certification; except that a municipality may be allocated more than 1,000 units if, based upon an evidentiary hearing, it is found likely that the municipality, through its zoning powers, could create a realistic opportunity for more than 1,000 low and moderate income units within that 10-year period. For some municipalities in the State, this many additional units may increase the overall municipal population dramatically. In order to prevent the disparate impact this can create for municipalities with small populations, this bill provides that an allocation of units to a municipality as its fair share shall not exceed an amount that would result in an increase of the municipal population by more than five percent. Finally, this bill requires the exclusion of flood-prone land when computing a municipal adjustment of available land resources as part of the determination of a municipality's fair share affordable housing obligation. Currently, land may not be considered in determining a municipality's available land resources for affordable housing purposes if it contains any one of various special features, consisting of: (a) land owned by a government entity, and intended for a public purpose, (b) certain park land, open space and other land dedicated for conservation, (c) certain very small land parcels held in private ownership, (d) historic and architecturally important sites, (e) agricultural land with restricted development rights, (f) sites designated for active recreation, and (g) environmentally sensitive land where development is prohibited by law. This bill would also exclude from determinations of available land resources for affordable housing purposes any land that is (1) lower than the most recent "flood elevation determination," measured under federal standards, (2) lower than the applicable flood elevation standard required under regulations adopted pursuant to the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), or (3) within 100 feet of category one waters, as designated by the Department of Environmental Protection. As defined under 44 C.F.R.59.1, a "flood elevation determination" refers to a determination by the Federal Insurance Administrator of the water surface elevations of a "base flood," also understood as a flood level that has a one percent or greater chance of occurrence in any given year. This bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules and regulations to guide determinations of flood-prone lands by the first day of the seventh month next following enactment. This bill remains inoperative until the first day of the seventh month next following enactment. | In Committee |
| A970 | Establishes additional factors for municipal adjustment used in calculating fair share affordable housing obligations; provides population-based cap for these obligations. | This bill would establish additional specific factors to be used in calculating the municipal adjustment for a municipality's fair share affordable housing obligation. The bill also caps the number of units a municipality may have allocated as its affordable housing obligation with regard to the size of the municipal population. The additional factors to be used in calculating the municipal adjustment are as follows: (a) population of the municipality; (b) water supply and sewerage capacity in the municipality; (c) school class sizes and school services in the municipality; (d) public safety services in the municipality; and (e) public transportation and traffic in the municipality. The bill requires a municipal adjustment if maintaining approximately the same school class sizes would be a significant cost or if adequate school, public safety, and public transportation resources are not available or would be a significant cost to provide. A municipal adjustment would also have to be made if present traffic conditions would be substantially disrupted. The additional municipal adjustment factors required by the bill would require a more holistic examination of the actual state of affairs in a municipality, as well as of the potential impacts of additional development, in calculating its fair share affordable housing obligation. This will help ensure that reasonable numbers are arrived at that will not be disruptive to the quality of life and provision of local government services in a municipality. The bill's population cap would protect those municipalities that may face dramatic municipal population increases if mandated to add a large amount of additional affordable housing. Current law provides that no municipality shall be required to address a fair share of affordable housing units beyond 1,000 low and moderate income units within 10 years from the grant of substantive certification; except that a municipality may be allocated more than 1,000 units, if based upon an evidentiary hearing, it is found likely that the municipality through its zoning powers could create a realistic opportunity for more than 1,000 low and moderate income units within that 10-year period. In order to prevent the disparate impact such a potentially large affordable housing mandate can create for municipalities with small populations, this bill provides that an allocation of units to a municipality as its fair share shall not exceed an amount that would result in an increase of the municipal population by more than five percent. | In Committee |
| A701 | Permits person diagnosed with autism or communication disability to voluntarily make notation on driver's license, identification card, and in MVC registry; establishes program to train law enforcement officers in interactions with persons with autism or communication disabilities. | This bill concerns licenses and identification cards, and law enforcement officer interactions with persons who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or a communication disability. The bill defines "communication disability" as a condition involving an impairment in the person's ability to receive, send, process, or comprehend concepts or verbal, nonverbal, or graphic symbol systems, that may result in a primary disability or may be secondary to other disabilities. The bill permits the holder of a license or identification card to voluntarily indicate on the license or identification card that the holder has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or a communication disability. The designation is to be used by law enforcement officers or emergency medical professionals to identify and effectively communicate with a person diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or communication disability. The designation indicating that a person has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or a communication disability is to be given a restriction code that is required to be displayed on the person's driver's license or non-driver identification in accordance with procedures prescribed by the chief administrator. However, the holder of a basic driver's license or non-driver identification card who makes the voluntary designation is required to have the opportunity to remove the designation at any time. The bill also requires the Chief Administrator (chief administrator) of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to establish and maintain an automated Statewide registry accessible by law enforcement officials for the purposes of identifying and effectively communicating with a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or communication disability by a physician, psychologist, or any other health care professional. The registry is to be capable of storing information, which is to include, but not limited to: the license plate and registration information of any motor vehicle that the person intends to regularly operate; the emergency contact information of a person who can communicate on behalf of the person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or communication disability; and any other information that may assist a law enforcement officer when communicating with the person. Under the bill, a person may submit information to the registry through the MVC's website, by mail, or when completing an application for a driver's license, motor vehicle registration, or non-driver identification card. The information provided to the MVC for the registry is to only be accessible to employees of the commission who are designated by the chief administrator to collect and maintain the information and law enforcement officers during a motor vehicle stop or other law enforcement action. Information submitted to the MVC is not to be subject to public disclosure under the "Open Public Records Act" or the common law concerning access to public records or be discoverable as a government record by any person, entity, or governmental agency except in certain circumstances. The bill provides for certain limitations on civil liabilities and on criminal prosecution for the chief administrator and MVC employees designated by the chief administrator. The limitations on civil liabilities and on criminal prosecution are inapplicable if such failure resulted from a malicious purpose or a wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons or property. Lastly, the bill establishes a program that is to be developed by the Superintendent of the Division of State Police, in consultation with the chief administrator and the Commissioner of Human Services, to assist and train law enforcement officers to identify and effectively communicate with a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or a communication disability. The program is to also include training in de-escalation methods when interacting with a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or a communication disability, proper utilization of the registry established pursuant to this bill, and any other information, as recommended by the Commissioner of Human Services, that may be useful to law enforcement officers when interacting with a person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or a communication disability. The program is to be made available annually to every county and municipal law enforcement agency in the State. The bill clarifies when certain government officials may take anticipatory action to implement the provisions of the bill, and further clarifies that a holder of a driver's license or non-driver identification card who submits information to the registry is to have the opportunity to revise the information in the registry. | In Committee |
| AR51 | Adopts articles of impeachment concerning Robert Asaro-Angelo, Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development. | This Assembly Resolution adopts articles of impeachment in the matter of Robert Asaro-Angelo, Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and provides for the presentation of articles to the Senate, and impeaches Robert Asaro-Angelo. In light of his record of failing to address the ongoing unemployment crisis in New Jersey, failure to take reasonable measures to expeditiously process and pay unemployment claims and address unemployment, including the failure to open the One-Stop Career Centers to the public for in-person services, violation of the public trust, and his overall failure to perform the duties of his office, it is altogether fitting and proper and within the public interest for the General Assembly to adopt articles of impeachment against Robert Asaro-Angelo, and present the articles to the New Jersey Senate in accordance with New Jersey Constitution, Article VII, Section III, paragraph 2. | In Committee |
| A426 | Repeals law that prohibits certain establishments from providing or selling various single-use products to customers. | This bill repeals sections 1 through 9 of P.L.2020, c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 through C.13:1E-99.134), which currently does the following: (1) prohibits certain establishments from providing or selling various single-use products, such as plastic carryout bags, paper carryout bags, polystyrene foam service products, and plastic straws, to customers; (2) establishes penalties for noncompliance; (3) establishes a Plastics Advisory Council within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); (4) requires the Department of State, in consultation with the DEP, to develop a program to assist businesses in complying with the law; (5) and requires the DEP to develop rules and regulations as necessary to implement the law. By repealing this law, certain establishments throughout the State would be permitted to provide and sell various single-use products to customers. Specifically, stores and food service business would be permitted to provide or sell single-use plastic carryout bags to customers; food banks and food pantries would be permitted to provide single-use plastic carryout bags to customers; grocery stores would be permitted to provide or sell single-use paper carryout bags to customers; food service businesses would be permitted to provide or sell food in a polystyrene foam food service product; the sale of polystyrene food service products would be permitted; and food service businesses would be permitted to provide single-use plastic straws to customers without requiring the customer to request a single-use plastic straw. This bill also amends section 5 of P.L.2002, c.128 (C.13:1E-217) to reflect the repeal of P.L.2020, c.117 by deleting language added to that section in P.L.2020, c.117. | In Committee |
| A1298 | Establishes grant program in Department of State for preservation of certain Revolutionary War sites; appropriates funds. | This bill would require the Department of State to establish a program to provide grants to local government units and qualifying tax exempt not for profit entities to support the preservation, expansion, and management of Revolutionary War Battlefields, encampments, and skirmish sites in New Jersey that are endangered due to development. Under the bill, the department is to develop criteria for evaluating applications and award grants to applicants who submit specific plans and objectives for the preservation, expansion, or management of Revolutionary War Battlefields, encampments, or skirmish sites in New Jersey that are endangered due to development. The bill also appropriates $50 million from the General Fund to the Department of State to implement the provisions of the bill. According to the United States' National Park Service, New Jersey hosted more battles and skirmishes during the American Revolution than any of the other 13 original states. New Jersey's Revolutionary War heritage is a source of pride for its residents and the nation. The State's Revolutionary War Era battlefields, encampments, and skirmish sites deserve every protection possible so that future generations may continue to celebrate and gain inspiration from our history. | In Committee |
| A2255 | Requires boards of education to ensure that all staff are trained in care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders every two years. | This bill amends current law concerning the provision of care for students with epilepsy and seizure disorders enrolled in public school to require that all staff employed by a board of education be trained in the care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders once every two years. Under "Paul's Law," P.L.2019, c.290, the board of education of a school district is required to coordinate the care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders. Parents or guardians seeking epilepsy or seizure disorder care for a student while at school are required to annually submit to the school nurse a seizure action plan for the student and provide written authorization for the provision of epilepsy or seizure disorder care. The school nurse is then required to develop an individualized health care plan and an individualized emergency health care plan for the student and update the plans annually. In addition, boards of education are required to ensure that all staff, including staff working with school-sponsored programs outside of the regular school day, are trained in the care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders. However, there is currently no requirement that this training be conducted at regular intervals. This bill would require that all school staff undergo training in the care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders every two years. | In Committee |
| A715 | Provides research and development tax credit under gross income tax. | This bill allows taxpayers subject to the New Jersey gross income tax to claim a credit for research and development (R&D) expenses and payments in the same way that taxpayers subject to the corporation business tax may claim the credit. The credit is based on the federal R&D tax credit, and is intended to incentivize R&D spending, which will stimulate technological and economic growth in New Jersey. | In Committee |
| A971 | Prohibits affordable housing obligation exemptions for urban aid municipalities. | This bill would revise the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.), to prohibit any categorical affordable housing obligation exemption for municipalities that are eligible for the Municipal (Urban) Aid Program. Prior rules of the Council on Affordable Housing excluded these municipalities from providing any contribution toward a region's affordable housing need. Those exemptions, however, can lead to undue development burdens on the other municipalities in the region. Additionally, directing more affordable housing development to urban municipalities would help minimize urban sprawl and would direct development to areas that already have extensive infrastructure in place, allowing for more cost-effective accommodation of new development. | In Committee |
| A977 | Indexes for inflation taxable income brackets under New Jersey gross income tax. | This bill indexes for inflation the taxable income brackets under the New Jersey gross income tax. This adds to the State personal income tax a common-sense taxpayer protection called inflation indexing that has been provided under the federal income tax since the 1980s. Inflation indexing means that tax brackets are revised annually to reflect nominal price and wage increases that result from inflation. When tax brackets are not indexed for inflation it results in what is called "bracket creep," which is an increase in effective tax rates caused by inflation. Higher income can bump a taxpayer into the next tax bracket, even if that higher income is merely keeping pace with inflation. A lack of inflation adjustment can also push more of a taxpayer's income into the highest bracket for which they qualify. The final result is a tax increase that occurs without any legislation being passed. Indexing addresses this by altering each bracket level each year by the level of annual inflation. Under this bill the inflation adjustment for taxable income brackets is the national consumer price index for all urban consumers as prepared by the United States Department of Labor. This is the same measure of inflation that is used for indexing the taxable income brackets under the federal Internal Revenue Code. The bill compares an annual inflation measure from the year prior to the one for which taxes will be imposed to a base year measure from the year prior to the one in which the bill is enacted. This delay allows the Director of the Division of Taxation to determine the adjusted amounts when the tax year begins. | In Committee |
| A1627 | Allows New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling to conduct examinations at school of cosmetology and hairstyling during public health emergency or state of emergency. | This bill allows a school of cosmetology and hairstyling licensed by the board to be used by the board to conduct required examinations for licensure during a public health emergency or state of emergency. The bill prohibits a student from sitting for an examination at the school in which the student is enrolled. As a condition for licensure, the board conducts examinations for applicants for a license to practice barbering, beauty culture, cosmetology and hairstyling, manicuring or as a hair braiding specialist, skin care specialist, or teacher of cosmetology and hairstyling. | In Committee |
| A197 | Provides gross income tax deduction for amounts paid to taxpayers for sale of certain real property interests for conservation purposes. | This bill provides for a gross income tax deduction for amounts paid to taxpayers in exchange for their sale of certain real property interests for conservation purposes. The New Jersey gross income tax provides a deduction for a charitable, qualified conservation contribution of real property interests for land preservation purposes modeled on the similar federal income tax deduction which covers full land interest sales and restricted land use easements. But land interest sales in New Jersey to various conservation programs for which a purchase price is paid to the New Jersey taxpayer can result in taxable gains for those New Jersey sellers who need to garner some investment income from these sales. To allow a deduction for these transfers with preservation or conservation restrictions on the real estate can prevent developers from buying up environmentally valuable land in this State and benefit both the taxpayer and the residents of the State at large. The bill will allow the deductions for both parts of some mixed transfers referred to as bargain sales in which there is both a charitable donation aspect and a cash purchase payment for less than the land's fair market value (FMV). The donation value is the difference between the FMV and the cash payment. In a bargain sale, a real estate owner is both a seller (for the cash portion) and a donor (for the donated portion) of the real estate interest. The bill will also allow a deduction for full market value sales to conservation organization which include certain governmental programs and non-profit run preservation programs. These programs will include but not be limited to those run by a governmental unit, charitable trust, foundation or charitable non-profit organization that participates in a Green Acres program, Blue Acres program, farmland preservation program, historic preservation program, the Highlands Transfer Development Rights Program, a park or forestry or an open space and recreation space preservation or conservation program or a wildlife, hunting or fishing conservation and restoration program. | In Committee |
| A398 | Creates offense of making false child abuse report; permits assessment of penalty. | This bill makes it a crime of the third degree to knowingly or willfully make a false report of child abuse. A crime of the third degree is ordinarily punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. Also, the bill permits the assessment of an additional civil penalty of up to $10,000, payable to the State Treasurer for use by the Department of Children and Families. | In Committee |
| A5772 | The "Uniform Electronic Wills Act"; authorizes electronic wills. | The "Uniform Electronic Wills Act"; authorizes electronic wills. | Introduced |
| Bill | Bill Name | Motion | Vote Date | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1277 | Establishes centralized directory for affordable housing, and housing for senior citizens and veterans. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S862 | Requires DOT to provide additional information in annual report on pavement condition; makes report available to public. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| SJR30 | Designates June 23 of each year as "International Widows' Day." | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S1439 | Requires health benefits coverage for additional orthotic and prosthetic appliances under certain circumstances; requires coverage for orthotic and prosthetic appliances obtained through podiatrists. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S1400 | "Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act"; provides alternative process for handling partition actions filed in court concerning real property with multiple owners, at least one of whom had acquired title from relative. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| AJR62 | Designates first week of May of each year as "Children's Mental Health Awareness Week." | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3008 | Requires certain health care facilities to offer lactation counseling and consultations to persons who have given birth. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3361 | Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or industrialized buildings or manufactured homes. | Assembly Floor: Concur in Senate Amendments | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A1996 | Establishes requirements to evaluate certain people who are pregnant and who have given birth for preeclampsia. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3036 | "Swift Access For Emergency Response Actions Preservation Program (SAFER APP)"; authorizes Attorney General to order turn-by-turn navigation systems to reroute vehicular traffic under certain conditions. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A913 | Authorizes medical cannabis for treatment of sickle cell anemia. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3157 | Requires DMVA create Bereavement Counseling Program for family members and volunteer caregivers of certain veterans. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A2415 | Requires Silver Alert System receive same broadcast alerts as Amber Alert System. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| AJR56 | Designates May of each year as "Older Americans Month" in New Jersey. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S2332 | Allows complaint for guardianship of minor to be filed six months before minor reaches age 18 under certain circumstances; establishes certain standards for filing guardianship complaints. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3424 | Establishes certain program requirements for school counselor certification; outlines role and duties of school counselor; requires professional development for school counselors; establishes position of School Counselor Liaison in DOE. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3759 | Prohibits internet sale of lottery tickets by State Lottery Commission. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S2886 | Requires pharmacies to provide certain information regarding insulin manufacturer assistance programs. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3941 | Changes classification of State Investigators in civil service. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A3981 | Subjects certain rooming and boarding houses to municipal land use regulations; requires owners and operators of cooperative sober living residences to submit certain approvals with license applications. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4178 | Authorizes State Treasurer to grant temporary deed of easement in Borough of Sea Girt in Monmouth County. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4276 | Requires DOH to use Basic Screening Survey to access oral health in children. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| AJR171 | Celebrates career of New Jersey resident John Sterling. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4331 | Establishes licensure for cosmetic retail services. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4535 | Concerns State regulation of cooperative sober living residences and boarding houses generally; appropriates $100,000. | Assembly Floor: Concur Governor Recommendations | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4562 | Allows State, municipality, and county to implement automatic enrollment of their employees in deferred compensation plans. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A4618 | Requires official inspection facility employees covered by collective bargaining agreement to be offered employment following contract renewal or award of new contract; requires collective bargaining agreement to be binding in certain cases. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4652 | Establishes offense of inciting public brawl; upgrades penalty for disorderly conduct in certain circumstances. | Assembly Floor: Table Motion | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A4652 | Establishes offense of inciting public brawl; upgrades penalty for disorderly conduct in certain circumstances. | Assembly Floor: Concur Governor Recommendations | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A4767 | Limits regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in menstrual products. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4763 | Requires development of educational fact sheet on water safety for public and nonpublic schools; requires DOE to maintain list of locations providing swim lessons. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4753 | Requires hospitals and birthing facilities to request new parents watch water safety video prior to discharge. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4762 | Designates May of each year as "Water Safety Month" in NJ; encourages DOE to provide resources on water safety. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4857 | Extends anti-SLAPP protections to complainants of sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4854 | Modifies method of allocating State aid for providing auxiliary and remedial services to nonpublic school students. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4899 | Limits amount of residential rental property application fee; establishes penalty. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A4913 | Establishes certain State funding preferences for municipalities that enhance opportunities to develop housing. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| S3787 | Requires municipal tax collectors who obtain payments in lieu of taxes under "Long Term Tax Exemption Law" to transmit county portion directly to county. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A4969 | Ensures boards of elections have discretion to make initial determination of validity of cast ballots; requires Secretary of State to establish uniform guidelines for assessing validity of ballots. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A4986 | Codifies early language instruction program for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind children in DHS. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S3850 | Permits county boards of elections to extend distance within which electioneering is prohibited. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5017 | Exempts certain personal information collected by insurance-support organizations from certain requirements concerning notification and disclosure of personal data. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S3928 | Limits general application of certain consumer contracts. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S3961 | Requires public and certain nonpublic schools to offer no-fee option to parents for making school lunch and other payments; requires payment processing platforms used by certain schools to provide users with information on user fees. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5170 | Requires State to purchase certain unused tax credits issued under New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A5211 | Establishes New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities Initiative Act. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5264 | Requires establishment of automated platform to expedite construction code approval of applications to install residential solar energy systems. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| S4121 | Amends Fiscal Year 2025 annual appropriations act to assign distribution of funding for Community Security Initiatives to Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5358 | Revises New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| S4162 | Limits use or disclosure of certain education records. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5378 | Modifies provisions of Cultural Arts Incentives Program; eliminates Community-Anchored Development Program. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A5395 | Requires cancellation option for any subscription service and establishes certain standards pertaining to use of negative option features. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5424 | Promotes housing availability and prevents speculation by imposing fee for institutional ownership of certain unproductive residential property. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A5442 | Requires BPU members to have certain experience and complete certain training. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5432 | Establishes standards for determining an unconscionable rent increase; excludes from public access landlord tenant records in certain circumstances. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A5435 | Requires Division of Housing and Community Resources in DCA and applicable State agencies and nonprofits to establish a consolidated application for residential utility assistance programs. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5466 | Requires BPU to study effects of data centers on electricity costs. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A5463 | Requires electric public utilities to submit annual report on voting to BPU. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A5463 | Requires electric public utilities to submit annual report on voting to BPU. | Assembly Floor: Table Motion | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| A5545 | Authorizes soil conservation districts to have more than five supervisors. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5598 | Modifies requirements to obtain licensure in public accountancy. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5572 | Establishes quorum standards for professional licensing entities under certain circumstances. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5606 | Amends Fiscal Year 2025 annual appropriations act to clarify distribution of Meals on Wheels Program grant to Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5618 | Requires Administrative Office of the Courts to collect and publish statistical information about consumer debt lawsuits. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Yea |
| A5733 | Provides for State agency reviews and increases of income thresholds for residential customers to participate in certain utility bill payment assistance and energy efficiency programs. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Nay |
| AR193 | Affirms support for SNAP and program's progress in reducing hunger among vulnerable populations in New Jersey. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 05/22/2025 | Abstain |
| S862 | Requires DOT to provide additional information in annual report on pavement condition; makes report available to public. | Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee: Reported with Amendments | 05/08/2025 | Yea |
| A1423 | Requires MVC to conduct unscheduled surprise inspections of certain school buses. | Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/08/2025 | Yea |
| A2596 | Requires DOT to provide additional information in annual report on pavement condition; makes report available to public. | Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee: Reported with Amendments | 05/08/2025 | Yea |
| A4618 | Requires official inspection facility employees covered by collective bargaining agreement to be offered employment following contract renewal or award of new contract; requires collective bargaining agreement to be binding in certain cases. | Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/08/2025 | Yea |
| A5612 | Concerns parking violations that obstruct NJT bus operations and bicycle lanes in certain circumstances. | Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/08/2025 | Nay |
| A5623 | Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend certain sums to make loans for transportation infrastructure projects for FY2026; makes appropriation. | Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/08/2025 | Abstain |
| A4844 | Requires BPU to establish beneficial building electrification and decarbonization program and requires certain entities to submit plans to implement individual beneficial building electrification and decarbonization programs. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported with Amendments | 05/05/2025 | Nay |
| AJR216 | Directs BPU to investigate PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.'s Reliability Pricing Model; directs State to promote affordable energy practices and to urge PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. to implement certain reforms. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/05/2025 | Nay |
| A5438 | "Public Utility Fair Profit Act"; requires public utilities to take certain actions regarding excess profits and directs fines for violations to fund utility assistance programs. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/05/2025 | Yea |
| A5442 | Requires BPU members to have certain experience and complete certain training. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported with Amendments | 05/05/2025 | Yea |
| A5436 | Requires BPU to determine and consider lowest reasonable return on equity before approving electric, gas, and water public utility base rate cases. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/05/2025 | Nay |
| A5466 | Requires BPU to study effects of data centers on electricity costs. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported with Amendments | 05/05/2025 | Yea |
| A5464 | Prohibits BPU from approving electric public utility rate increase without full rate review. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported Favorably | 05/05/2025 | Yea |
| A5517 | Directs BPU to study feasibility of developing small modular reactors Statewide. | Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee: Reported with Amendments | 05/05/2025 | Yea |
| S1548 | Requires school districts to adopt policies concerning student use of sunscreen and sun-protective clothing at school and school-sponsored functions. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| S2236 | Exempts nursing mothers from jury duty. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| S1320 | Requires certain information be included in certain contracts with licensed public adjusters. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A3340 | Clarifies which health care professional may provide documentation to school district of need for home instruction due to student's health condition. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A3025 | Exempts poll workers wages from affecting unemployment compensation. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Nay |
| AJR67 | Designates last week of April of each year as "Reentry Week." | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A1211 | Upgrades criminal penalties for use or possession of payment card scanning device; requires merchant to take reasonable safety measures to prevent scanning of payment card. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A3283 | Directs certain unclaimed electric, gas, and water public utility deposits in Unclaimed Utility Deposits Trust Fund and societal charge revenues to be paid to Statewide nonprofit public utility assistance organizations meeting certain eligibility criteria. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Nay |
| A1973 | Establishes requirements to evaluate certain people who are pregnant and who have given birth for endometriosis. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A1715 | Requires public institution of higher education to invite Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey on institution's campus. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A1700 | Requires DOH to establish public awareness campaign and develop policies and procedures to promote recognition and treatment of perinatal anxiety. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A1825 | Establishes certain guidelines for SHBP, SEHBP, and Medicaid concerning step therapy protocols. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A2115 | Requires public transportation employees and certain motorbus operators to complete training course on handling and responding to suspected human trafficking; requires inclusion of certain content in certain courses. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A1389 | Requires seizure of ammunition and certain firearm components in response to domestic violence restraining order or conviction. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Nay |
| A3540 | Establishes criminal penalties for production or dissemination of deceptive audio or visual media, commonly known as "deepfakes." | Assembly Floor: Concur Governor Recommendations | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A3541 | Establishes legislative internship program. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| S2594 | Appropriates $28,670,924 in 2003 and 1992 bond act monies for loans for dam restoration and repair projects and inland waters projects. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A3598 | Requires patient to receive notification of abnormality in chest x-ray; designated as Claudia's Law. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Nay |
| A3732 | Establishes third degree crime for certain trespasses involving victim of domestic violence. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| A3734 | Permits court to order transfer of billing responsibility for, and rights to, wireless telephone number to certain victims of domestic violence or stalking. | Assembly Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 03/24/2025 | Yea |
| State | District | Chamber | Party | Status | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NJ | New Jersey Assembly District 25 | Assembly | Republican | In Office | 01/09/2024 | |
| NJ | New Jersey Assembly District 26 | Assembly | Republican | Out of Office | 01/11/2022 | 01/12/2024 |