Legislator
Legislator > Paul Moriarty
State Senator
Paul Moriarty
(D) - New Jersey
New Jersey Senate District 04
In Office - Started: 01/09/2024
contact info
Turnersville Office
129 Johnson Road
Suite 1
Turnersville, NJ 08012
Suite 1
Turnersville, NJ 08012
Phone: 856-232-6700
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4113 | Prohibits sports wagering partnerships at public institutions of higher education. | Prohibits sports wagering partnerships at public institutions of higher education. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| A3361 | Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or industrialized buildings or manufactured homes. | Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or industrialized buildings or manufactured homes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3302 | 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. | In Committee |
| S3812 | Removes certain limitations on receipt of retirement or death benefits under PFRS under certain circumstances. | Removes certain limitations on receipt of retirement or death benefits under PFRS under certain circumstances. | In Committee |
| S3858 | Requires school bus personnel members to call 911 emergency line in potential life-threatening emergencies; requires certain school buses transportating students with disabilities to be equipped with certain safety features; makes appropriation. | Requires school bus personnel members to call 911 emergency line in potential life-threatening emergencies; requires certain school buses transporting students with disabilities to be equipped with certain safety features; makes appropriation. | Crossed Over |
| S3877 | Requires cancellation option for any subscription service and establishes certain standards pertaining to use of negative option features. | Requires cancellation option for any subscription service and establishes certain standards pertaining to use of negative option features. | In Committee |
| S4128 | Requires enforcing agency to conduct inspection of construction in specified time window. | This bill requires an enforcing agency to conduct an inspection of construction in a two and a half hour time window (time window); establishes a complaint process for an owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work to file a complaint on the Department of Community Affairs' (department) Internet website for violations of the bill; and authorizes the department to, after confirmation of a violation or violations, take corrective action, including the issuance of penalties, pursuant to the State Uniform Construction Code Act. Specifically, the bill requires an enforcing agency to notify, in writing, the owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work, of the time window, during which the enforcing agency will conduct the inspection. The bill requires the notice to be provided within 24 hours of receiving a request for an inspection, and not later than 24 hours prior to the start of a time window set for an inspection. The enforcing agency and inspector would be subject to a complaint, brought at the discretion of the owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work, which would be filed on the department's Internet website, if the enforcing agency:§ fails to perform the inspection within the time window;§ fails to provide notice that the enforcing agency is unable to perform a requested or scheduled inspection;§ fails to perform inspections on the dates of, or during the time windows for, inspections on repeated instances;§ cancels an inspection on repeated instances sufficient to notably disrupt construction or completion; or§ is delinquent in the discharge of the enforcing agency's duties pursuant to the State Uniform Construction Code Act or the State Uniform Construction Code. The bill requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs to establish a complaint system, and in response to a complaint, after the department's confirmation of the violation or violations, the bill requires the department to take corrective action against the enforcing agency, including the issuance of penalties. Further, the bill requires the enforcing agency to notify the owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work no less than 24 hours prior to the start of the time window, that the enforcing agency is unable to perform the inspection within the allowed timeframes. The bill also requires each enforcing agency to establish a process for ensuring that the enforcing agency performs the inspection within the time window, or provides notice 24 hours prior to the start of the time window. This bill would take effect on the first day of the third month following the date of enactment, except the Commissioner of Community Affairs would be permitted to take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill. | In Committee |
| S862 | Requires DOT to provide additional information in annual report on pavement condition; makes report available to public. | Requires DOT to provide additional information in annual report on pavement condition; makes report available to public. | Passed |
| S1067 | Directs DHS to conduct landscape analysis of available mental health services. | Directs DHS to conduct landscape analysis of available mental health services. | Vetoed |
| 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. | Passed |
| S3309 | Establishes "Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act"; revises motor vehicle franchise agreements. | Establishes "Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act"; revises motor vehicle franchise agreements. | Passed |
| S1403 | Requires employer or contractor engaged in work for public body to submit payroll records to DOLWD. | Requires employer or contractor engaged in work for public body to submit payroll records to DOLWD. | Passed |
| A5049 | Removes certain limitations on receipt of retirement or death benefits under PFRS under certain circumstances. | Removes certain limitations on receipt of retirement or death benefits under PFRS under certain circumstances. | Passed |
| A1682 | Requires State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards pertaining to labor movement; requires school districts to provide instruction on labor movement. | Requires State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards pertaining to labor movement; requires school districts to provide instruction on labor movement. | Passed |
| SJR154 | 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. | This joint resolution respectfully: (1) directs the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to investigate PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.'s (PJM) Reliability Pricing Model; and (2) directs the State of New Jersey to collaborate with neighboring states to promote affordable energy practices and to urge PJM to implement market reforms and expeditiously review new electricity generation applications. PJM is the regional transmission organization responsible for coordinating the movement of electricity and ensuring reliable and cost-effective energy distribution in New Jersey, several other states, and the District of Columbia. One of PJM's responsibilities is to administer a capacity market to ensure adequate resources exist on the grid to maintain reliability at the lowest possible cost through a competitive auction. The rising cost of capacity in PJM's capacity market auctions, which contributes to the overall increase in electricity bills for ratepayers, raises concerns about the alignment of capacity prices with the principles of affordability and transparency outlined in New Jersey's "Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act". In addition, delays in PJM's interconnection queue have prevented new electric generation resources from becoming operational in a timely manner. As a result, these new resources, which are needed to maintain reliability at low costs, will be unable to compete in PJM's capacity market auctions in the near future. The BPU has been working to incentivize the development of new generation resources to help meet growing energy demand and thereby prevent increases in energy and capacity prices. The BPU has also been actively working to protect ratepayers from price increases and coordinating with other PJM states to push for capacity market reforms. The BPU's initiatives, led by Governor Murphy, are accompanied by the actions of consumer advocates, who have furthered the region's efforts to reduce prices through additional complaints at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which the BPU has pledged to support. | Passed |
| S2335 | Requires school districts to provide instruction on history of Latinos and Hispanics as part of implementation of New Jersey Student Learning Standards. | Requires school districts to provide instruction on history of Latinos and Hispanics as part of implementation of New Jersey Student Learning Standards. | Passed |
| S3041 | Prohibits cooperative from receiving public works contract when cooperative-approved vendor fails to pay prevailing wage; concerns cooperative purchasing agreements with other states; and permits contracting units to award certain indefinite contracts. | Prohibits cooperative from receiving public works contract when cooperative-approved vendor fails to pay prevailing wage; concerns cooperative purchasing agreements with other states; and permits contracting units to award certain indefinite contracts. | Passed |
| A5130 | Requires enforcing agency to conduct inspection of construction in specified time window. | This bill requires an enforcing agency to conduct an inspection of construction in a two and a half hour time window (time window); establishes a complaint process for an owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work to file a complaint on the Department of Community Affairs' (department) Internet website for violations of the bill; and authorizes the department to, after confirmation of a violation or violations, take corrective action, including the issuance of penalties, pursuant to the State Uniform Construction Code Act. Specifically, the bill requires an enforcing agency to notify, in writing, the owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work, of the time window, during which the enforcing agency will conduct the inspection. The bill requires the notice to be provided within 24 hours of receiving a request for an inspection, and not later than 24 hours prior to the start of a time window set for an inspection. The enforcing agency and inspector would be subject to a complaint, brought at the discretion of the owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work, which would be filed on the department's Internet website, if the enforcing agency:§ fails to perform the inspection within the time window;§ fails to provide notice that the enforcing agency is unable to perform a requested or scheduled inspection;§ fails to perform inspections on the dates of, or during the time windows for, inspections on repeated instances;§ cancels an inspection on repeated instances sufficient to notably disrupt construction or completion; or§ is delinquent in the discharge of the enforcing agency's duties pursuant to the State Uniform Construction Code Act or the State Uniform Construction Code. The bill requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs to establish a complaint system, and in response to a complaint, after the department's confirmation of the violation or violations, the bill requires the department to take corrective action against the enforcing agency, including the issuance of penalties. Further, the bill requires the enforcing agency to notify the owner, agent, or other responsible person in charge of work no less than 24 hours prior to the start of the time window, that the enforcing agency is unable to perform the inspection within the allowed timeframes. The bill also requires each enforcing agency to establish a process for ensuring that the enforcing agency performs the inspection within the time window, or provides notice 24 hours prior to the start of the time window. This bill would take effect on the first day of the third month following the date of enactment, except the Commissioner of Community Affairs would be permitted to take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill. | Passed |
| S2951 | Authorizes provision of monetary awards to whistleblowers who report State tax law violations committed by employers in construction industry. | This bill requires the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to provide monetary awards to whistleblowers who report tax law violations committed by employers in the construction industry. The bill defines "employer in the construction industry" as an employer engaging in any activity related to the erection, construction, alteration, demolition, repair or maintenance of buildings, structures, bridges, highways, roadways, dams, tunnels, sewers, underground buildings or structures, pipelines or ducts and all other construction projects or facilities. Under the bill, if the director proceeds with an administrative or judicial action against an employer in the construction industry and determines that the action is based on specific and credible information brought to the director by an individual, the director is required to provide that individual an award of at least 15 percent, but not more than 30 percent, of the proceeds collected as a result of the action or from any settlement in response to that action; provided, however, if the director determines an action is based principally on an individual's disclosure of an allegation resulting from a judicial or administrative hearing, from a governmental report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, any award provided by the director to that individual may not exceed 10 percent of the proceeds. The bill requires the director to determine the amount of an award based upon the extent to which any information submitted by an individual contributed to the outcome of an action or related settlement. If the director determines that the claim for an award pursuant to the bill is brought by an individual who planned and initiated the actions that led to the violation resulting in the administrative or judicial action in which that individual is a party, the bill permits the director to reduce the amount of the award. In addition, if such an individual is convicted of criminal conduct arising from the individual's role in the violation, then the director is not permitted to provide an award to that individual. The following individuals are also ineligible to receive an award under the bill: (1) an individual who obtained information through the individual's official duties as an employee of the Department of the Treasury; and (2) an individual who filed a claim for an award based on information obtained from an ineligible individual for the purpose of avoiding the rejection of the claim that would have resulted if the claim was filed by the ineligible individual. The bill provides that any complaint with respect to an award provided, reduced, or revoked pursuant to the bill is to be filed within 30 days after the date of the provision, reduction, or revocation of that award. Finally, the bill protects any employee, as defined by the bill, from retaliatory action under the provisions of the "Conscientious Employee Protection Act," P.L.1986, c.105 (C.34:19-1 et seq.). | Crossed Over |
| S1054 | Requires State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards pertaining to labor movement; requires school districts to provide instruction on labor movement. | Requires State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards pertaining to labor movement; requires school districts to provide instruction on labor movement. | In Committee |
| S4637 | Requires Commissioner of Community Affairs to notify certain municipal officials of receipt of application for licensure of cooperative sober living residence. | This bill requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs to notify the municipal clerk and mayor or other chief executive officer of a municipality of receipt of an application for a Class F license described in N.J.A.C. 5:27-1.6, or any successor license, to own or operate a cooperative sober living residence in the municipality. The bill makes additional technical changes. | In Committee |
| S3893 | Establishes criminal penalties for sale and possession of machine gun conversion devices. | Establishes criminal penalties for sale and possession of a machine gun conversion device. | In Committee |
| S1558 | Upgrades certain crimes related to manufacturing firearms from second to first degree. | Upgrades certain crimes related to manufacturing firearms from second to first degree. | In Committee |
| S3894 | Establishes crime of possessing digital instructions to illegally manufacture firearms and firearm components. | Establishes crime of possessing digital instructions to illegally manufacture firearms and firearm components. | In Committee |
| S3920 | Requires State Police to establish recovery leave policy for troopers presenting proof of pregnancy. | Requires State Police to establish recovery leave policy for troopers presenting proof of pregnancy. | In Committee |
| S3897 | Requires AG to report data regarding shootings that did not result in bodily injury. | This bill requires each county prosecutor to provide to the Attorney General data pertaining to criminal complaints concerning crimes involving the use of a firearm that did not result in bodily injury. In addition, the bill requires each county prosecutor to report this data to the Attorney General every quarter for three years in a manner prescribed by the Attorney General. At the end of the three years, the Attorney General is to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature and publish the report on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety. | In Committee |
| S3896 | Concerns pretrial detention for firearms offenses. | Concerns pretrial detention for firearms offenses. | In Committee |
| S3895 | Establishes crime of reckless discharge of firearm. | Establishes crime of reckless discharge of firearm. | In Committee |
| S3706 | Requires use of merchant category codes for purchases of firearms and ammunition. | Requires use of merchant category codes for purchases of firearms and ammunition. | In Committee |
| S4460 | Requires AG to establish ballistics analysis device pilot program in certain municipalities. | Requires AG to establish ballistics analysis device pilot program in certain municipalities. | In Committee |
| S2376 | Requires boards of education to ensure that all staff are trained in care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders every five years. | Requires boards of education to ensure that all staff are trained in care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders every five years. | Crossed Over |
| S699 | Establishes program in SADC for acquisition of development easements on privately-owned woodlands. | Establishes program in SADC for acquisition of development easements on privately-owned woodlands. | Crossed Over |
| S2495 | Requires training of cosmetologists-hairstylists, beauticians, barbers, and hair braiders to include working on textured hair. | Requires training of cosmetologists-hairstylists, beauticians, barbers, and hair braiders to include working on textured hair. | Crossed Over |
| S1962 | Provides certain protections to residents of long-term care facilities. | Provides certain protections to residents of long-term care facilities. | Crossed Over |
| S3423 | Requires standards for organization and deployment of career fire fighters to be consistent with certain national standards. | This bill requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt rules for the deployment of career fire fighters that are consistent with the standards promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), NFPA 1710 (2020 edition). The bill also requires the appointing authority of each career fire department to ensure the deployment of fire fighting personnel, for rescue, fire suppression, and related activities, consistently with the standards set forth in NFPA 1710 (2020 edition) and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this bill. While a municipality may have authority to determine the overall level of fire protection to provide within its jurisdiction, a municipality that has established and maintains a paid or part-paid fire department and force is to deploy fire-fighting personnel consistently with NFPA 1710, the national standard designed to enhance the safety of the employees of career fire departments. This bill will prevent local units from relaxing fire fighter safety requirements due to possible fiscal constraints or political concerns. | Crossed Over |
| S3426 | Requires Civil Service Commission establish mentoring program for certain civil service firefighter applicants. | This bill requires the Civil Service Commission to establish and maintain a mentoring program for civil service firefighter applicants. The purpose of the mentoring program would be to assist applicants residing in a municipality with a median income at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level through the civil service application, examination, and selection process, and to help address obstacles unique to their circumstances. The program will include a study group to help applicants in any municipality with a median income at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level with the resources needed to compete with applicants in other communities that benefit from outside private study groups. The program may be conducted through mentoring projects, including workshops, group discussions, and dissemination of information about civil service practices which provide assistance in overcoming barriers to employment. The program will be designed to provide mentoring to an applicant for the duration of the exam cycle, until the mentee completes the hiring process. The commission would develop criteria to determine eligibility in the program as a mentor and as a mentee. A mentor may be a current or former firefighter in good standing who obtained a firefighter position through the civil service process, or any other person deemed appropriate by the commission. A mentor or mentee may be removed from the mentoring program for good cause as determined by the commission. A mentee would be removed from the program upon the mentee's acceptance of an offer of employment. An applicant may participate in the program as a mentee a maximum of three times within a 10-year period. A former mentee may be eligible to participate in the program as a mentor. No monies would be provided to a mentor to participate in the program, and no fees would be charged to a mentee to participate in the program. At least once a year, the commission would review the program for its efficacy, and make any necessary adjustments to continue to meet the needs and purpose of the program. | Crossed Over |
| S1989 | Enhances criminal penalties for persons invloved in certain human trafficking activities. | Enhances criminal penalties for persons involved in certain human trafficking activities. | Crossed Over |
| S3890 | Requires public institution of higher education to provide students with information on food assistance programs. | Requires public institution of higher education to provide students with information on food assistance programs. | Crossed Over |
| S265 | Requires owners of certain multiple dwellings of three or more floors to provide priority status to senior citizens and disabled residents moving to lower floors. | Requires owners of certain multiple dwellings of three or more floors to provide priority status to senior citizens and disabled residents moving to lower floors. | Crossed Over |
| S4011 | Requires registration of postsecondary education debt creditors; establishes protections for borrowers. | This bill requires the registration of postsecondary education debt creditors and establishes protections for borrowers. The bill prohibits a postsecondary education debt creditor from extending postsecondary education debt to a New Jersey resident without first registering with the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance and with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry. Postsecondary education debt creditors are required to provide the commissioner, at the time of registration and not less than once per year thereafter, certain information about the entities and the postsecondary education debt that they provide. The commissioner is required to post on the department's website information about postsecondary education debt creditors registered in the State. The bill also requires postsecondary education debt creditors to post on their websites a copy of each model promissory note, agreement, contract or other instrument used by the postsecondary education debt creditor to substantiate postsecondary education debt. The bill provides that the commissioner may impose a civil penalty not exceeding $25,000 on any person for a violation of the registration provisions of the bill. Each violation which constitutes a knowing violation is a crime of the third degree. The bill requires postsecondary education debt creditors to deliver certain information to a cosigner related to impacts on the cosigner in certain circumstances, prior to the extension of postsecondary education debt that requires a cosigner. For any postsecondary education debt that obligates a cosigner and provides for cosigner release, a postsecondary education debt creditor is required to provide the borrower and the cosigner an annual written or electronic notice containing clear and conspicuous information about cosigner release. Under the bill, if the borrower has met the applicable payment requirement to be eligible for cosigner release, the postsecondary education debt creditor must send the borrower and the cosigner a notification informing them that the payments requirement to be eligible for cosigner release has been met. The bill requires a postsecondary education debt creditor to provide written notice to a borrower who applies for cosigner release, but whose application is incomplete. Within 30 days after a borrower submits a completed application for cosigner release, the postsecondary education debt creditor is required to send the borrower and cosigner a written notice that informs them whether the cosigner release application has been approved or denied. The bill prohibits a postsecondary education debt creditor from imposing any restriction that permanently bars a borrower from qualifying for cosigner release. For any postsecondary education debt executed after the effective date of the bill, a postsecondary education debt creditor is prohibited from requiring greater than 12 consecutive, on-time payments of principal and interest as criteria to apply for cosigner release. This codifies the standard currently used by major student loan companies, such as Sallie Mae Bank. Under the bill, if a borrower or cosigner requests a change in terms that restarts the count of consecutive, on-time payments, the postsecondary education debt creditor must notify the borrower and cosigner in writing, by mail, or by electronic mail, of the impact of the change and provide the borrower or cosigner the right to withdraw or reverse the request. The bill provides that a borrower has the right to request an appeal of a postsecondary education debt creditor determination to deny a request for cosigner release, and the postsecondary education debt creditor is required to permit the borrower to submit certain additional documentation. The bill requires postsecondary education debt creditors to establish and maintain a comprehensive record management system. The bill prohibits postsecondary education debt executed after the effective date of the bill from including a provision that permits the postsecondary education debt creditor to accelerate, in whole or in part, payments on the postsecondary education debt, except in cases of payment default. The bill prohibits a postsecondary education debt executed after the effective date of the bill from including a provision that permits a postsecondary education debt creditor to attempt to collect against the cosigner's estate, other than for payment default. Upon receiving notification of the death or bankruptcy of a cosigner, when the postsecondary education debt is not more than 60 days delinquent at the time of the notification, the postsecondary education debt creditor may not change any terms or benefits under the promissory note, repayment schedule, repayment terms, or monthly payment amount or any other debt provision. Under the bill, a postsecondary education debt creditor, upon determination of the total and permanent disability of a borrower or cosigner, is required to release the borrower or cosigner from their obligations under postsecondary education debt, as is the case with federal student loans. Upon determination of the total and permanent disability of a cosigner, a postsecondary education debt creditor is required to release that individual cosigner from the obligations of the cosigner. The bill requires postsecondary education debt creditors to notify borrowers and cosigners if a cosigner or borrower is released from the obligations of the postsecondary education debt, within 30 days of the release. The bill requires postsecondary education debt creditors that extend postsecondary education debt to provide the borrower the option to designate an individual to have the legal authority to act on behalf of the borrower with respect to the postsecondary education debt in the event of the total and permanent disability of the borrower. In the event a cosigner is released from the obligations of a postsecondary education debt, a postsecondary education debt creditor may not require the borrower to obtain another cosigner on the debt obligation. The bill provides that postsecondary education debt creditors may not declare a default or accelerate the debt against the borrower on the sole basis of the release of the cosigner from the postsecondary education debt. After making the determination of the total and permanent disability of a borrower, a postsecondary education debt creditor may not attempt to collect on the outstanding liability of the borrower or cosigner or monitor the disability status of the borrower after the date of discharge. The bill requires the postsecondary education debt creditor to deliver a statement that benefits and protections applicable to existing postsecondary education debt may be lost due to refinancing before offering a person a postsecondary education debt that is being used to refinance an existing postsecondary education debt. If a postsecondary education debt creditor offers any borrower flexible repayment options in connection with a postsecondary education debt, those flexible repayment options must be made available to all borrowers of the postsecondary education debt creditor. The bill requires postsecondary education debt creditors to publish the criteria used to determine borrower interest rates in all places where the interest rate is published, if the postsecondary education debt creditor does not offer the same interest rate to all borrowers. The bill provides that a postsecondary education debt creditor may not: offer any postsecondary education debt that is not in conformity with the bill, or that is in violation of any other State or federal law; engage in any unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice; or make, advertise, print, display, publish, distribute, electronically transmit, telecast or broadcast, in any manner, any statement or representation which is false, misleading or deceptive. The bill provides that a postsecondary education debt creditor or debt collector attempting to collect a postsecondary education debt must provide certain documentation related to the debt in the first debt collection communication with the borrower and at any other time the borrower requests the documentation. The bill also prohibits postsecondary education debt creditors or debt collector from collecting or attempting to collect a postsecondary education debt unless the postsecondary education debt creditor or debt collector possesses certain information and documentation related to the debt. Following a payment default on postsecondary education debt by a borrower, and before a postsecondary education debt creditor may accelerate the maturity of the postsecondary education debt or commence a legal action against the borrower, a postsecondary education debt creditor is required to provide to the borrower a notice of intention to accelerate the postsecondary education debt. The postsecondary education debt creditor must provide the notice at least 30 days, but not more than 180 days, in advance of the action, and must provide a copy of the notice to the department at the same time it is provided to the borrower. The bill provides that an action to enter a default judgment against a borrower must be commenced within six years of the date the borrower failed to make a payment. The bill requires a postsecondary education debt creditor seeking to commence legal action against a borrower to attach certain documentation and information to a complaint filed in a court of competent jurisdiction. If a postsecondary education debt creditor fails to comply with the filing requirements of the bill, a borrower may bring an action, including a counterclaim, against the postsecondary education debt creditor to recover or obtain certain relief and damages. The bill also provides that a borrower or cosigner who suffers damage as a result of a violation may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover certain relief and damages. | In Committee |
| S3913 | "The Manufactured Home Park Protection Act"; expands opportunity to purchase for resident homeowners in certain manufactured home parks; modifies certain requirements for disposition of private residential leasehold communities. | "The Manufactured Home Park Protection Act"; expands opportunity to purchase for resident homeowners in certain manufactured home parks; modifies certain requirements for disposition of private residential leasehold communities. | In Committee |
| S4589 | Requires child in home education program and parents to meet annually with representative of resident school district. | This bill requires a child in a home education program and the child's parent or guardian to meet annually with a person from the resident school district who has been designated by the school district superintendent. The person designated by the superintendent is to be a school counselor, school nurse, or school social worker employed by the district. The bill provides that there is a twofold purpose for the meeting: to provide the parent or guardian an opportunity to request support from the school district for the home education program; and to provide the person designated by the superintendent an opportunity to conduct a general health and wellness check of the child. | In Committee |
| S3053 | Requires contract between certain governmental units and online parking payment service providers stipulate service provider not charge user during certain times. | Requires contract between certain governmental units and online parking payment service providers stipulate service provider not charge user during certain times. | In Committee |
| A4535 | Concerns State regulation of cooperative sober living residences and boarding houses generally; appropriates $100,000. | An Act concerning State regulation of cooperative sober living residences and boarding houses generally, amending and supplementing P.L.1979, c.496, and making an appropriation. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S2155 | Prohibits sports wagering partnerships at public institutions of higher education. | Prohibits sports wagering partnerships at public institutions of higher education. | In Committee |
| A4652 | Establishes offense of inciting public brawl; upgrades penalty for disorderly conduct in certain circumstances. | An Act concerning public brawls and disorderly conduct and amending N.J.S.2C:33-1 and N.J.S.2C:33-2. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S1277 | Establishes centralized directory for affordable housing, and housing for senior citizens and veterans. | Establishes centralized directory for affordable housing, and housing for senior citizens and veterans. | Passed |
| S4534 | Requires automobile insurers to include appraisal provisions in insurance policies. | This bill requires automobile insurers to include an appraisal provision in insurance policies. Under the bill, every automobile insurer authorized to write automobile insurance policies in the State must ensure that each policy issued, executed, renewed, or delivered to a consumer contain a provision allowing for an appraisal of the value of a loss reported in a claim if the policyholder or insurer disagree on:(1) the actual cash value or amount of a loss, including the repairable and total loss amount, of an automobile reported on a claim; or (2) the offer of settlement to a third-party liability claim. The bill provides that if the policyholder and insurer disagree as to the actual cash value or amount of a loss reported on a claim, after the automobile reported on the claim is inspected and given an estimate of the actual cash value or amount of a loss by an automobile body repair shop selected by the policyholder, or disagree on the offer of settlement to a third party, either the policyholder or insurer may submit a written demand letter to the other invoking the appraisal provision of a policy and selecting a competent and disinterested appraiser. The party receiving the written demand will have 20 calendar days to notify the other of the appraiser they have selected. The selected appraisers will then, within 20 business days, appraise the loss, stating separately the actual cash value and amount of loss, or the offer of settlement. If the selected appraisers fail to agree on the actual cash value and amount of loss, or on an appropriate offer of settlement, they must then submit any differences to a competent and disinterested umpire selected by the appraisers or, on request of either of the parties, by a judge in a court of competent jurisdiction, if the appraisers fail after 15 calendar days to agree upon the selection of an umpire. After reviewing each appraisers' statement of the actual cash value and amount of loss, or offer of settlement, the umpire, or judge, if applicable, will finally issue an award to one of the appraisers selected by the parties, which will be filed with the insurer. The bill further provides that the appraisal clause will additionally apply to a third-party claimant, if the claimant and insurer disagree on the actual cash value or amount of a loss reported on a claim that is used to determine the valuation of an offer of settlement. For the purpose of this bill, "competent and disinterested appraiser" means an appraiser that is impartial and without a financial interest in the opposing party when conducting an appraisal on behalf of an insurer, policyholder, or third-party claimant. "Offer of settlement" means a formal offer to settle a third party liability claim filed by an individual other than the policyholder or insurer. "Third-party liability claim" means a liability claim filed by an individual other than the policyholder or insurer. | In Committee |
| S4535 | Eliminates presumption of pretrial release for sex offenses and certain violent crimes committed using a deadly weapon. | This bill eliminates the presumption of pretrial release for defendants charged with a sex offense or certain violent crimes that were committed using a deadly weapon. Under P.L.2014, c.31, also known as the Criminal Justice Reform Law, criminal courts are authorized to order the pretrial release of a defendant pending further proceedings, or order pretrial detention of a defendant who is found to be a flight risk, a danger to another or the community, or likely to obstruct further criminal proceedings. Currently, the Criminal Justice Reform Law establishes a presumption for some form of pretrial release, except with respect to an eligible defendant charged with: murder; a crime for which the eligible defendant would be subject to an ordinary or extended term of life imprisonment; or the theft of or unlawful taking of a motor vehicle or receiving stolen property where the property involved is a motor vehicle under certain circumstances; receiving stolen property where the property involved is a motor vehicle; or a crime under any statute of the United States, this State, or any other state that is substantially equivalent. Under the bill, the presumption of pretrial release also would not apply to an eligible defendant charged with: a crime of the first or second degree enumerated under subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.1997, c.117 (C.2C:43-7.2), commonly referred to as the No Early Release Act, which involves the use of a deadly weapon; or a sex offense, as defined under Megan's Law pursuant to subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1994, c.133 (C.2C:7-2). The applicable crimes enumerated under the No Early Release Act include, but are not limited to: murder; aggravated manslaughter or manslaughter; vehicular homicide; aggravated assault; disarming a law enforcement officer; kidnapping; aggravated sexual assault; sexual assault; robbery; carjacking; aggravated arson; burglary; extortion; booby traps in manufacturing or distribution facilities; strict liability for drug induced deaths; terrorism; home invasion burglary; or residential burglary. "Deadly weapon" is defined to mean any firearm or other weapon, device, instrument, material or substance, whether animate or inanimate, which in the manner it is used or is intended to be used, is known to be capable of producing death or serious bodily injury or which in the manner it is fashioned would lead the victim reasonably to believe it to be capable of producing death or serious bodily injury. | In Committee |
| S4533 | Expands cyber-harassment to include reckless online communications. | This bill amends the cyber-harassment law, N.J.S.A.2C:33-4.1, to include online communications made with reckless disregard for the safety of another, in addition to communications made purposely or intentionally. Under current law, cyber-harassment is a crime of the fourth degree and occurs when a person makes one or more communications in an online capacity via any electronic device or through a social networking site with purpose to harass another and: (1) threatens to inflict injury or physical harm to any person or the property of any person; (2) knowingly sends, posts, comments, requests, suggests, or proposes any lewd, indecent, or obscene material to or about a person with the intent to emotionally harm a reasonable person or place a reasonable person in fear of physical or emotional harm to his person; or (3) threatens to commit any crime against the person or the person's property. If a person 21 years of age or older impersonates a minor for the purpose of cyber-harassing the minor, it is a crime of the third degree. Under the bill, a person commits the crime of cyber-harassment if the person makes a communication with reckless disregard for the safety of another and knowingly sends, posts, comments, requests, suggests, or proposes any lewd, indecent, or obscene material to or about a person recklessly. Cyber-harassment committed recklessly is a disorderly persons offense. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. 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 disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. | In Committee |
| S2527 | 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. | 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. | In Committee |
| S3184 | Requires public institution of higher education to invite Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey on institution's campus. | Requires public institution of higher education to invite Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey on institution's campus. | In Committee |
| S1956 | Requires automatic registration with New Jersey Immunization Information System upon administration of vaccine for certain persons who consent to registration. | This bill requires automatic registration with the New Jersey Immunization Information System (NJIIS) upon the administration of a vaccine for persons who are not currently registered with the NJIIS and unless the person or the person's parent or legal guardian, in the case of a person younger than 18 years of age, provides a written request not to participate in the registry. The NJIIS is a Statewide database that maintains records of individual vaccination histories. Individuals born after January 1, 1998 are automatically included in the registry, unless the individual's parent or guardian provides a written request that the person not be included in the registry; individuals born prior to January 1, 1998 may be included in the registry at the individual's written request. This bill requires any person who is not currently enrolled in the registry to be automatically enrolled at the time the person is administered a vaccine, unless the person or the person's parent or legal guardian, in the case of a person younger than 18 years of age, provides a written request not to participate in the registry. The bill provides that during a declared public health emergency, state of emergency, or an outbreak, or the immediate threat of an outbreak, of a communicable disease, as declared by the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Health may deny an individual's request to disenroll from the registry or to not participate in the registry for one or more vaccines for a specified period of time in order to track the administration and uptake of vaccinations. | In Committee |
| SR127 | Urges State citizens to stay up-to-date on vaccinations. | This resolution urges the citizens of the State of New Jersey to become vaccinated. Once declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, measles has once again resurfaced in the country. In 2024, there were a total of 285 reported cases of measles in the United States. For 2025, the number of reported cases has reached 222 in the first three months alone and new cases continue to be reported every day. New Jersey has had three reported cases in 2025. Declining vaccination rates across the country and in New Jersey have played a role in these outbreaks. Ninety-four percent of the cases reported in 2025 were among children and adults who were not vaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. In 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) declared that only 93 percent of kindergarteners had received their measles vaccination, falling two percent below the threshold needed for community immunity to prevent widespread transmission of the disease. The rate of New Jersey kindergarteners meeting all vaccination requirements has decreased by 3.6 percent from the 2013-2014 school year to the 2023-2024 school year and the percentage of first-graders in New Jersey meeting all vaccination requirements experienced the biggest decrease within the same time period, falling by 7.5 percent. | In Committee |
| S4459 | Requires restaurant to disclose mandatory gratuity to patron and makes failure to disclose unlawful practice under consumer fraud act. | This bill requires a restaurant to disclose a mandatory gratuity charge to a patron on the menu, at the entrance of the restaurant, on the patron's bill, and if the restaurant operates a website, on the restaurant's website. Each point of disclosure is required to be in a prominent manner. A violation of the bill is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act. 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. In addition, 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 party. | In Committee |
| S4461 | Authorizes cremation of unclaimed bodies by counties and storage of unclaimed bodies by hospitals. | This bill amends current law regarding unclaimed bodies. Specifically, a county is given the option under the bill to cremate an unclaimed body and is assigned responsibility for payment of the cremation. The bill also stipulates that cremains are to be retained by a medical examiner's office for at least one year from the date of the cremation. After one year, the cremains may be interred. Additionally, the bill updates current law by allowing storage of an unclaimed dead body by a hospital or medical examiner. The body may be, at the expense of the county, buried by a morgue keeper or cremated if, after 30 days, it remains unclaimed. Lastly, if an individual makes a valid claim to a body or cremains already buried, the individual is to incur the cost of disinterment. If the medical examiner is to conduct an investigation on a body, any disinterment is to be paid for by the medical examiner. | In Committee |
| S4000 | Imposes conditions on drivers approaching stationary vehicles and revises public awareness campaign. | This bill amends current law to require motor vehicle drivers to move over or reduce the speed of the motor vehicle and be prepared to stop when approaching any stationary vehicle and to do so for any stationary vehicle regardless of whether the vehicle is displaying flashing, blinking, or alternating lights; flashing hazard warning signal lights; or utilizing road flares or reflective triangles. Under the bill, "vehicle" means every device in, upon, or by which a person or property is or may be transported upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks or low-speed electric bicycles, low-speed electric scooters, or motorized bicycles. Under current law, motor vehicle drivers are required to move over, or reduce the speed of their vehicles, and be prepared to stop when approaching stationary authorized emergency vehicles, tow trucks, highway maintenance or emergency service vehicles, and sanitation vehicles displaying certain lights and for disabled vehicles flashing hazard warning signal lights or utilizing road flares or reflective triangles. This bill also requires the Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in the Department of Law and Public Safety to include all stationary vehicles in a public awareness campaign to inform the general public of the importance of reducing speed and changing lanes when approaching stationary vehicles, the risks associated with the failure to do so, and any penalties and fines that are imposed by a failure to reduce speed or change lanes. | In Committee |
| S4346 | Provides extension for fire departments on prohibition on use of firefighting foam containing intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances; appropriates $500,000 to DEP for grant program to reimburse municipalities for costs of replacing firefighting foam. | This bill would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2027, the use of any class B firefighting foam containing intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by fire departments in the State. This extension would provide a one-year extension on the prohibition on the use of class B firefighting foam under current law for fire departments. The bill would also appropriate $500,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection to provide additional funding for the grant program established pursuant to P.L.2023, c.243 to reimburse eligible municipalities for the costs of the replacement of class B firefighting foam containing intentionally added PFAS with firefighting foam that complies with the provisions of P.L.2023, c.243. | In Committee |
| S4345 | Modifies procedure for fire districts to request exemption from property tax levy cap. | This bill modifies the procedure for fire district boards of commissioners to seek an exemption from the two percent property tax levy cap. Under current law, fire districts, along with municipalities, counties, and solid waste collection districts, are required to submit a public question to the legal voters residing in its territory to increase the amount to be raised by taxation by more than the allowable adjusted tax levy. The bill would allow fire districts to request approval from the Local Finance Board to increase the amount to be raised by taxation by more than the allowable adjusted tax levy. In the decision to approve or deny the board's request, Local Finance Board would be required to consider any changes in appropriations or revenues, or other circumstances, that warranted the fire district's request. Any decision of the Local Finance Board rejecting an increase to the tax levy cap would be final and conclusive for the fiscal year for which the request was made, and no appeal, review, or waiver application would be permitted. | In Committee |
| S4344 | Prohibits municipal utilities authority from charging fire district water service charges for fire protection systems if authority imposes water service charges on customers who are also taxpayers of fire district. | This bill would prohibit a municipal utilities authority from imposing water service charges for fire protection systems upon a fire district if the authority also imposes water service charges upon customers of the authority who are taxpayers of the fire district. This bill will put an end to a practice sometimes used by a municipal utilities authority which causes a ratepayer of the authority who is also a taxpayer of the fire district to be charged twice for the same fire protection water supply, once through the payment of rates to the authority and again through the payment of taxes to the fire district. | In Committee |
| S3999 | Exempts creditor from paying municipal property registration fee if property is subject to automatic stay under federal Bankruptcy Code. | This bill exempts certain creditors from payment of a property registration fee for as long as the property remains subject to the automatic stay provision of the federal Bankruptcy Code. Current law, section 3 of P.L.2021, c.444 (C.40:48-2.12s3), authorizes a municipality, by ordinance, to require a foreclosing creditor to register property, and to impose an annual fee on the creditor for registering the property. Under the bill, a creditor who has sought the protection of the federal Bankruptcy Code, and who is protected by the automatic stay provision of the federal Bankruptcy Code, would be excused from the payment of the property registration fees authorized by section 3 of P.L.2021, c.444 (C.40:48-2.12s3). | In Committee |
| A2813 | Enters NJ in Social Work Licensure Compact. | An Act concerning the Social Work Licensure Compact and supplementing Title 45 of the Revised Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3889 | Requires each public institution of higher education to develop food waste reduction program on campus. | This bill directs each public institution of higher education to develop and implement a food waste reduction program on each campus of the institution. The purpose of the program is to redirect unused, excess food prepared or distributed at campus dining halls, facilities, and events to local food security programs, including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and community nonprofits. The program is to ensure that all necessary and applicable food safety standards are met throughout the selection, packaging, and transfer of food through the program. The bill directs the institution to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature on its contributions to local food security programs and post the report on its website. | Crossed Over |
| S3620 | Requires electric and gas public utilities to establish "Energy Bill Watch" program and include certain information in bills and notices to customers. | An Act concerning electric and gas public utilities and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| A3540 | Establishes criminal penalties for production or dissemination of deceptive audio or visual media, commonly known as "deepfakes." | An Act establishing civil and criminal penalties for the production and dissemination of deceptive audio or visual media and supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3587 | Upgrades, and in some circumstances provides for extended terms of imprisonment for, certain retail theft crimes, addresses gift card fraud, and authorizes new Attorney General initiatives to address organized retail theft. | An Act concerning retail theft, amending and supplementing various parts of the statutory law, and making an appropriation. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3799 | Revises credentialing process for physicians attempting to enter a health insurance carrier's provider network. | This bill makes changes to the existing health insurance carrier credentialing process to facilitate transparency and enforcement. First, the bill requires a carrier committee reviewing a credentialing application to notify the applicant within 30 days following submission of the application whether the application is incomplete. If the committee does not notify the applicant of an incomplete application within 30 days, the application is to be deemed complete. In addition, the bill requires carriers to include on their Internet websites the universal participation and renewal forms and an explanation of the credentialing process, including a list of all the documents required for participation and renewal and any expected timelines. The bill also provides that if a physician, while waiting to receive a credential to participate in the provider network of a carrier, is delivering health care services to covered persons within the network, the carrier is required to reimburse the physician for services delivered as of the date the credentialing application was filed, if the application is approved by the carrier. Under the bill, carriers are prohibited from requiring a physician who is already credentialed with the carrier and who changes employers or health care facilities within this State to submit a new application or renewal form to participate in the carrier's network solely on the basis that the physician changed employers or health care facilities. Lastly, the bill authorizes the Department of Banking and Insurance to receive, investigate, and enforce alleged violations of law relating to the credentialing process. | In Committee |
| S2688 | Enters NJ in Social Work Licensure Compact. | This bill will enter New Jersey into the Social Work Licensure Compact. The compact establishes a multistate license system in which an individual licensed at the clinical, master's or bachelor's level in social work needs only to obtain licensure in one state that is a party to the compact in order to practice as a social worker in another member state to the compact, so long as certain requirements established under the compact are met by the individual. Under the bill, provisions are established regarding, among other items, the authority of a member state's licensing authority; how an adverse action against a multistate licensee is managed; the set-up of the Social Work Licensure Compact Commission and its Executive Committee; the collection of data on member states; and how to withdraw from the compact, if sought by a member state. | In Committee |
| S2952 | Concerns State regulation of cooperative sober living residences and boarding houses generally; appropriates $100,000. | Concerns State regulation of cooperative sober living residences and boarding houses generally; appropriates $100,000. | In Committee |
| S2953 | Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or industrialized buildings or manufactured homes. | Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or industrialized buildings or manufactured homes. | In Committee |
| S3507 | Establishes offense of inciting public brawl; upgrades penalty for disorderly conduct in certain circumstances. | Establishes offense of inciting public brawl; upgrades penalty for disorderly conduct in certain circumstances. | In Committee |
| S1016 | Requires State agencies to make their websites accessible to people with disabilities and on mobile devices. | This bill requires that the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA, or the most up-to-date version of the guidelines, must be the accessibility standard for the websites of all State agencies, and each website must be configured in such a way that it can be navigated, viewed, and accessed on a smartphone, tablet computer, or similar mobile device. The WCAG guidelines make content accessible for people with disabilities. The Chief Technology Officer must establish the protocol by which a State agency can determine that its websites comply with the requirements. The Chief Technology Officer must certify each website's compliance two years after the bill's effective date and recertify compliance once every two years thereafter. As used in this bill, "State agency" means the Executive and Legislative Branch of the State, including, but not limited to, any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office, council, agency, or instrumentality thereof, or independent agency, public authority, or public benefit corporation. | Crossed Over |
| S3506 | Requires AG to establish training program for crowd management and provide resources to municipal police department or force for large gatherings and flash mobs. | Requires AG to establish training program for crowd management and provide resources to municipal police department or force for large gatherings and flash mobs. | In Committee |
| S3695 | Requires cell phone and social media guidelines to be developed by DOE and policy to be adopted by each school district. | Requires cell phone and social media guidelines to be developed by DOE and policy to be adopted by each school district. | Crossed Over |
| S1445 | Requires public institution of higher education to readmit student whose enrollment was interrupted due to military service. | An Act concerning military service members at public institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| A3904 | Requires geotechnical testing and certain monitoring of transportation projects. | An Act concerning certain testing and monitoring of transportation capital projects and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3990 | Extends early voting period for primary elections and extends challenger appointment deadline; appropriates $6 million. | An Act extending the early voting period for primary elections and extending the challenger appointment deadline, amending P.L.2021, c.40 and R.S.19:7-3, and making an appropriation. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S788 | Exempts certain volunteer first responders from coverage under "unemployment compensation law"; excludes from gross income amounts received for certain volunteer emergency services. | This bill exempts from coverage under the "unemployment compensation," R.S.43:21-1 et seq., any services provided by a volunteer first responder who receives a stipend, including any clothing allowance, for the volunteer's services. The exempted first responder would not be subject to unemployment insurance (UI) taxes and not be eligible for UI benefits. The exclusion would also exclude the first responder's stipend from contributions to the temporary disability and family temporary disability benefits funds, and it would exclude the first responder from being eligible to receive those benefits for the volunteer first responder services. Under the bill, "volunteer first responder" means a volunteer firefighter, volunteer member of a duly incorporated first aid, emergency, ambulance, or rescue squad association, or any other individual who, in the course of volunteer services, is dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle accident or other emergency situation for the purpose of providing medical care or other assistance. Additionally, the bill excludes from gross income the amounts received through stipends, including any clothing allowance, provided by a municipality for services performed by a volunteer first responder. Recently, municipalities have found it more difficult to recruit volunteers to serve as emergency services personnel. In response, many have begun providing stipends to help alleviate staffing shortages. Although they provide a greater incentive to volunteer, the amounts received through these stipends are subject to State and federal income tax. By exempting these stipends from calculation of a taxpayer's gross income under State law, the State can further assist municipalities in their efforts to provide proper emergency services to their residents. | In Committee |
| S3509 | Requires employers to include in job posting whether posting is for existing position and sets additional job posting requirements. | Requires employers to include in job posting whether posting is for existing position and sets additional job posting requirements. | In Committee |
| S3950 | Revises licensure requirements for residential substance use disorders treatment facilities or programs. | This bill revises licensure requirements for residential substance use disorders treatment facilities or programs. Under the bill, the Department of Health (department) is to require an applicant for licensure to operate as a residential substance use disorders treatment facility or program to submit to the department a financial audit that is conducted by an independent, certified public accountant, who is chosen by the department. The applicant is to bear the cost of the audit. The department is to deny an application for licensure if the financial audit reveals business practices or financial activities that are deemed improper or questionable by the department. The bill provides that the department is to require an applicant for licensure to operate as a residential substance use disorders treatment facility or program to complete a criminal history record background check and submit to being fingerprinted. The department is to deny an application for licensure if the results of the criminal background check reveal a conviction involving dishonesty or fraud. Finally, the bill requires the department to periodically conduct unannounced inspections of residential substance use disorders treatment facilities or programs. | In Committee |
| S2386 | Provides gross income tax credit to active members of volunteer emergency service organizations for use of personal motor vehicle in performance of active duty. | This bill establishes a refundable gross income tax credit to provide reimbursement to active members of volunteer fire departments and first aid squads for the use of their personal vehicle in the performance of active duty. The amount of the credit is determined by multiplying the business standard mileage rate set by the Internal Revenue Service for transportation or travel expenses by the number of miles the taxpayer actually and necessarily traveled by the taxpayer in the tax year using their personal vehicle in the performance of active duty. The maximum amount of the credit would be $500. If married individuals filing a joint return both qualify, they would be allowed a joint credit of up to $1,000. To be eligible for the credit, a taxpayer would, in the taxable year for which the credit was claimed, have to: (1) have been an unpaid member in good standing of the organization; and (2) have completed "qualifying service" with the organization. The bill defines "qualifying service" as: (a) for a volunteer who does not have duty hours, (i) active participation in at least 60 percent of the regular alarms or other calls to active duty to which the organization responds during the taxable year, (ii) recorded attendance at not less than 60 percent of the organization's mandatory meetings during the year, (iii) participation in all of the organization's mandatory meetings during the year, and (iv) performance during the year of not less than 60 percent of any other miscellaneous duty required by the organization; or (b) for a volunteer who does have duty hours, performance of at least 400 duty hours during the year, of which no more than 50 percent could be for drills or other training classes or exercises. The bill requires each volunteer emergency services organization to certify to the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, on or before January 15 of each year, a list of the active members of the organization during the prior tax year. The certification will assist the Division of Taxation in verifying a taxpayer's eligibility for a gross income tax credit under the bill. | Crossed Over |
| S4150 | Establishes limits for electric public utility rate increases for low- and middle-income households. | This bill establishes limits for electric public utility rate increases for eligible households. Specifically, under the bill, an electric public utility is prohibited from increasing its rates for low- and middle-income households that are also residential households by more than the all-items index for the previous calendar year. The bill provides that an electric public utility that fails to comply with this prohibition is to be fined an amount and subject to any other penalties to be determined by the board. Finally, the bill requires an electric public utility to report the following information to the board: (1) the number of eligible households that benefit from the program; (2) the financial impact of the program on the electric public utility; and (3) recommendations for adjustments to the program. The board is then required, on an annual basis, to issue a report to the Legislature that summarizes the information it receives from an electric public utility under the bill. Under the bill, "all-items index" means the rate of inflation for all items, as determined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Consumer Price Index reports; "low-income household" means a household with a total, annual household income that is equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, as that level is updated annually by the United States Department of Health and Human Services; and "middle-income household" means a household with a total, annual household income that is equal to or less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, as that level is updated annually by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. | In Committee |
| S3190 | Requires certain juveniles to appear before court in county where incident giving rise to delinquency complaint allegedly occurred. | Requires certain juveniles to appear before court in county where incident giving rise to delinquency complaint allegedly occurred. | Crossed Over |
| S4151 | Establishes certain requirements for public utility rate increases. | This bill establishes certain requirements for public utility rate increases. Specifically, the bill requires a public utility that files a petition with the Board of Public Utilities (board) for a rate increase to notify the public utility's affected customers of the filing by bill insert or by publication in newspapers published and circulated in the affected service area or areas. The notice is to include, at a minimum: (1) a summary of the contents of the filing; (2) the reasoning for the filing; and (3) a statement of the filing's impact on affected customers. In addition, the bill requires a public utility that files a petition with the board for a rate increase to send a written, plain language summary of the board order with the board's final decision on the public utility's petition to the public utility's affected customers. If the board order results in an increase to the public utility's existing individual rate, joint rate, toll, charge, or schedule thereof, the public utility is to send the summary to its affected customers 30 days prior to the effective date of the new rates. If the board order does not result in an increase to the public utility's existing individual rate, joint rate, toll, charge, or schedule thereof, the public utility is to send the summary to its affected customers within 14 days after the issuance of the board order. Finally, the bill amends current law to require the board to respond in writing to any questions submitted by a member of the public during a hearing held by the board or the Office of Administrative Law on a public utility's filing to significantly increase, change, or alter its rate schedule, provided that the questions pertain to the filing being considered at the hearing. Under the bill, the board is to respond to these questions no later than 14 days after the final hearing on a public utility's application to significantly increase, change, or alter its rate schedule. | In Committee |
| S2385 | Increases tuition credit amount permitted under volunteer tuition credit program. | This bill increases the tuition credit amount permitted under the volunteer tuition credit program. Under current law, certain persons who are active members of a volunteer fire company or volunteer first aid or rescue squad or association in good standing and the person's dependent children and spouse are permitted to enroll in a postsecondary program on a tuition-free basis in a county college, county vocational school or county technical institution and be eligible to receive tuition credit in an amount not to exceed a maximum of $2,400 provided the person agrees to serve as a member of a volunteer fire company or volunteer first aid or rescue squad or association for a minimum of four years of service. Current law provides for a tuition credit of up to $600 following each year of service not to exceed a maximum of $2,400 for the member, dependent, and spouse over a four-year service period. This bill increases the tuition credit amount from $600 to $1,250 per year of service, not to exceed a maximum of $5,000 for the member, dependent, and spouse over a four-year service period. | In Committee |
| S3694 | Prohibits cryptocurrency automatic teller machines. | This bill prohibits any business entity from owning, controlling, installing, or managing a cryptocurrency automatic teller machine (ATM) in this State. Under the bill, cryptocurrency is defined as any digital form of currency that functions as a medium of exchange through a decentralized computer network without reliance on any central authority such as a government or financial institution. In addition, a cryptocurrency ATM means a physical, internet-connected kiosk allowing users to buy, sell, send, or receive cryptocurrency by depositing money using a debit card, credit card, or cash. Under the provisions of the bill, owning, controlling, installing, managing, selling, or offering for sale a cryptocurrency ATM in this State is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act, 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. In addition, violations may 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 party. While cryptocurrency ATMs offer a convenient way for individuals to buy, sell, send, or receive digital currencies, there has been a significant rise in scams associated with their use. According to the United States Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network, fraud losses linked to these cryptocurrency automatic teller machines have surged nearly tenfold since 2020 to more than $110 million in 2023 and exceeded $65 million in just the first half of 2024. Since many incidents of fraud go unreported, these figures likely represent only a portion of the overall impact. It is the sponsor's intent to protect consumers from falling victim to financial losses associated with the use of cryptocurrency automatic teller machines. | In Committee |
| S2038 | Requires public institution of higher education to post certain information on institution's website. | Requires public institution of higher education to post certain information on institution's website. | Crossed Over |
| S4088 | "General Contractor Licensing Act;" provides for licensure of general contractors. | This bill establishes the New Jersey State Board of General Contractors to regulate the general contracting profession by requiring licensure by the board. "General contractor" is defined in the bill to mean an individual or business that is to be or can be classified in trade 006, 007, 008, or 009 by the Division of Property Management and Construction in the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. The board is to consist of nine members, six of whom are required to have been practicing general contracting in the State for at least 10 years. The board is to: establish the standards required for licensure; review the qualifications of individuals who apply for licensure; ensure the proper conduct and standards of examination; renew, suspend, or revoke licenses; prescribe or change fees for examination or licensure; and maintain a record of all licensed general contractors. No person may hold themselves out as a general contractor without being licensed. Under the bill, to be eligible as a general contractor, a person is required to: (1) be at least 18 years of age; (2) have completed a program accredited by a regional accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education leading to a degree in construction or project management or an apprenticeship program in a building or construction trade accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, or affiliated unions; (3) possess certain field experience; and (4) have successfully passed an examination in general contracting prepared by or approved by the board. The examination is to be held in the State at least two times a year at a time and place determined by the board. The board may also arrange for reasonably required physical accommodations and facilities to conduct examinations. The board is also permitted to establish standards and procedures to provide that the examination be offered via the Internet. Additionally, a study guide for the examination is to be created by the board. Individuals who have at least 10 years of experience performing general contracting services prior to the effective date of this bill and who, during that time, have not declared bankruptcy or altered the name of a business to deceive other parties regarding an interest in or ownership of a previous business, are exempt from these education and examination requirements, as are individuals with a license, certification, or registration issued by the State in a closely allied profession, which includes commercial general contracting. Additionally, individuals who can demonstrate, in a manner as determined by the board, completion of three years of field experience prior to the effective date of the bill and that was performed under the supervision of a general contractor with at least 10 years of experience completed prior to the effective date of the bill will also qualify for licensure upon passage of the examination required of the bill. Licenses issued by the board are to be renewed every three years. Fees for licensure are to be determined by the board and established by regulation. The board is required to promulgate rules and regulations for implementing continuing education requirements as a condition of licensure renewal, which are to include the subject matter and content of courses of study. Once a license is issued, the licensee is to have the license readily available at the work site where general contracting services are being performed. | In Committee |
| S4087 | Provides that sale of real estate by homeowner is subject to consumer fraud act. | This bill provides that the sale of real estate by a homeowner is subject to the consumer fraud act. Specifically, the bill provides that the use of various fraudulent practices in connection with the sale or advertisement of real estate, including the sale of real estate by a homeowner, is an unlawful practice and a violation of the consumer fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). Pursuant to current law, the consumer fraud act only applies to commercial or professional sales of real estate. An unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act 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. In addition, 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 party. | In Committee |
| S4090 | Increases maximum age for pediatric long-term care facility residents to 26. | This bill provides that pediatric long-term care facilities may admit and provide services to residents who are age 26 or younger. Currently, the maximum age for pediatric long-term care residents is age 19. | In Committee |
| S4089 | Permits veteran's property tax deduction for tax year when veteran was previously qualified to receive deduction and became owner of real property after October 1 of pretax year. | This bill would allow a veteran who becomes the owner of the legal title to a parcel of real property after October 1 of the pretax year to be eligible to receive the veteran's property tax deduction on that parcel of real property for the tax year as long as the veteran was eligible to receive that property tax deduction on any other parcel of real property in the State prior to October 1 of the pretax year. Under current law, a veteran must be the owner of the legal title to the property as to which a veteran's property tax deduction is claimed on October 1 of the pretax year in order to be eligible to receive that property tax deduction for the tax year beginning the next January 1st. This bill would prevent a veteran from becoming ineligible for the veteran's property tax deduction if the veteran moved into a new home after October 1. | In Committee |
| S684 | Requires telecommunications, cable television, and Internet service providers to allow for service contracts to be paused or canceled following service recipients's admission to long-term care facility. | An Act allowing for service contracts to be paused or canceled following service recipients' admission to certain long-term care facilities and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S2544 | Establishes criminal penalties for production or dissemination of deceptive audio or visual media, commonly known as "deepfakes." | Establishes criminal penalties for production or dissemination of deceptive audio or visual media, commonly known as "deepfakes." | In Committee |
| S1756 | Revises criteria to establish base year for homestead property tax reimbursement after relocation. | Revises criteria to establish base year for homestead property tax reimbursement after relocation. | In Committee |
| S2954 | Requires geotechnical testing and certain monitoring of transportation projects. | Requires geotechnical testing and certain monitoring of transportation projects. | In Committee |
| S715 | Requires AG to establish rape kit tracking system. | An Act concerning sexual assault forensic evidence kits and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S4001 | Requires prosecutors and courts to consider additional aggravating factors and habitual offender status in certain serious motor vehicle offense cases. | This bill amends the procedures applicable to plea bargaining in municipal court cases involving the offenses of unlicensed driving, driving while not in possession of a valid driver's license, driving while suspended, driving while intoxicated, driving without insurance, driving as a habitual offender, and refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test. The bill requires municipal prosecutors, when considering whether to plea bargain such cases, to consider whether the defendant should be charged with enhanced penalties, including but not limited to incarceration, as a habitual offender. The bill also allows municipal prosecutors in these cases to consider whether a defendant's driving record demonstrates a pattern of contemptuous disregard for the traffic laws, which may be argued as an aggravating factor for sentencing. The bill further requires municipal prosecutors, in these cases that also involve bodily injury to another person, to consult with the victim before offering a plea bargain. Finally, the bill amends the definition of "habitual offender," which carries enhanced license suspension penalties, to include persons who have been convicted three or more times within a three year period for any combination of unlicensed driving, driving while not in possession of a valid driver's license, driving while suspended, driving while intoxicated, driving without insurance, driving as a habitual offender, or refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test. Under current law, determination of a person's "habitual offender" status is made by the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission. Under the bill, such a determination can be made by the court. | In Committee |
| S4040 | Requires public entities purchase five percent of goods and services from Central Nonprofit Agency; requires Division of Purchase and Property establish training protocols for all purchasing agents; grants Central Nonprofit Agency right of first refusal. | Under current law, State and local government agencies and political subdivisions of the State that are authorized to purchase goods and services are required to make a good faith effort to purchase five percent of such goods and services through the Central Nonprofit Agency, an agency established by the "Rehabilitation Facilities Set-Aside Act." Under the bill, such State and local government agencies and political subdivisions of the State will be required to purchase five percent of goods and services through the Central Nonprofit Agency. The bill clarifies reporting and oversight requirements. Under the bill, the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury must submit a report of purchasing data to the Central Nonprofit Agency for the Rehabilitation Facilities Set-Aside program no more than six months after the effective date of this bill, and on a quarterly basis thereafter. In addition, the Department of the Treasury will be required to report annually to the Governor and the Legislature detailing the compliance of State and local government entities and political subdivisions with the purchasing thresholds. The bill also provides that the Division of Purchase and Property, in collaboration with the Central Nonprofit Agency, must establish training protocols for all purchasing agents employed by State or local government entities or political subdivisions required to meet the purchasing thresholds. The bill also provides that the Central Nonprofit Agency will have a right of first refusal for all goods and services that may otherwise be purchased through a cooperative purchasing agreement catalog so long as the Central Nonprofit Agency can deliver the goods or services that would otherwise be purchased through a cooperative purchasing agreement catalog at a price that is within 15 percent of fair market value. The "Rehabilitation Facilities Set-Aside Act" assists persons who are blind or have a severe disability with achieving maximum personal independence through productive employment by assuring a continuous market for their goods and services, which are produced at qualified rehabilitation facilities and distributed through the Central Nonprofit Agency. The Central Nonprofit Agency is designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services to facilitate the distribution of orders received from various State agencies as provided in the "Rehabilitation Facilities Set-Aside Act." This bill furthers the goals of the "Rehabilitation Facilities Set-Aside Act" to assist in the productive employment of individuals with special needs. | In Committee |
| S4036 | Makes $3 million supplemental appropriation for bonus awards for certain COVID-19 emergency essential frontline State workers of Local 195 International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. | This bill provides for a supplemental appropriation of $3,000,000 from the General Fund to provide individual employee awards to the many essential frontline State workers of Local 195 of International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers who provided emergency frontline workplace service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Independent Review of New Jersey's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic completed on March 7, 2024 noted that one of the strengths of New Jersey State Government's response was that staff across government departments and agencies went above and beyond what they were expected or paid to do. Many state employees put their lives on hold to ensure that the important work of their department or agency continued amidst the uncertainty, additional workload, and safety challenges posed by the pandemic. Many frontline agency workers also reported experiencing significant trauma due to the panic and urgency of the response and the demands associated with their jobs. Personal losses and increased workloads caused many State workers to endure prolonged exhaustion and pandemic fatigue. Workers were overwhelmed by the sudden and dramatic increase in their responsibilities, which agencies had to process while being understaffed. Across departments and agencies, state employees demonstrated resilience and flexibility. Many state agencies worked closely with their respective unions to ensure their staff were well placed to continue their work during the pandemic. Agencies that had pre-existing relationships with union leaders were able to have proactive discussions and continuous dialogue in the early stages of the pandemic, enabling rapid decision making concerning workplace attendance by staff deemed essential for the health and safety of human life. The many frontline State workers of Local 195 of International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers ensured the continued operation and maintenance of the many crucial State facilities, which provide essential services to their clients and patients who could not survive a termination of services during the pandemic. This appropriation will ensure that the many thousands of these State employees receive additional compensation in the form of individual bonuses for their essential work during the most dangerous of times. | In Committee |
| SJR50 | Designates November of each year as "Caregivers Awareness Month." | This resolution designates November of each year as "Caregivers Awareness Month" and recognizes the 65 million voluntary family caregivers in the United States. Caregiving is not a "one size fits all" obligation, and caregivers find themselves caring for individuals of all ages and various needs. Conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia are commonly the basis for caregiving for the elderly, with five million individuals in the U.S. suffering from Alzheimer's disease alone. Additionally, the incidence of various childhood conditions is increasing, and therefore many parents are caregivers for children with special needs. Further, many veterans of the armed forces, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, require the assistance of caregivers. The value of the services provided by these caregivers, which often involves complex medical or nursing tasks, is approximately $450 billion per year. Despite providing such complex care, most caregivers have not obtained formal training. Moreover, the average amount of time spent by caregivers for their caregiving duties is 20.4 hours per week, and as the majority of caregivers are also employed, this commitment is quite considerable. The commitment of these caregivers to their loved ones often comes at a price to the caregivers themselves. Many caregivers find their duties to be emotionally stressful and highly burdensome. The longer an individual acts in a caregiver capacity, the more likely it is that individual will experience a deterioration of health. More than three-quarters of all caregivers feel that they need more help or information with respect to various caregiving topics. | In Committee |
| S3981 | "CJ's Law"; Criminalizes manufacture and distribution of substances containing kratom under certain circumstances. | This bill, designated as "CJ's Law," would criminalize the manufacture, possession and sale of products containing kratom. Kratom, as known as mitragyna speciosa korth, mitragynine extract, biak-biak, cratom, gratom, ithang, kakuam, katawn, kedemba, ketum, krathom, krton, mambog, madat, Maeng da leaf, nauclea, or Nauclea Speciosa, is a botanical substance that grows naturally in Southeast Asia. The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that kratom poses a threat to public health and has the potential for abuse. Kratom is frequently marketed on the Internet for its psychoactive and opioid-like analgesic effects, and for use in the treatment of morphine and heroin addiction. However, kratom is not approved in the United States for any medical use. In a statement released in April 2022, the FDA warned the public against using kratom, warning that the substance "affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine" and that it appears to have "properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence." According to the FDA, scientific literature has disclosed serious concerns regarding the toxicity of kratom in multiple organ systems, with consumption leading to a number of health issues, including depressed respiratory function, nervousness, agitation, aggression, sleeplessness, hallucinations, delusions, loss of libido, tremors, skin hyperpigmentation, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and severe withdrawal signs and symptoms. Currently, possession and distribution of kratom is not barred by federal or New Jersey law. However, the FDA Import Alert # 54-15 provides guidance for FDA field personnel regarding the detention of dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients that contain kratom. The FDA has also issued a number of warning letters and conducted seizures of illegally sold, unapproved, or misbranded drug products containing kratom that make unproven claims about their ability to treat or cure opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Kratom is banned or its uses restricted in several countries, including Australia, Denmark, Finland, France , Germany, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Kratom is also illegal in several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Several states have passed laws restricting its sale and use, while several other states have introduced legislation that would ban this drug. This bill amends existing law to include kratom as a controlled dangerous substance and to sets out gradations for crimes involving the substance. The bill would make it a crime of the second degree to manufacture, distribute or dispense, or possess or have under one's control with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a substance containing kratom in an amount of one ounce or more, including adulterants and dilutants. A crime of the second degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to 10 years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. It would be a crime of the third degree to manufacture, distribute or dispense, or possess or have under one's control with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a substance containing kratom in an amount of less than one ounce, including adulterants and dilutants. 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. Under the bill, there is an exception for the possession and manufacture of kratom, mitragyna speciosa korth, mitragynine, or any derivative of those chemical compounds, for any person who is a practitioner as defined in N.J.S.A.24:21-1. N.J.S.A.24:21-1 defines a "practitioner" as a physician, dentist, veterinarian, scientific investigator, laboratory, pharmacy, hospital, or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to, or administer a controlled dangerous substance in the course of professional practice or research in this State. CJ's Law is designated in remembrance of Christopher James (CJ) Holowach, who died at age 33 from cardiac arrest caused by mixture of drugs that included his physician prescribed Adderol and kratom. While awaiting arm surgery, CJ Holowach consumed kratom to numb his arm pain without jeopardizing his recovery from opioid addiction. However, he was unaware of the dangers of kratom as the supplement's bottle provided no warning labels or suggestions on safe dosage amounts. Kratom is marketed in a way to make it appear to be a safe herbal pain supplement, when it poses serious health risks. Further, addiction experts warn, echoing the sentiments of FDA warnings, that kratom can be highly addictive and create risk of abuse and dependence. It is the sponsor's hope that this bill will stop the sale of kratom in New Jersey, avoiding further tragedies including death. | In Committee |
| S3617 | Requires county clerks to send applications for mail-in ballots to registered voters upon their 18th birthday. | Requires county clerks to send applications for mail-in ballots to registered voters upon their 18th birthday. | In Committee |
| SJR71 | Designates first week of May of each year as Wounded Warrior Appreciation Week. | This joint resolution designates the first full week of May of each year as Wounded Warrior Appreciation Week in New Jersey. With advancements in battlefield medicine and body armor, an unprecedented percentage of military service members are surviving severe wounds and injures in the service of the United States. It is estimated that during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, over 48,000 servicemen and women were physically injured. In addition to the physical wounds, it is estimated that as many as 400,000 service members live with the invisible wounds of war including combat-related stress, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with another 320,000 believed to have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment. This State should honor and empower all wounded warriors, encouraging them in their adjustment to civilian life and achievement of their goals. Designates first week of May of each year as Wounded Warrior Appreciation Week. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| A4047 | Revises unemployment compensation law. | An Act concerning unemployment compensation and amending various parts of the statutory law. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S1430 | Provides for expanded use of affordable housing voucher program funding. | An Act concerning use of affordable housing vouchers for homeownership expenses, amending P.L.2004, c.140, and supplementing P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-1 et seq.). | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3638 | Prohibits providers of commercial mobile service and developers of mobile application from disclosing customer's global position system data to third parties under certain circumstances. | This bill prohibits commercial mobile service providers and mobile device application developers from disclosing a customer's global positioning system (GPS) data to a third party, unless the customer has given consent for the third party to access the customer's GPS data. In order to obtain a customer's consent, the bill requires a mobile device application developer to provide notice to the customer, which customer would be required to affirmatively elect to allow their location data to be disclosed to a third party. However, the bill provides that these entities would not be required to obtain a customer's consent before disclosing any GPS data that is required to comply with a law or regulation, law enforcement investigation, legal process, or court order. Under the bill, a third party that accesses a customer's GPS data would also be prohibited from selling the customer's data in any circumstances. Additionally, the bill provides that the third party may only disclose the customer's GPS data as necessary to effectuate the purpose for which the consent was given. A commercial mobile service provider, mobile device application developer, or third party that violates the provisions of this bill would be deemed to violate the State's consumer fraud act, which may result in a penalty of not more than $10,000 for the first offense and not more than $20,000 for each subsequent offense. | In Committee |
| S3938 | Requires independent engineer to review State transportation projects in certain circumstances. | This bill requires the Department of Transportation (department) to hire an independent engineer to review a transportation project when a dispute over safety concerns related to the project arises between the department and the contractor hired by the department to undertake the project. At a minimum, the independent engineer is required to assess the project for any potential safety concerns, including those raised by either the department or the contractor. Under the bill, "independent engineer" is defined as an engineer not otherwise affiliated with or employed by the department or the contractor hired to undertake the transportation project but who meets certain professional qualifications, as determined by the department. | In Committee |
| S2978 | Establishes protected leave under "Family Leave Act" and family temporary disability leave benefits for bereavement for death of child, miscarriage, stillbirth, and certain other circumstances. | Establishes protected leave under "Family Leave Act" and family temporary disability leave benefits for bereavement for death of child, miscarriage, stillbirth, and certain other circumstances. | In Committee |
| S2826 | Provides certain resources to county prosecutors for enforcement of law regarding failure to pay wages; makes appropriation. | This bill requires the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD), for purposes of supporting the enforcement of the provisions of State wage and hour laws, to provide funds and training to each county prosecutor's office for the investigation and prosecution of the abovementioned laws and worker exploitation. The bill requires the county prosecutor of each county to establish and assign an assistant prosecutor to the investigation and prosecution of violations of the State wage and hour laws. The bill makes an appropriation from the General Fund to the DOLWD, not to exceed $2,000,000, for purposes of effectuating the provisions of the bill. | In Committee |
| S2852 | Concerns eligibility for unemployment benefits. | Concerns eligibility for unemployment benefits. | In Committee |
| S2962 | Requires contractor subject to prevailing wage law to provide orientation meeting to new employee on prevailing wage project. | An Act concerning the rights of employees under the prevailing wage law and amending P.L.1963, c.150. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| SJR14 | Designates third Sunday of November of each year as "World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims" in NJ. | Designates third Sunday of November of each year as "World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims" in NJ. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S2310 | Requires transparency concerning compensation with promotional opportunities and in employment listings. | An Act concerning transparency in employment listings and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S2949 | Revises unemployment compensation law. | This bill amends the State law regarding unemployment insurance (UI) to: 1. Add any disabled, unmarried adult child of a UI benefit claimant, whose disability began before the age of 22, to the dependents counted for the purpose of calculating weekly UI benefit amounts. 2. Provide that an individual otherwise eligible for UI benefits is not deemed ineligible for the benefits solely because the individual is a student in full-time attendance, or on vacation from, at an educational institution, so long as the individual remains available for work, eliminating the current benefit eligibility requirement for the individual to have earned sufficient wages while enrolled in full-time in education. 3. Shift the current provisions of the UI law that permit the payment of UI benefits to a claimant who is a participant in a department-approved training program from being an exception to the disqualification from benefits when enrolled in full-time education to being a circumstance under which a claimant is eligible, and specify that the claimant's participation in the program is required to be in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (4) of subsection (c) of R.S.43:21-4, which states that a claimant is not disqualified for benefits for failing or refusing to accept work while attending the program. 4. Permit a claimant to request that the department make its notification of its initial determination of the benefit claim by electronic means. 5. Provide that the current requirement that benefits paid pending an appeal be paid according to the initial determination applies only to the period before the appeal tribunal makes a decision regarding the appeal and provide that the benefits then will be paid according to the decision of the appeal tribunal, pending any appeal of the appeal tribunal decision made to the board of review. 6. Remove the requirement in the current law that in cases where an appeal made by an employer of a charge to its UI tax account results in a reduction of benefits to a claimant, any overpayment of benefits paid before the resolution of the appeal is charged to the employer's UI tax account. 7. Require the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to develop a mechanism for claimants to have electronic access to their own benefit payment status and history. 8. Remove the provision of current law that a claimant is not required to repay any of an overpayment of UI benefits if the overpayment is not caused by a knowing, fraudulent nondisclosure or misrepresentation by the claimant or representative of the claimant, and is not required to repay more than 50 percent of the overpayment if it was made because of both claimant error and department error or employer error or nondisclosure, but without knowing, fraudulent nondisclosure or misrepresentation by the claimant. Instead, the bill provides that if a claimant requests a waiver of the repayment, the department is required to provide a full waiver repayment if the claimant did not withhold or misrepresent any material fact to obtain benefits and the overpayment is due to an error of the department or an error of the employer or failure of the employers to provide information, or also if the claimant has died or become disabled, or recovery is determined to be contrary to equity and good conscience. The bill also requires the department to provide a waiver, even if the claimant makes no request, for an overpayment caused by department error, employer error, or employer failure to provide information, if the department has determined that the claimant did not misrepresent or withhold any material fact to obtain benefits. 9. Provide that the calculation of the claimant's average weekly wage used to determine a claimant's weekly benefit amount is based on wages with all base year employers, not just the wages of the most recent employer before the layoff, but with the total number of base weeks limited to 52. The bill also prevents a base-year employer's UI tax account from being charged for UI benefits paid to a claimant while the claimant continues to work for that employer but is laid off by another base year employer. 10. Remove, in the case of joint State-federal extended UI benefits, the requirement that a claimant who has been disqualified because of misconduct or failure to apply for or accept suitable work not receive benefits until the claimant is reemployed and earns at least four times the claimant's weekly benefit rate, and replace that by providing that the claimant need only complete the period of regular UI disqualification to be eligible for the extended benefits. The provisions of sections 4 and 6 of the bill apply retroactively back to July 21, 2023. Because all of the provisions of the current law which are removed by section 4 and 6 of the bill were added by P.L.2022, c.120 which went into effect on that date, having those sections apply retroactively to that date would make it as if those provisions had never been allowed to take effect. | In Committee |
| S1887 | Creates offense of financial exploitation of the elderly. | Creates offense of financial exploitation of the elderly. | Crossed Over |
| SR98 | Commemorates 45th anniversary of enactment of Taiwan Relations Act and 35th anniversary of New Jersey-Taiwan sister state relationship. | This resolution commemorates the 45th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act and the 35th anniversary of the New Jersey-Taiwan sister state relationship. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) was passed by the United States. Congress on April 10, 1979 to sustain a close bilateral relationship and advance mutual security and commercial interests between the United States and Taiwan. Since its enactment, the TRA has served as the cornerstone of U.S.-Taiwan relations, preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a part of the South China Sea that separates the island of Taiwan from the Asian continent. The Taiwan Strait is crucial to the maintenance of a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific region. Its importance has been recently highlighted in global summits such as the G7, NATO and East Asian Summit. The TRA has served as the foundation for the mutually beneficial partnership between Taiwan and the United States. In 2023, a total of $127.5 billion in bilateral trade occurred between the United States and Taiwan, making Taiwan the 8th largest trading partner of the United States. In June 2023, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade was signed to enhance the existing trade partnership as a means to promote innovation and inclusive economic growth for workers, as well as businesses. The United States has also assisted Taiwan in furthering their global participation through international organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 1989, New Jersey and Taiwan entered a sister-state relationship, which remains a continuous and prosperous affiliation today. In 2021, the relationship was expanded by a sister-city agreement between Newark, New Jersey and Taoyuan City, Taiwan. In 2023, New Jersey exported approximately $723 million worth of products to Taiwan, making Taiwan the State's 5th largest export market in Asia. In October 2023, Governor Murphy announced plans to open Choose New Jersey's New Jersey Asian-Pacific Center in Taiwan and witnessed numerous Memorandums of Understanding between State executive agencies and Taiwan to establish powerful economic trade partnerships and bilateral educational infrastructure. As of March 2024, over 200 Taiwanese companies have invested in New Jersey leading to the creation of new jobs in the State. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3832 | Requires issuance of raincheck for unavailable good or service advertised by digital coupon. | This bill requires the issuance of rainchecks for goods or services advertised by digital coupon. Under the bill, if an item advertised to the public by a person who sells or offers for sale goods or services at a retail location is not currently available in stock, as advertised to the public in a digital coupon, the person is required to provide a raincheck for not less than 60 days, which would allow the consumer to obtain the same product, service, or benefit at the same price, discount or on the same terms and conditions as that provided by the digital coupon. A violation of the bill's provisions is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). 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. In addition, 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. | In Committee |
| S3817 | 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 |
| S3568 | Concerns policies governing student use of cell phones and social media platforms in schools. | This bill requires the Commissioner of Education to develop a policy concerning student use of cell phones and social media and requires a board of education to adopt a policy concerning student use of cell phones and social media. Under the bill, the commissioner is to develop a policy applicable to students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12 concerning student use of cell phones and social media platforms during regular school hours, on a school bus, or during school-sanctioned events when the student is under the direct supervision of a teaching staff member or employee of the board of education. The policy is to, at a minimum, (1) provide age appropriate and grade-level differentiated policies concerning limiting and prohibiting student use of cell phones and social media platforms; (2) be consistent with State and federal law including accommodations provided in a student's Individualized Education Program or educational plan; (3) permit student use of cell phones in the case of an emergency or in response to a perceived threat of danger; (4) permit student use of cell phones upon submission by a parent or guardian of documentation from a health care professional indicating that the use of a cell phone is necessary for the health or well-being of the student; (5) address smartphones, cell phones with only text or voice, and other relevant devices, including smart watches; (6) list options that may be utilized by a school district for cell phone storage, including locked pouches and cell phone lockers; (7) provide guidance for a school district to establish network-based restrictions to prevent the use of, or access to, social media platforms; and (8) detail protocols for communicating the district's policy concerning student use of cell phones and social media platforms to students, their families, and teaching staff members. The bill also requires each board of education to adopt a policy concerning student use of cell phones and social media platforms during regular school hours, on a school bus, or during school-sanctioned events when the student is under the direct supervision of a teaching staff member or employee of the board of education. The policy is to be consistent with the policy developed by the commissioner. Additionally, the bill permits the commissioner to grant an exemption to a board of education for the requirement to adopt the policy upon submission of an application by the board. | Dead |
| S2543 | Prohibits and imposes criminal penalty on disclosure of certain intentionally deceptive audio or visual media within 90 days of election. | Prohibits and imposes criminal penalty on disclosure of certain intentionally deceptive audio or visual media within 90 days of election. | In Committee |
| S3586 | Concerns training for law enforcement officers. | This bill concerns training for law enforcement officers. Under the provisions of this bill, a private company or instructor is prohibited from offering or providing any training to law enforcement officers unless approved by the Police Training Commission on an annual basis and is required to comply with any requirements established by the commission with respect to oversight and monitoring of training that is offered or provided. The Attorney General is required to set forth the requirements and procedure for approval of a private company or instructor, including but not limited to any fees that may be charged to a private company or instructor to apply for or obtain approval to offer or provide training. In addition, the bill provides that a law enforcement officer is not to attend and an employing law enforcement unit is not to permit a law enforcement officer to attend training provided by a private company or instructor that has not been approved by the commission. This bill is in response to a report issued by the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller on December 6, 2023 entitled "The High Price of Unregulated Private Police Training to New Jersey." | In Committee |
| S3006 | Establishes crimes of home invasion burglary and residential burglary. | An Act concerning burglary of residential dwellings, supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, and amending various parts of the statutory law. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S1220 | Increases penalties for failing to secure a child in a child passenger restraint system or booster seat while operating a motor vehicle. | Increases penalties for failing to secure a child in a child passenger restraint system or booster seat while operating a motor vehicle. | In Committee |
| S2306 | "New Jersey Works Act"; permits businesses to apply for tax credits for establishing approved pre-employment and work readiness training programs in partnership with schools, nonprofit organizations, or educational institutions. | "New Jersey Works Act"; permits businesses to apply for tax credits for establishing approved pre-employment and work readiness training programs in partnership with schools, nonprofit organizations, or educational institutions. | In Committee |
| S3692 | Requires certain consumer disclosures relating to rabies testing and establishes optional training for veterinarians. | The bill provides that it is a violation of the consumer fraud act for a veterinarian to intentionally misrepresent, including through the use of euphemisms, code words, or otherwise, the information required under current law to be provided to the owner of a dead domestic companion animal undergoing testing for rabies. 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. In addition, 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 party. In addition, the bill requires the Division of Consumer Affairs to develop a poster and pamphlet with information relating to rabies vaccines and quarantine and testing protocols. Veterinarians are required to display the poster in office reception areas and to distribute the pamphlets to certain customers. Lastly, the bill requires the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services to develop a trauma-informed mental health protection training certification program for veterinarians and staff. The program is optional, and those who complete it are to receive a certification from the division. | In Committee |
| S3637 | Establishes Office of Inspector General for Prosecutorial Review in but not of DLPS. | This bill establishes the Office of Inspector General for Prosecutorial Review. The Inspector General (IG) will be appointed to a five-year term by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and is required to have experience as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. The IG will operate independently, without supervision or control by any other State officer or employee. Under the bill, the IG's primary role is to investigate allegations concerning the misconduct of a prosecutor or any member of a prosecution team, including detectives. To this end, the IG is to provide a confidential process for submitting complaints by both the public and government employees. The IG is responsible for organizing the office, hiring staff, and engaging consultants as needed, using a fair, competitive process to ensure independence and effectiveness. Under the bill, a prosecutor or member of the prosecution team under investigation for misconduct by the IG is prohibited from using privilege or work-product protection to withhold information from the IG if the prosecution related to that information has concluded. The bill grants the IG authority to compel testimony and request documents through subpoenas, requiring that all investigations adhere to national and professional standards. Additionally, the IG can request information, resources, and assistance from any State department or agency to fulfill its duties. The IG is also authorized to collaborate with other State oversight entities, such as the State Auditor, the State Commission of Investigation, the State Comptroller, and the State Inspector General, and may participate in joint investigations with these agencies. The IG has discretion to decline certain investigations and can refer cases involving potential criminal conduct to appropriate authorities. Whenever a criminal referral is made against a prosecutor, the IG is required to notify the Office of Attorney Ethics. Whenever a criminal referral is made against a detective who is part of a prosecution team, the IG is responsible for ensuring the referral is documented as part of the detective's personnel file. Under the provisions of the bill, the IG is required to maintain detailed records of referrals and outcomes and may disclose information as needed while safeguarding the confidentiality of ongoing investigations. The IG is to meet at least twice annually with other State oversight bodies to coordinate efforts, share information, and prevent duplication of work. After concluding an investigation, the IG is to submit a report with findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature, which will also be published online for public access. | In Committee |
| S3532 | Includes Sikhs as protected class in bias intimidation law; appropriates $100,000. | This bill amends N.J.S.A.2C:16-1, the crime of bias intimidation,to specifically include Sikhism in the protected classes set forth in the statute. Sikhism is the monotheistic religion founded in India in the 15th century by Guru Nanak. New Jersey is home to approximately 100,000 Sikhs, which is one of the largest Sikh populations in the United States. On October 16, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") released its annual report of hate crime statistics, which recorded 198 anti-Sikh hate crime incidents. According to the FBI report, Sikhs remain the second-most targeted group in the nation for religiously-motivated hate crime incidents. Current law enumerates the protected classes of race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, and ethnicity in the bias intimidation statute. Under the provisions of the bill, a person is guilty of the crime of bias intimidation if he commits, attempts, conspires, or threatens the immediate commission of certain specified offenses with a purpose to intimidate an individual or group because of their membership within a protected class, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ethnicity, or Sikhism, or knowing that the conduct would cause an individual or group to be intimidated on that basis or under circumstances in which the victim believes he was targeted on that basis. Pursuant to this bill, all local, county, and State law enforcement entities in New Jersey are to report all violations under the statute to the State and federal law enforcement agencies responsible for preparing bias crime reports. Further, this bill sets forth that the Office of Attorney General, in consultation with the Department of Education, is to: (1) develop training, for the dissemination to county and local law enforcement agencies, on Sihkism, which shall include, but not limited to, visible Sikh identity features, including turbans, bracelets, moustaches, beard, and physical attire, and the classification of bias intimidation cases as anti-sikh, to prevent the misclassification of hate and bias incidents. (2) coordinate with other State agencies and departments in the creation of a public awareness campaign and educational initiatives on Sikhism; and (3) annually report to the Governor and the Legislature on the public awareness campaign,educational initiatives on Sikhism executed through the public awareness campaign across different public platforms, and on the steps taken to include Sikhism education across curriculum standards in different grades across township boards of education within this State. Pursuant to this bill, the New Jersey Office of Attorney General, in consultation with the New Jersey field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, shall develop a transnational repression recognition and response training program that is to include how to identify different tactics of transnational repression and best practices for appropriate county, local and state law enforcement prevention, reporting, and response tactics. Current law establishes within the Division of Purchase and Property in the State Department of the Treasury, the position of Chief Diversity Officer. This bill expands the Chief Diversity Officer's responsibilities to include: ensuring that each public entity of this State incorporate the definition for anti-Sikh hate into the bias intimidation policy of the public entity; and ensuring that the definition of anti-Sikh hate is incorporated into the diversity, equity, and inclusivity promotion policies in any program offered by the State or any political subdivision of the State. This bill appropriates $100,000, for three consecutive years following enactment, from the General Fund to the Office of the Attorney General to fund Sikh awareness educational initiatives and outreach efforts to the Sikh community. | In Committee |
| S3543 | Expands eligible grantees under New Jersey Civic Information Consortium; establishes provisions for tracking and reporting progress of grantee; requires grantee to post statement on Internet website. | This bill establishes requirements for tracking and reporting the progress of New Jersey Civic Information Consortium grantees and requires grantees to include a statement on the grantee's Internet website. The New Jersey Civic Information Consortium is a consortium of six public institutions of higher education whose purpose is to advance research and innovation in the field of media and technology to benefit the State's civic life and evolving information needs. The consortium, with the approval of its board of directors, awards grants for projects that meet the goals of the consortium, provide evidence of a collaboration between at least one academic or administrative representative of a member university and at least one local community organization, media organization, or technology-based organization, and demonstrates that the collaboration is a mutually respectful partnership with community and member university investment in the mission and goals of the consortium. The bill prohibits the consortium from requiring a grant proposal applicant to be a tax exempt organization or obtain a fiscal sponsor that is a tax exempt organization. Under current law, a grant agreement for a grant issued by the consortium is required to include a provision establishing a set of metrics for assessing the goals contained in the agreement to ensure evaluation of a grantee project on how well those metrics are being met and any other relevant accountability measures. The set of metrics is established by the board in conjunction with consortium staff. The bill requires the consortium to track the progress of the grantee towards meeting the goals contained in the agreement through periodic meetings with consortium staff. The bill also requires the grantee to submit a report to the consortium at the end of the grant period. The report is to include a narrative and financial report describing the grantee's activities and progress towards meeting the goals contained in the agreement. Finally, the bill requires the expectations enumerated in the grant agreement to include a statement requiring the grantee to post a statement on its Internet website that the grantee project receives grant funding from the consortium. | In Committee |
| S3542 | Establishes "Resident Firefighter Grant Program" in Division of Fire Safety. | This bill establishes the "Resident Firefighter Grant Program" in the Division of Fire Safety (division) in the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). This program would provide grants to fire districts to use for the creation and expansion of resident firefighter programs. The bill defines "resident firefighter" as a firefighter who performs fire station duties including, but not limited to, attending trainings and responding to emergency calls, in exchange for free living accommodations. The bill requires the director of the division, to the extent possible, to equitably distribute grant awards to successful applicants in the northern, central, and southern regions of the State. Funds distributed under the program are required to be used for the purposes as prescribed in the bill, including, but not limited to, incentives and amenities for resident firefighters, and construction of, and supplies for, dormitories for resident firefighters which may include kitchen facilities. The bill also requires DCA to annually request, as part of its annual budget proposal, a minimum of $5 million to fund the grants authorized by the bill. The bill also requires DCA and the division to pursue and utilize any available federal, State, local, and private funding for the grants. | In Committee |
| S3541 | Prohibits amusement games licensees from offering or advertising gambling activities related to amusement games. | This bill prohibits the holder of an amusement games license from accepting wagers on their premises, or on any amusement game authorized to be played under their amusement games license. The bill also prohibits the holder of an amusement games license from allowing any other party to facilitate such gambling activities on the license holder's property or on games conducted by the license holder, and from advertising any such gambling activities. An amusement games license holder who engages in any conduct prohibited under the terms of the bill would be committing a disorderly persons offense, and could be subject to forfeiture of their amusement games license, as well as the applicable penalties for illegal gambling. | In Committee |
| S3235 | Regulates production and sale of certain intoxicating hemp products. | An Act concerning intoxicating hemp products, supplementing Title 24 of the New Jersey Statutes, and amending various sections of statutory law. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3134 | Requires MVC to take certain action concerning commercial driver licenses and commercial learner's permits. | An Act concerning commercial driver licenses and learner's permits and amending and supplementing P.L.1990, c.103. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S2876 | Designates State Highway Route 42 and Interstate Highway Route 295 interchange as "Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange." | An Act designating the interchange between State Highway Route 42 and Interstate Highway Route 295 as the "Ensign John R. Elliott Memorial Interchange." | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S2644 | Requires DOE to establish working group on student literacy; mandates universal literacy screenings for kindergarten through grade three students; requires professional development for certain school district employees. | An Act concerning student literacy and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| A3861 | "Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act." | An Act concerning the report and collection of medical debt and supplementing P.L.1997, c.172 (C.56:11-28 et seq.). | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3275 | Revises various provisions of film and digital media content production tax credit program. | This bill revises certain provisions of the film and digital media content production tax credit program to include eligibility for wages and salaries paid to persons who are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. Under the film and digital media content production tax credit program, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority awards corporation business tax and gross income tax credits to eligible taxpayers based on the qualified film production expenses or qualified digital media content production expenses incurred for use within certain parts of the State. In addition to certain other eligibility requirements, at least 50 percent of the qualified digital media content production expenses incurred by a taxpayer are required to be for wages and salaries paid to full-time or full-time equivalent employees in New Jersey in order to qualify for the digital media content production tax credit. Under current law, the terms "qualified film production expenses" and "qualified digital media content production expenses" are defined to include, among other expenses, the wages and salaries paid to individuals who are employed for the purposes of the production and who are subject to the tax imposed by the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act." Current law also defines the term "full-time or full-time equivalent employee" to include persons working not less than 35 hours per week, or other standard of service accepted by custom or practice as full-time or full-time equivalent employment, and whose wages and salaries are subject to withholding as provided in the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act." This bill expands the scope of qualified film production expenses and qualified digital media content production expenses to include wages and salaries that are paid to individuals who are employed for the purposes of the production and who are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to the provisions of a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. The bill also provides that these expenses would include any payments made by the taxpayer to a loan out company for services performed in New Jersey by individuals who are employed by the loan out company and whose wages and salaries are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to the provisions of a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. Additionally, the bill amends the definition "full-time or full-time equivalent employee" to include otherwise eligible persons whose wages and salaries are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to the provisions of a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. Currently, the State has entered into a reciprocal income tax agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Under the terms of this agreement, compensation paid to Pennsylvania residents who are employed in New Jersey is not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act." Accordingly, the bill provides that wages and salaries paid to certain Pennsylvania residents may be included as qualified film production expenses and qualified digital media content production expenses, provided that these persons are employed in the New Jersey for the purposes of the film or digital media content production. The provisions of this bill would take effect immediately and apply retroactively beginning on January 1, 2024 to any taxpayer who has not received a tax credit certificate or tax credit transfer certificate from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority before this date. However, any taxpayer that has previously received a tax credit certificate, but has not used such tax credit certificate before January 1, 2024, would be allowed to surrender the tax credit certificate to the authority and receive a new tax credit certificate in accordance with the provisions of this bill. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3192 | "Real Estate Consumer Protection Enhancement Act." | An Act concerning consumer rights in certain real estate transactions and amending P.L.2009, c.238 and supplementing Title 45 of the Revised Statutes and chapter 8 of Title 56 of the Revised Statutes. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S2806 | "Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act." | "Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act." | In Committee |
| SJR45 | Designates June of each year as "Gun Violence Awareness Month." | Designates June of each year as "Gun Violence Awareness Month." | Crossed Over |
| S226 | Prohibits use by certain retailers of shipping box greater than two times volume of product being shipped. | Prohibits use by certain retailers of shipping box greater than two times volume of product being shipped. | Crossed Over |
| S729 | Establishes tianeptine as Schedule II controlled dangerous substance. | Establishes tianeptine as Schedule II controlled dangerous substance. | In Committee |
| S1446 | Modifies down payment assistance program for benefit of first-generation and first-time homebuyers; makes an appropriation. | An Act concerning housing assistance for certain homebuyers and amending P.L.2023, c.78. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3508 | Establishes penalties for certain conduct related to public brawl and disorderly conduct. | This bill provides that parents and legal guardians having legal custody of minors may be subject to a fine or guilty of a petty disorderly or disorderly persons offense for certain conduct related to willful or wanton disregard in the exercise of supervision and control of a minor. Under the bill, a parent or legal guardian who demonstrated willful or wanton disregard in the exercise of the supervision and control of the conduct of a minor such that the minor was adjudicated delinquent for: 1) engaging in improper behavior in violation of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:33-2, which resulted in property damage, would be subject to a fine of $1,000; 2) a first offense of inciting a public brawl in violation of subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:33-1, would be guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense; or 3) a second or subsequent offense of inciting a public brawl in violation of subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:33-1, would be guilty of a disorderly persons offense. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000 or both. A petty disorderly persons offense is punishable by imprisonment of up to 30 days, a fine of up to $500, or both. | In Committee |
| S3483 | Prohibits public entities from using foreign-made small, unmanned aircraft systems. | This bill prohibits the State or any political subdivision of the State, including municipalities, counties, and any board, bureau, office, instrumentality within or created by such department, any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality or agency, and, to the extent consistent with law, any interstate agency to which New Jersey is a party from using a foreign-made small, unmanned aircraft system. This bill defines "foreign-made" to mean any small, unmanned aircraft system in which the cost of component parts manufactured in a foreign country exceeds 25 percent of the cost of all components. This bill defines "foreign country" to mean any nation other than the United States, including, without limitation, any subdivision, territory, trust territory, dependency, or possession of any such nation. | In Committee |
| SCR100 | Proposes constitutional amendment to provide property tax exemption for primary residence owned and occupied by surviving spouse of first responder who dies while performing regular or assigned duties. | Proposes constitutional amendment to provide property tax exemption for primary residence owned and occupied by surviving spouse of first responder who dies while performing regular or assigned duties. | In Committee |
| S1200 | Allows a gross income tax deduction for certain higher education tuition and fee expenses. | This bill allows taxpayers who have annual gross income of $85,000 or less to deduct certain higher education tuition and fee expenses paid during the taxable year. The bill allows the deduction for higher education tuition and fee expenses paid on account of the status of the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse and the taxpayer's dependents as a matriculated student at an accredited higher education institution. | In Committee |
| S1235 | Establishes a gross income tax credit for attendance at New Jersey county colleges. | This bill encourages greater opportunities for attendance at county colleges by establishing a $750 gross income tax credit for payment of tuition and maintenance costs for full time attendance, and a $375 credit for part-time attendance, at a New Jersey county college paid by a taxpayer either for a dependent under 22 years of age or for the taxpayer's own attendance at a county college. These tax credits provide tax savings that can be used to finance a significant portion of a county college student's tuition. The county community college system, comprised of 19 institutions, provides access to higher education for a broad range of New Jersey residents who might otherwise be denied the benefits of a college education. This tax credit can provide a substantial financial subsidy for those taxpayers who are pursuing this gateway to a post-secondary education for themselves or their dependents. | In Committee |
| S3223 | Permits greater diversity in creation of new health sharing ministries and establishes and exempts certain mandates and reporting requirements. | This bill permits greater diversity in the creation of new health sharing ministries and establishes and exempts certain mandates and reporting requirements. Under the bill, a participant in a health care sharing ministry established after December 31, 1999 will not be considered an applicable individual subject to the State's minimum essential coverage requirement, which requires that every applicable individual maintain health insurance coverage. Currently, a participant in a health care sharing ministry established after December 31, 1999 is considered an applicable individual subject to the State's minimum essential coverage requirements and must maintain health insurance coverage or pay a State-imposed tax. Additionally, the bill establishes certain reporting requirements for health care sharing ministries and organizations that offer or intend to offer a plan or arrangement to facilitate payment or reimbursement of health care costs or services for residents of this State. The reporting requirements include the total number of individuals and households that participated in the plan or arrangement in the immediately preceding calendar year and the total amount of fees, dues, or other payments collected by the ministry or organization in the immediately preceding calendar year, among other requirements. Ministries or organizations that fail to comply with the reporting requirements under the bill may be subject to certain monetary penalties or other administrative or legal actions. As used in this bill, "health care sharing ministry" means a not-for-profit organization pursuant to 26 U.S.C. s.501(c)(3) that is exempt from federal income taxes under 26 U.S.C. s.501(a), whose members: (1) share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and share medical expenses among members in accordance with those beliefs, without regard to the state in which a member resides or is employed; and (2) retain membership even after they develop a medical condition. The term "health care sharing ministry" excludes ministries that do not conduct an annual audit that: (1) is performed by an independent certified public accounting firm; (2) follows generally accepted accounting principles; and (3) is made available to the public upon request. | In Committee |
| S3359 | "CJ's Law"; Criminalizes manufacture, sale, and possession of substances containing kratom. | This bill, designated as "CJ's Law," would criminalize the manufacture, possession and sale of products containing kratom. Kratom, as known as mitragyna speciosa korth, mitragynine extract, biak-biak, cratom, gratom, ithang, kakuam, katawn, kedemba, ketum, krathom, krton, mambog, madat, Maeng da leaf, nauclea, or Nauclea Speciosa, is a botanical substance that grows naturally in Southeast Asia. The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that kratom poses a threat to public health and has the potential for abuse. Kratom is frequently marketed on the Internet for its psychoactive and opioid-like analgesic effects, and for use in the treatment of morphine and heroin addiction. However, kratom is not approved in the United States for any medical use. In a statement released in April 2022, the FDA warned the public against using kratom, warning that the substance "affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine" and that it appears to have "properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence." According to the FDA, scientific literature has disclosed serious concerns regarding the toxicity of kratom in multiple organ systems, with consumption leading to a number of health issues, including depressed respiratory function, nervousness, agitation, aggression, sleeplessness, hallucinations, delusions, loss of libido, tremors, skin hyperpigmentation, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and severe withdrawal signs and symptoms. Currently, possession and distribution of kratom is not barred by federal or New Jersey law. However, the FDA Import Alert # 54-15 provides guidance for FDA field personnel regarding the detention of dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients that contain kratom. The FDA has also issued a number of warning letters and conducted seizures of illegally sold, unapproved, or misbranded drug products containing kratom that make unproven claims about their ability to treat or cure opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Kratom is banned or its uses restricted in several countries, including Australia, Denmark, Finland, France , Germany, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Kratom is also illegal in several states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Several states have passed laws restricting its sale and use, while several other states have introduced legislation that would ban this drug. This bill amends existing law to include kratom as a controlled dangerous substance and to sets out gradations for crimes involving the substance. The bill would make it a crime of the second degree to manufacture, distribute or dispense, or possess or have under one's control with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a substance containing kratom in an amount of one ounce or more, including adulterants and dilutants. A crime of the second degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of five to 10 years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. It would be a crime of the third degree to manufacture, distribute or dispense, or possess or have under one's control with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a substance containing kratom in an amount of less than one ounce, including adulterants and dilutants. 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. Under the bill, the possession of one ounce or more, including adulterants and dilutants, of a substance containing kratom would be a crime of the third degree, and possession of less than one ounce, including adulterants and dilutants, would be a crime of the fourth degree. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. CJ's Law is designated in remembrance of Christopher James (CJ) Holowach, who died at age 33 from cardiac arrest caused by mixture of drugs that included his physician prescribed Adderol and kratom. While awaiting arm surgery, CJ Holowach consumed kratom to numb his arm pain without jeopardizing his recovery from opioid addiction. However, he was unaware of the dangers of kratom as the supplement's bottle provided no warning labels or suggestions on safe dosage amounts. Kratom is marketed in a way to make it appear to be a safe herbal pain supplement, when it poses serious health risks. Further, addiction experts warn, echoing the sentiments of FDA warnings, that kratom can be highly addictive and create risk of abuse and dependence. It is the sponsor's hope that this bill will stop the sale of kratom in New Jersey, avoiding further tragedies including death. | In Committee |
| A3939 | Mandates access to periodic cancer screening examinations for professional firefighters not enrolled in SHBP, but who are eligible for SHBP by virtue of public employment. | An Act mandating access to periodic cancer screening examinations for full-time paid firefighters not enrolled in the State Health Benefits Program, and amending P.L.2021, c.478. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S3376 | Establishes "Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act." | This bill establishes the "Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act" (act). The act was promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission in 2009. The act permits an individual to transfer property to one or more designated beneficiaries at the transferor's death by means of a transfer on death (TOD) deed. A "designated beneficiary" means a person designated to receive property in a TOD deed. A transfer on death deed is a revocable instrument and is nontestamentary. Further, the instrument is required to contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recorded inter vivos deed and be acknowledged in accordance with State law. A transfer on death deed is effective without notice or delivery to the designated beneficiary, acceptance by the designated beneficiary, or consideration. The bill applies to all TOD deeds made before, on, or after the effective date of the bill by a transferor dying on or after the effective date of the bill. The following rules apply to the property that is subject of a TOD deed and owned by the transferor at death: (1) the interest in the property is transferred to the designated beneficiary in accordance with the deed. The interest of a designated beneficiary is contingent on the designated beneficiary surviving the transferor. The interest of a designated beneficiary that fails to survive the transferor lapses. (2) concurrent interests are transferred to the beneficiaries in equal and undivided shares with no right of survivorship. If the transferor has identified two or more designated beneficiaries to receive concurrent interest in the property, the share of one which lapses or fails for any reason is transferred to the other, or to the others in proportion to the interest of each in the remaining part of the property held concurrently. An individual may revoke a recorded TOD deed, or any part of the deed, if the instrument: (1) is one of the following: (a) a subsequent TOD deed that revokes the deed in whole or part expressly or by inconsistency; (b) an instrument of revocation that expressly revokes the deed in whole or part; or (c) an inter vivos deed that expressly revokes the TOD deed in whole or in part; and (2) is acknowledged by the transferor after the acknowledgement of the deed being revoked and recorded in accordance with State law. A TOD deed prepared under the bill does not: (1) affect an interest or right of the transferor or any other owner, including the right to transfer or encumber the property; (2) affect an interest or right of a transferee, even if the transferee has an actual or constructive notice of the deed; (3) affect an interest of right of a secured or unsecured creditor or future creditor of the transferor, even if the creditor has actual or constructive notice of the deed; (4) affect the transferor's or designated beneficiary's eligibility for any form of public assistance; (5) create a legal or equitable interest in favor of the designated beneficiary; or (6) subject the property to the claims or process of a creditor of the designated beneficiary. If a transfer is made by more than one transferor: (1) revocation by a transferor does not affect the deed as to the interest of another transferor; and (2) a deed of joint owners is only revoked if it is revoked by all of the living joint owners. If a transferor is a joint owner and is: (1) survived by one or more other joint owners, the property that is subject to the TOD deed belongs to the surviving joint owners or owners with right of survivorship; or (2) the last surviving joint owner, the TOD deed is effective. Finally, the bill provides that if a transferor's probate estate is insufficient to satisfy allowed claims, the estate is permitted to enforce the liability against the property transferred. | In Committee |
| S3369 | Revises film and digital media content production tax credit program to allow certain production expenses to be eligible for tax credits. | This bill revises certain provisions of the film and digital media content production tax credit program to increase the amount of credits that may be awarded based on certain post-production costs. The bill also revises other provisions of the program, including increasing eligibility for compensation paid to persons who are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. Under the film and digital media content production tax credit program, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) awards corporation business tax and gross income tax credits to eligible taxpayers equal to (1) 30 percent of the qualified film production expenses incurred for use within certain parts of Northern New Jersey, or 35 percent of qualified film production expenses incurred for use within all other parts of the State; and (2) 35 percent of the qualified digital media content production expenses incurred through vendors located in certain counties in Southern New Jersey, or 30 percent of all other qualified digital media content production expenses incurred through vendors within the State. In addition to certain other eligibility requirements, current law also provides that to qualify for the digital media content production tax credit, at least 50 percent of the qualified digital media content production expenses incurred by the taxpayer are required to be for wages and salaries paid to full-time or full-time equivalent employees in New Jersey. Increased Digital Media Content Production Tax Credits The bill increases the amount of digital media content production tax credits that may be awarded to taxpayers for qualified digital media content production expenses related to certain post-production services, including visual effects. Specifically, the tax credit would be equal to 40 percent of the qualified digital media content production expenses of the taxpayer incurred during the tax period for post-production services performed at a New Jersey film-lease production facility, provided that at least $500,000 of these expenses were incurred for services performed at the New Jersey film-lease production facility. Additionally, the tax credit would be equal to 35 percent of the qualified digital media content production expenses of the taxpayer incurred during the tax period for post-production services performed by independent post-production companies, as defined in the bill. In either circumstance, if the taxpayer includes a diversity plan with their tax credit application and complies with all relevant requirements established in that plan, the taxpayer's tax credit may be increased by an additional four percent. Compensation Subject to Tax Reciprocity Agreements Under current law, the terms "qualified film production expenses" and "qualified digital media content production expenses" are defined to include, among other expenses, the wages and salaries paid to individuals who are employed for the purposes of the production and who are subject to the tax imposed by the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act." Current law also defines the term "full-time or full-time equivalent employee" to include persons working not less than 35 hours per week, or other standard of service accepted by custom or practice as full-time or full-time equivalent employment, and whose wages and salaries are subject to withholding as provided in the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act." This bill expands the scope of qualified film production expenses and qualified digital media content production expenses to include wages and salaries that are paid to individuals who are employed for the purposes of the production and who are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to the provisions of a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. The bill also provides that these expenses would include any payments made by the taxpayer to a loan out company for services performed in New Jersey by individuals who are employed by the loan out company and whose wages and salaries are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to the provisions of a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. Additionally, the bill amends the definition "full-time or full-time equivalent employee" to include otherwise eligible persons whose wages and salaries are not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act" due to the provisions of a tax reciprocity agreement with another state. Currently, the State has entered into a reciprocal income tax agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Under the terms of this agreement, compensation paid to Pennsylvania residents who are employed in New Jersey is not subject to tax under the "New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act." Accordingly, the bill provides that wages and salaries paid to certain Pennsylvania residents may be included as qualified film production expenses and qualified digital media content production expenses, provided that these persons are employed in New Jersey for the purposes of the film or digital media content production. Tenants of New Jersey Film-Lease Partner Facilities The bill also provides that certain tenants of New Jersey film-lease partner facilities would be eligible for tax credits under the program. Specifically, the bill provides that any film production company that enters into a lease or sublease with the owner or developer of a designated New Jersey film-lease partner facility before receipt of the facility's temporary or final certificate of occupancy, which lease or sublease is for not less than three years and includes at least 36,000 square feet of soundstage space, and which company executes a contract to provide production services for all films produced at the New Jersey film-lease partner facility, would be eligible for the tax credit allowed for a taxpayer designated as a New Jersey film-lease production company, provided that the film production company satisfies all other eligibility requirements for New Jersey film-lease production companies. If the EDA determines that a New Jersey film-lease partner facility has failed to meet the requirements of the program, the EDA may rescind the New Jersey film-lease partner facility designation. In this circumstance, the bill provides that any tenant of the New Jersey film-lease production company that has entered into a lease for the film-lease partner facility would not be entitled to the portion of any tax credit that is only available to the New Jersey film-lease production company by virtue of the company being a tenant at a New Jersey film-lease partner facility. | In Committee |
| S3297 | Promotes trauma-informed care in State to mitigate negative effects of adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress. | This bill requires the Department of Children and Families (department) to develop and implement a program to promote trauma-informed care in order to mitigate the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress in this State. In implementing the program, the department will, at a minimum: a. develop a trauma-informed care toolkit of resources that provide trauma awareness and self-care education for State employees, increase recognition of signs of adverse child experience exposure, and offer effective interventions to mitigate trauma and build resilience, which toolkit is to be shared across all State agencies and organizations for use at service delivery access points; b. promote a Trauma Awareness Month in New Jersey with appropriate events to be held across the State; c. share information with State employees and community partners on educational and professional development opportunities related to adverse childhood experiences and building resilience; d. create a recognition program for individuals who work in the prevention and early intervention-treatment continuum, which may include individuals, divisions within an agency, and community partners, such as schools and school districts; e. identify gaps in available services or service capacity along the prevention and early intervention-treatment continuum for children and their caregivers Statewide; f. develop a comprehensive plan focused on early intervention for children and their caregivers exposed to adverse childhood experiences in order to help prevent, and remedy the impact of, abuse and neglect; and g. coordinate the collection, evaluation, and reporting of adverse childhood experience data in the State. The bill requires each State agency that provides services for children and adults to implement best practices for providing trauma-informed care, which will include, but not be limited to: offering regularly scheduled training to staff to increase their knowledge about the impact of adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress on short-term and long-term health outcomes; promoting strategies to enhance staff resilience and self-care; using trauma-specific language in requests for proposals and in service contracts with providers, when appropriate; and implementing evidence-informed services to prevent and respond to toxic stress and build resilience in children, adults, and communities. | In Committee |
| S787 | Provides supplemental transportation aid to certain districts participating in interdistrict public school choice program. | This bill provides supplemental transportation aid to certain districts participating in the interdistrict public school choice program. Under the bill, a choice district located in a city of the second class, which district has been directed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to engage in efforts to desegregate the student population, is responsible for providing transportation, including the organization of bus routes and bidding for transportation services, or aid-in-lieu-of transportation, to certain elementary and secondary school pupils to attend the choice district. Under the bill, the sending district will receive State aid for transportation for those students transported to the choice district. The sending district will then pay directly to the choice district the State aid for transportation, or aid-in-lieu-of amount, received by the sending district under the bill. The bill also provides supplemental State aid for transportation for a choice district responsible for transporting students from a sending district pursuant to the provisions of the bill when the total costs of providing transportation from the sending districts to the choice district exceeds the amount of State aid for transportation the sending district receives pursuant to the bill. To be eligible to receive the supplemental State aid for transportation, the choice district is required to demonstrate to the commissioner that the bus routes will utilize cost efficient methods. The choice district is to annually report to the Department of Education at the end of each school year the cost of providing transportation to students from a sending district that exceed the amount of funds the choice district receives from the sending district under the bill. The department is required to reimburse the choice district for the additional costs reported. | Crossed Over |
| S1965 | Regulates provision of pharmaceutical services in long-term care facilities. | Regulates provision of pharmaceutical services in long-term care facilities. | Crossed Over |
| SCR82 | Proposes constitutional amendment authorizing municipalities to provide partial property tax exemption of up to 15 percent of assessed value for primary residence of certain volunteer first responders. | If approved by the voters, this proposed constitutional amendment would require the Legislature to enact a law permitting municipalities to provide a partial property tax exemption of up to 15 percent of the assessed value of a home for certain volunteer first responders. A municipality would have to pass an ordinance in order to provide the exemption. The exemption would mean that the volunteer first responder would not pay property taxes on a portion of the home's assessed value. Each municipality would decide whether to allow the exemption and decide the percentage amount of the exemption, however the exemption could not be more than 15 percent of the assessed value of the property. The Legislature would be required to pass a law authorizing the exemption. To be eligible for the exemption, a first responder would have to be an active member of a volunteer fire department or a volunteer first aid or rescue squad that serves the municipality. The home would also have to be the volunteer's primary residence and be located in the municipality in which the volunteer serves. | In Committee |
| S2083 | Allows certain volunteer firefighters, rescue and first aid squad members to claim $2,000 gross income tax exemption. | Allows certain volunteer firefighters, rescue and first aid squad members to claim $2,000 gross income tax exemption. | In Committee |
| S2938 | Creates neutral safe exchange zones at county sheriff offices for certain custody and visitation exchanges of minor children; makes appropriation. | Creates neutral safe exchange zones at county sheriff offices for certain custody and visitation exchanges of minor children; makes appropriation. | In Committee |
| SCR106 | Proposes constitutional amendment to provide property tax exemption for primary residence owned and occupied by surviving spouse of first responder who dies in line of duty. | If approved by the voters, this proposed constitutional amendment would provide a property tax exemption for the primary residence owned and occupied by the surviving spouse of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or first aid, ambulance, or rescue squad member who dies in the line of duty. The exemption would include the surviving spouses of both paid and volunteer firefighters and first aid, ambulance, or rescue squad members. The property receiving the exemption is also required to have been the primary residence of the first responder at the time the first responder's death. A surviving spouse would qualify for the exemption, and continue to receive it, for as long as the spouse owns and occupies the home as a primary residence and does not remarry. The constitutional amendment would also require the State to annually reimburse each taxing district for the amount of property taxes that would have otherwise been due for each property receiving the exemption established under the bill had the property been taxed the same as other land within the taxing district. | In Committee |
| S876 | Makes FY2024 supplemental appropriation of $17 million for grants for certain lake management activities for recreation and conservation purposes. | This bill makes a one-time supplemental appropriation of $17 million for Fiscal Year 2024 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 the 2020-2021 legislative session $10 million was appropriated to the DEP for the same purpose. | In Committee |
| S2890 | Mandates access to periodic cancer screening examinations for professional firefighters not enrolled in SHBP, but who are eligible for SHBP by virtue of public employment. | This bill mandates access to periodic cancer screening examinations for firefighters who waive employer-sponsored health care coverage, but are eligible for coverage under the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) by virtue of employment with a public employer that participates in the SHBP. Current law entitles a firefighter enrolled in the SHBP, or a firefighter employed by a public employer that does not participate in the SHBP, to a cancer screening examinations every three years and specifies that the State will reimburse providers or such public employers an amount not to exceed $1,250 per three-year period. The bills extends these reimbursement provisions to firefighters who waive employer-sponsored health care coverage, but are eligible for coverage under the SHBP by virtue of employment with a public employer that participates in the SHBP. | In Committee |
| S3164 | Establishes "New Jersey Reparations Task Force." | This bill establishes the "New Jersey Reparations Task Force" to study and develop reparations proposals for African-Americans in this State. The task force would consist of 11 members, comprised of four legislators and seven public members. Three members would be appointed by the Governor and eight members would be appointed by the Legislative leadership. At a minimum, four of the public members would be appointed from persons recommended by organizations concerned with the issues of civil rights, human rights, racial, social and economic justice and equality, reparations and other issues concerning the African-American community. The members of the task force will appoint a chair and a vice chair of the task force. The members of the task force would not be compensated but may be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties. This bill, among other things, requires the task force to: (1) examine the institution of slavery within the State of New Jersey; (2) examine the extent to which the State of New Jersey and the federal government prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of former enslaved persons and their descendants who are considered United States' citizens to economically thrive upon the ending of slavery; (3) examine the lingering negative effects of slavery on living African-Americans and on society in New Jersey and the United States; (4) research methods and materials for facilitating education, community dialogue, symbolic acknowledgement, and other formal actions leading toward transformation, reparations remedies, a sense of justice, and economic justice among the descendants of enslaved African people in this State; (5) make recommendations for what remedies should be awarded, through what instrumentalities, and to whom those remedies should be awarded; and (6) address how said recommendations comport with national and international standards of remedy for wrongs and injuries caused by the State. The task force will hold at least six public meetings in different parts of the State, including Camden, Paterson, Newark, New Brunswick, Atlantic City, and Trenton. The Governor will call the first meeting of the task force to occur on or before the first day of the third month after enactment. The task force will issue an interim report of its progress to the Governor and the Legislature no later than 12 months following the initial meeting. The task force will submit its final report and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature no later than 24 months following the initial meeting. The task force will expire upon issuance of its final report. | In Committee |
| S3175 | Removes registered apprenticeship program requisites of public work contractors; sets apprenticeship standards for prevailing wage projects. | This bill amends the "New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act" by setting a standard for apprenticeship programs if a contractor or subcontractor chooses to participate in an apprenticeship program. The bill revises "The Public Works Contractor Registration Act" by removing the requirement that a contractor participate in a registered apprenticeship program in order to be eligible for public works projects. | In Committee |
| SCR104 | Condemns Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry and intolerance. | This resolution condemns Hinduphobia, anti-Hindu bigotry and intolerance, and declares the State of New Jersey as a place that welcomes the diversity brought by Hindu Americans. This resolution recognizes that Hinduism is one of the world's largest and oldest religions with over 1.2 billion adherents in over 100 countries and which encompasses an array of diverse traditions and belief systems with values of acceptance, mutual respect, and peace. The United States has always been a beacon of hope, progress, and innovation, attracting people from around the world to create and live a better and fulfilling life, and has welcomed more than four million Hindus from all corners of the world and given them better opportunities and the freedom to practice Hinduism, also known as "Sanatana Dharma". The American Hindu community has been a major contributor to diverse sectors such as medicine, science and engineering, information technology, hospitality, finance, academia, manufacturing, energy, retail trade, and so much more. Hindu contributions of Yoga, Ayurveda, meditation, food, music, arts, and more have enriched the cultural fabric and have been widely adopted in American society and enriched the lives of millions. Hinduphobia, as described by the Understanding Hinduphobia Initiative, is "a set of antagonistic, destructive, and derogatory attitudes and behaviors towards Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) and Hindus that may manifest as prejudice, fear, or hatred". There have been documented instances of hate crimes against Hindu Americans over the last few decades in many parts of the country. | In Committee |
| SR82 | Urges United States Congress to renew funding for Affordable Connectivity Program. | This resolution urges the Congress of the United States to renew funding for the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Millions of Americans are without access to broadband Internet services. As a result, these individuals struggle to improve social outcomes through education, achieve upward economic mobility, gain digital literacy skills, and receive quality healthcare. In 2021, to close the digital divide, the FCC launched the ACP, which provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. In addition, the program offers a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers, under specific circumstances, for eligible households. Currently, over 20 million households receive broadband benefits through the ACP. In New Jersey, as of January 2024, 335,079 households are enrolled in the program. Specifically, New Jersey has received nearly $152 million in ACP funding, resulting in $8.3 million per month in collective cost savings on broadband Internet services for all New Jersey households enrolled in the program. However, the ACP is slated to expire in April 2024 when the program is scheduled to exhaust its $14.2 billion budget. To improve broadband access for millions of Americans, and thereby advance social, economic, and health outcomes for the underserved, Congress is respectfully urged to renew funding for the ACP. | Signed/Enacted/Adopted |
| S1230 | Prohibits electioneering within 25 feet of person waiting in line at polling place or ballot drop box; makes electioneering a disorderly persons offense. | Prohibits electioneering within 25 feet of person waiting in line at polling place or ballot drop box; makes electioneering a disorderly persons offense. | Crossed Over |
| S2583 | Establishes Second Chance Program in charge of providing opportunities through labor organizations for formerly incarcerated individuals. | Establishes Second Chance Program in charge of providing opportunities through labor organizations for formerly incarcerated individuals. | In Committee |
| S2950 | Revises law concerning family leave to extend protection by reducing, over time, employee threshold from 30 employees to five employees in definition of employer. | This bill extends to employees of employers with less than 30 employees and five or more employees the right to be reinstated to employment after taking family temporary disability leave benefits or unpaid family leave, thus ensuring that more workers who pay for family temporary disability leave insurance (FLI) will be able to able to return to work after taking FLI benefits. The extension is phased in, with the threshold reduced to 20 employees upon the effective date of the bill, to 10 employees one year later after the effective date, and to five employees two years after the effective date. Under the bill, upon completion of the phase-in, employees of employers with five or more employees will be entitled to 12 weeks of job protected leave, whether that leave is paid or unpaid. Once the phase-in is complete, the bill extends to employees of employers with five or more employees, the provision under current law that provides that a covered employee who takes FLI benefits to care for a family member has an affirmative right of job reinstatement with their employer after the leave. Currently, an employer who employs less than 30 workers, and is thus exempt from the reinstatement requirements of the Family Leave Act (FLA), is also exempt from the reinstatement requirements of that provision. By reducing this exemption, the bill extends that provision's reinstatement rights to recipients of FLI benefits even if their employers have less than 30 employees, in the same way that provision currently provides that reinstatement protection for temporary disability insurance recipients no matter how few employees the employer has. Once fully phased in, the bill also amends the FLA to make employers of five or more employees subject to that law's requirement to reinstate leave takers, thereby extending that right of reinstatement to employees of employers with five or more employees, whether or not the employees receive FLI benefits. The bill provides that an employee who is eligible for both earned sick leave, and either temporary disability benefits or family temporary disability leave benefits will have the option of using either the earned sick leave or whichever is applicable of temporary disability benefits or family temporary disability leave benefits, and may select the order in which the different kinds of leave are taken, but may not receive more than one kind of paid leave simultaneously during any period of time. | In Committee |
| S1744 | Requires private detectives to register their foreign employers with State Police. | Requires private detectives to register their foreign employers with State Police. | In Committee |
| S2821 | Imposes additional annual registration fee for electric vehicles; reduces rate of highway fuel taxes; authorizes DOT to conduct alternative revenue feasibility study. | This bill would ensure greater tax fairness between the owners of gas powered vehicles and electric vehicles. Namely, the bill would establish an additional annual registration fee for electric vehicles, provide for a reduction in the State tax on highway fuels under both the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts (PPGR) Tax and the Motor Fuels Tax, and require the Department of Transportation to study and make recommendations concerning the dedication of alternative sources of revenue to the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF). Additional Annual Registration Fee for Electric Vehicles The bill first requires the Chief Administrator (chief administrator) of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to impose and collect an additional annual registration fee for each passenger and commercial electric vehicle in the State. Under the bill, the amount of the additional annual registration fee would be $300 for each passenger electric vehicle and $450 for each commercial electric vehicle during the fiscal years beginning on and after July 1, 2025. Notably, the bill requires all revenues derived from these additional registration fees to be collected by the chief administrator and remitted to the State Treasurer for deposit into the TTF. Reduction of Highway Fuel Taxes Next, the bill would enact a 33 percent reduction in the taxes imposed on highway fuels under both the Motor Fuel Tax and the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax (PPGRT), collectively referred to as the "gas tax," beginning with State Fiscal Year 2025. The bill would also permanently extend the procedure by which the rate of tax imposed on highway fuels under the PPGRT is calculated. Currently, the Motor Fuel Tax is fixed at 10.5 cents for gasoline and 13.5 cents for diesel fuel, and the PPGR tax is set at 31.8 cents for gasoline and 35.8 cents for diesel fuel. The Motor Fuel Tax on gasoline would be lowered from 10.5 cents to 7 cents per gallon, and the motor fuel tax on diesel would be lowered from 13.5 cents to 9 cents per gallon. The motor fuel tax on liquefied petroleum gas would likewise be lowered from 5.25 cents per gallon to 3.5 cents given that the tax rate for these products are set at one-half of the tax imposed on gasoline. Under current law, the tax rate imposed on highway fuels under the PPGRT is annually adjusted by the State Treasurer to ensure that the State realizes a statutorily prescribed revenue target. 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 State Fiscal Year 2026. This bill would permanently extend this annual adjustment mechanism. The bill also reduces the rate of tax imposed on highway fuels under the PPGRT by lowering the statutorily prescribed revenue target, also referred to as the "highway fuel cap amount," by 33 percent. The highway fuel cap amount is based on State Fiscal Year 2016 sum of: (1) the taxes collected on the 12.48 percent and four cent tax rates for highway fuels taxes, (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. To ensure adequate funding for the TTF, the bill would require the State to annually appropriate from the General Fund such amounts as are necessary from the revenues collected under the "Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.) into the TTF to support all debt service obligations of the Transportation Trust Fund Authority's (TTFA) for the current year. Alternative Revenue Feasibility Study Finally, the bill requires the Department of Transportation (department), in consultation with the TTFA and the Office of Revenue and Economic Analysis in the Department of the Treasury, to study and make recommendations and a repot concerning the dedication of alternative sources of revenue to the TTF. These revenues may be necessary to offset future revenue reductions from the Motor Fuels Tax (MFT) and the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax (PPGRT) due to the decreased consumption of gasoline, diesel, and other highway fuels. The purpose of this study will be to identify one or more sources of revenue, other than the Motor Fuels Tax and the Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax, that may be relied upon to fund the TTF in future years. At a minimum, the report would be required to: (1) analyze the feasibility of dedicating alternative sources of revenue to the TTF; and (2) make recommendations for the dedication of alternative sources of revenue, other than the MFT and the PPGRT, to the TTF. No later than August 31, 2026, the department is required to submit the report to the Governor and the Legislature as well as publish an electronic copy of the report on the department's official Internet website. | In Committee |
| S2754 | Prohibits harassing or taking of certain wildlife at competitive event; establishes penalties. | This bill prohibits the harassing or taking of certain wildlife (defined as "covered wildlife" in the bill) at a competitive event, except in conjunction with a field trial or field day authorized by a license issued pursuant to R.S.23:4-26. The bill also prohibits any person from organizing, sponsoring, promoting, conducting, or participating in a competitive event at which the participants harass or take covered wildlife, except in conjunction with such an authorized field trial or field day. "Covered wildlife" is defined as a bobcat, coyote, crow, fox, mink, opossum, rabbit, raccoon, skunk, squirrel, weasel, woodchuck, or the dead body or parts thereof. A person who violates the bill's prohibitions would be guilty of a disorderly persons offense and, in addition to the penalties applicable pursuant to Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, would also be subject to the suspension, for a period of five years, of: 1) any license or permit issued to the person by the Division of Fish and Wildlife; and 2) all privileges to take or possess wildlife. A disorderly persons offense is subject to a penalty of up to six months of imprisonment, a fine up to $1,000, or both. This bill requires any covered wildlife injured as a result of a competitive event to be transported to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or State licensed veterinarian for proper treatment, or to be euthanized if necessary. The bill authorizes the Division of Fish and Wildlife to forfeit the remains of any covered wildlife killed at a competitive event held in violation of this bill or euthanized as a result of the competitive event. Forfeited remains would become property of the Division of Fish and Wildlife. The bill directs municipal police officers, the State Police, and law enforcement officers in the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Division of Parks and Forestry in the Department of Environmental Protection to enforce the bill's provisions. | In Committee |
| S1237 | Requires telemarketers making sales calls to display their name and telephone number on any caller identification service. | Requires telemarketers making sales calls to display their name and telephone number on any caller identification service. | Crossed Over |
| S2700 | Establishes "Patient Protection and Safe Staffing Act." | This bill establishes the "Patient Protection and Safe Staffing Act," which provides certain staffing standards in State hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, developmental centers, and psychiatric hospitals. Specifically, the bill provides that, in addition to existing staffing requirements provided by law or regulation, the Commissioner of Health is to adopt regulations that provide minimum direct care registered professional nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and unlicensed assistive personnel-to-patient staffing ratios for all patient units in general and special hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities, in accordance with the minimum staffing requirements that are established by the bill. The regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Health are not to decrease any staffing ratios that are already in effect on the bill's effective date. The bill provides that the Commissioner of Health is to require all general and special hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities to employ an acuity and staffing system for the purpose of increasing staffing levels above the minimum levels established in the bill, or otherwise provided by law or regulation, in order to ensure adequate staffing of each unit, service, or department. The bill requires the Department of Health to enforce the bill's requirements by conducting periodic inspections and responding to complaints. A registered professional nurse or other staff member, a collective bargaining agent of a staff member, or a member of the public, who believes that the hospital or facility in which the nurse or staff member is employed is in violation of the requirements established by the bill, may file a complaint with the Commissioner of Health. In responding to a complaint, the commissioner will be required to conduct an investigation to determine whether or not a hospital or facility is in violation. Following the completion of an investigation, in which investigation the department determines a hospital or facility to be in violation of the requirements established by the bill, the hospital or facility may be issued a civil penalty in increasing amounts for repeat violations. Any money collected by the court in payment of a civil penalty imposed will be conveyed to the State Treasurer for deposit into the Patient Protection and Staffing Fund (fund) established by the bill. Moneys in the fund will be dedicated and used only for the purposes of increasing the number of inspectors employed by the Department of Health to enforce the provisions of the bill, advancing nursing recruitment and retentions programs, supporting student loan forgiveness for nursing students, and increasing pay for nursing teaching staff. Finally, in addition to the above-described requirements applicable to the Commissioner of Health, the bill requires the Commissioner of Human Services to conduct a review of Department of Human Services regulations concerning registered professional nurse staffing standards in developmental centers and State psychiatric hospitals, and to revise the regulations, as appropriate, to reflect safe staffing practices and assure adequate staffing at the facilities. | In Committee |
| S2542 | Provides that average time to issue licenses to physicians shall not exceed 51 days. | This bill requires the State Board of Medical Examiners to ensure that the average time to grant or deny applications for a license to practice medicine and surgery does not exceed 51 days from the date the board has received all information necessary to process an application for licensure. The bill also requires the board to annually submit a report to the Legislature which provides information on the progress of the board towards the performance measure target provided in the bill. | In Committee |
| S2541 | Establishes limit on rent increase for tenants residing in modular or manufactured homes. | This bill would establish a limitation on rent increases imposed on tenants of certain modular or manufactured homes, as defined in the bill. The cost of housing in New Jersey, including rental housing, constitutes one of the most substantial financial challenges faced by residents of this State, and a substantial number of New Jersey renters pay more than 35 percent of their household income on rent. State law has not set forth a precise limit on rent increases, but has instead required that a rent increase not be "unconscionable," which may be asserted as a defense to an eviction by a residential tenant pursuant to subsection f. of section 2 of P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1). The term "unconscionable" is defined on a case-by-case basis by the courts using the multi-factor test set forth by Fromet Properties, Inc. v. Buel, 294 N.J. Super. 601 (App. Div. 1996). Due to the summary nature of landlord-tenant proceedings, limited discovery, case-by-case determinations of unconscionability, disparity in bargaining power, and limited precedent setting forth a bright line standard for unconscionable rent increases, residential tenants, including tenants that reside in modular or manufactured homes, are limited in their ability to dispute a rent increase, which for many tenants, has exceeded nine percent. Therefore, to protect the health and well-being of residential tenants, it is in the public interest to establish a reasonable limitation on annual rent increases for tenants that live in rental housing that is a modular or manufactured home. The bill prohibits a landlord--as defined in the bill, including a sublessor--of a covered dwelling unit, from increasing the rent over the course of a 12-month period by more than 2.5 percent. The bill defines a "covered dwelling unit" as a structure, or a room or a group of rooms within a structure that: (1) is offered for rent by a landlord for residential purposes; (2) is rented to a residential tenant for their principal place of residence; and (3) that is a modular or manufactured home. The bill provides that if the landlord increases the rent in excess of the bill's limitation, the applicable rent for the duration of the present lease term, or subsequent lease term if the present term is month-to-month, is to be the rent for the year or term preceding the violation. The bill's limitations would also function in addition to the existing prohibition on unconscionable rent increases pursuant the Anti-Eviction Act, P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1 et seq.). A violation of the bill would: (1) constitute an unlawful practice pursuant to the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) (CFA); (2) subject a landlord to all applicable penalties prescribed pursuant to the CFA; (3) permit a tenant to petition the court to terminate a lease in violation of the bill, and to recover reasonable attorney's fees or expenses; (4) subject a landlord to certain penalties, as described in the bill; and (5) permit a tenant to assert the violation as a defense to an eviction as an unconscionable rent increase. The bill would only preempt other laws regarding rent control that result in a higher permitted rent increase over the course of a 12-month period. Further, the bill would take effect on the first day of the third month following the date of enactment, and apply to tenancies commencing on or after the effective date of the bill. | Dead |
| S2546 | Requires person offering digital coupon to make available in-store alternative of identical value. | This bill would require retail stores that offer digital coupons to customers to also provide in-store alternatives to allow customers to purchase items at the same price and terms as provided by the digital coupon. The bill defines the term "digital coupon" to mean a store coupon, rebate, or similar instrument offered to a consumer through the Internet and only obtainable through a consumer's personal computing device, such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet, and that provides to a consumer a discounted price or benefit, redeemable at the physical location where the goods or services are being offered for sale. The bill defines the term "in-store alternative" to mean providing an on-site consumer the ability to purchase an item at the same discount or other benefit offered by a digital coupon. Examples of an "in-store alternative" set forth in the bill include: paper coupons, electronic kiosks, or providing a customer the discounted price or benefit at the point-of-sale upon request. Violation of the bill would subject a person to a civil penalty of up to $250 for a first offense, and up to $500 for a subsequent offense, which may be collected and enforced by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. | In Committee |
| S2547 | Requires public agency receiving State funds to post on website use of State funds for public work contracts with minority, women, and veteran owned businesses. | This bill requires a public agency that is receiving State funds for the purpose of public work to post on its main website for public inspection an accounting of how much of those funds were used for public work contracts in which the public agency contracted with businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans. The accounting will also provide how much of those funds were used for public work contracts in which the public agency contracted with other businesses that are not owned by minorities, women, or veterans, and the accounting is required to be updated monthly. Whenever a public agency does not maintain a website, the information is required to be forwarded by the public agency to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and posted on that department's main website, which shall be updated monthly. The bill also requires the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, on an annual basis, to submit a report that summarizes each public agency's use of State funds for public work and how much of those funds went to contracts with businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans. | In Committee |
| S2545 | Establishes Deep Fake Technology Unit in DLPS; appropriates $2 million. | This bill establishes the Deep Fake Technology Unit in the Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law and Public Safety. "Deep fakes" are realistic video images and audio manipulated using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to convincingly depict events or statements that did not occur. Due to advances in technology, deep fakes have become difficult to distinguish from authentic video images and audio. Under the bill, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Chief Technology Officer of the New Jersey Office of Information and Technology in the Department of the Treasury, is to establish the Deep Fake Technology Unit to provide technical assistance, expertise, education, and training to State and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and State courts regarding the investigation and analysis of potentially deceptive audio or visual media. In addition, beginning one year following the unit's formation, the unit is required to provide a report to the Governor and Legislature that includes information regarding the unit's activity during the preceding year; a summary of technological advancements in deceptive audio or visual media and applicable detection methods; a summary of changes to the law related to deceptive audio or visual media; information regarding the unit's collaboration with the private sector and academic institutions; and recommendations for legislation and regulations to address the challenges posed by deceptive audio or visual media. The bill permits the Administrative Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts to designate a representative to work with the unit as a liaison and training coordinator. Finally, the bill appropriates $2 million from the General Fund to the Department of Law and Public Safety to effectuate the provisions of this bill. | In Committee |
| S1493 | Eliminates smoking ban exemption for casinos and simulcasting facilities. | Eliminates smoking ban exemption for casinos and simulcasting facilities. | In Committee |
| S2313 | Prohibits sale of tetrahydrocannabinol products in certain circumstances. | This bill limits the sale of tetrahydrocannabinol products in the State. Under the bill, the sale of products containing certain amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, as prescribed by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (commission), would be limited to entities licensed by the commission. Tetrahydrocannabinol is defined as: (1) any tetrahydrocannabinol, including delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol, and delta-10- tetrahydrocannabinol, regardless how derived; and (2) any other chemically similar compound, substance, derivative, or isomer of tetrahydrocannabinol, as identified by the commission. It is not a violation of the bill for a person to sell or distribute a product containing tetrahydrocannabinol while that person has a pending application with the commission to be licensed by such authority. However, it is a violation of this bill to sell tetrahydrocannabinol in any amount to a person under the age of 21. Any entity or person that sells a tetrahydrocannabinol product containing an amount in excess to relevant rules or regulations and is not licensed by the commission and does not have a pending license application is subject to any existing fines or penalties established for violators of relevant commission regulations. | In Committee |
| S1193 | Allows voter registration at polling place on election day or at early voting site during early voting period. | This bill allows for voter registration at polling places on election day or at early voting sites during the early voting period. Under current law, a person must register to vote at least 21 days before the election. This bill allows a person who has not registered to vote by that deadline to register at a polling place on the day of the election or at an early voting site during the early voting period. This bill also allows a person to cast a provisional ballot if the person has registered to vote within the period of 21 days before the election if the person can affirm that the person has not previously voted in that election. If the county commissioner of registration is not able to verify the person's Motor Vehicle Commission New Jersey driver's license number or non-driver identification number, or the last four digits of the person's Social Security Number, the county commissioner of registration will notify the person by mail, e-mail, or telephone within 24 hours that they must provide valid identification no later than 48 hours prior to the final certification of the results of the election in order for their ballot to be counted. | In Committee |
| S1304 | "Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act." | This bill, the "Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act," regulates digital asset business activity. The bill defines "digital asset" to mean a representation of economic, proprietary, or access rights that is stored in a machine-readable format and has a transaction history that is recorded in a distributed, digital ledger or digital data structure in which consensus is achieved through a mechanism consistent with the underlying protocol. Examples of digital assets include, but are not limited to, digital consumer assets, digital securities, and virtual currency. "Digital asset" does not include securities, whether in digital form or otherwise, as defined pursuant to law. The bill provides that a person is not to engage in a digital asset business activity, or hold themselves out as being able to engage in a digital asset business activity, unless the person is licensed in this State by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities (bureau), or has filed a pending license with the bureau. The bill provides the bureau may license a person to carry on one or more digital asset business activities described in the bill. The bureau shall have the authority to exempt persons from the provisions of the bill concerning engaging in digital asset business activity without a license and to determine whether a person is subject to a license pursuant to the bill. The bill provides that a person who violates the provisions requiring licensure is liable for a penalty of $500 per day, from the first day the bureau issues a notice of failure to apply for a license until a license application is filed with the bureau. The bill provides that an application for a license is to be submitted in a form and manner set forth by the bureau. Each application is to be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee. Applicants are to provide certain information relevant to the applicant's proposed digital asset business activity. Certain information provided to the bureau pursuant to an application for a license is to be protected from public disclosure. The bill requires applicants to provide a list of any litigation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings to which the applicant, or certain other individuals, has been a party to for 10 years prior to submission of the application. This bill also permits the bureau to use the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, or a similar system, to conduct criminal history records checks or applicants and certain other individuals. The bill requires the bureau to grant or deny any digital asset business license application within 180 days of receipt of a completed application. The bureau may refuse an application for a digital asset business license application if a licensee or applicant fails to meet certain standards specified in the bill. Licensees are required to submit a renewal of a license that contains an update of all information required at initial licensing as well as certain other information described in the bill. The bill provides that the bureau may audit any digital asset business licensee. The bill stipulates that each licensee is to maintain and enforce confidential, written compliance policies which are to be reviewed and approved by the licensee's board of directors or an equivalent governing body. The bureau may suspend or revoke a digital asset business license upon certain findings that are provided in the bill. The bill provides the bureau chief with the authority to, for good cause shown, summarily suspend, revoke, or deny any license pending final determination of a proceeding. Under the bill, notice of any suspension or revocation of a license issued by the bureau is to prominently indicate that a right to a hearing is available. A licensee, under the bill, is to provide the bureau with any document relating to the operations of the licensee upon receiving written notice from the bureau. The licensee is to maintain records of all client transactions and any accounts, correspondences, memoranda, and other records as the bureau may require, for no less than six years from the date of a transaction's occurrence, unless the bureau by rule prescribes another timeframe. The bureau has the authority to conduct examinations to determine a licensee's compliance with the provisions of the bill. The bill requires the terms and conditions of a digital asset business involving a customer's account to be disclosed at the time the customer contracts for a digital asset business service. The disclosure is to be full and complete, contain no material misrepresentations, be in readily understandable language and may include, as appropriate and to the extent applicable, certain information concerning fees and charges, risks to the customer, and any protections or securities that are in place. The disclosures required by the bill are to be displayed and individually agreed to by a customer before any digital asset transaction at an electronic kiosk. Any fee to be charged is required to be displayed and individually agreed to by a customer before any digital asset transaction or digital asset balance inquiry at an electronic kiosk. Under the bill, it is a violation for any person to make or cause to be made, in any document filed with the bureau or in any proceeding, investigation or examination conducted under the bill, any statement which is, at the time and in the light of the circumstances under which it is made, false or misleading in any material respect. In addition, the bill provides the bureau chief with certain investigatory authority to determine whether any person has violated or is about to violate any provision of the bill or to otherwise aid in the enforcement of the bill. The bill makes it unlawful for any officer or employee of the bureau to use for personal benefit any information which is filed with or obtained by the bureau that is not made public. Lastly, the bill establishes the "Digital Asset Enforcement Fund" in the Division of Consumer Affairs (division) of the Department of Law and Public Safety is to continue as a dedicated, nonlapsing, revolving fund. All fees, penalties, costs, fines, and other collected moneys are to be deposited in the fund and used by the director of the division to administer and enforce the provisions of the bill, and to conduct investigations related to the bill. | In Committee |
| S1046 | Permits consumers aged 65 and over up to five business days to cancel home improvement contracts. | This bill permits consumers aged 65 and over up to five business days to cancel a home improvement contract for any reason. Under this bill, a consumer aged 65 or over may cancel a home improvement contract at any time for any reason before midnight of the fifth business day after the consumer receives a copy of the signed contract. Currently, consumers have up to three business days to cancel a home improvement contract. The change being made under this bill reflects the potential need of the State's senior citizens, who may require more time to review home improvement contracts due to advanced age. | In Committee |
| S1983 | Eliminates certain practice restrictions for advanced practice nurses. | This bill eliminates practice restrictions for advanced practice nurses (APNs), including restrictions that limit the ability of APNs to prescribe medications and administer anesthesia, and establishes new requirements for APNs to prescribe medications. The bill expressly provides that, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or regulation to the contrary, an APN with greater than 24 months or 2,400 hours of licensed, active, advanced nursing practice will be authorized to practice without a joint protocol with a collaborating provider. With regard to prescribing medications, the bill requires the use of New Jersey Prescription Blanks and satisfying continuing professional education requirements related to pharmacology and prescribing controlled substances. An APN with fewer than 24 months or 2,400 hours of licensed, active, advanced nursing practice in an initial role will be permitted to prescribe medication only if a formal joint protocol with a physician or experienced advanced practice nurse is in place. The bill revises the requirements for APNs to authorize patients for medical cannabis and to issue written instructions for medical cannabis, to provide that the APN will only be required to meet the requirements set forth under the "Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act," P.L.2009, c.307 (C.24:6I-1 et al.). Those requirements include: possessing active State and federal registrations to prescribe controlled dangerous substances; being the health care practitioner responsible for the ongoing treatment of a patient's qualifying medical condition; and complying with various other requirements for issuing written instructions for medical cannabis. The bill further provides that every APN who is an APN-Anesthesia and who has completed 24 months or 2,400 hours of licensed, active, advanced nursing practice in an initial role will be authorized to practice as an APN-Anesthesia to the full scope of practice for APNs-Anesthesia, without any requirement for supervision by a licensed physician and without any requirement that the APN-Anesthesia enter into joint protocols with a licensed physician. The bill provides that any State law or regulation that requires the signature or similar endorsement of a physician will be deemed to require the same of an APN, to the extent consistent with an APN's scope of practice. The bill revises and repeals certain sections of law that are obviated by the changes made under the bill. | In Committee |
| S1489 | Imposes requirements on video visitation service contracts for inmates in certain correctional facilities; requires correctional facilities to allow contact visits. | This bill imposes requirements on video visitation service contracts for inmates in State, county, and private correctional facilities and requires correctional facilities to allow inmates to have contact visits. Under the provisions of this bill, the State Treasurer or other appropriate person on behalf of the county or private correctional facility is to contract with a vendor who charges a per minute rate for video visitation, including video visitation that is accessed by visitors from a location other than a correctional facility, which is not to exceed 11 cents per minute and who is the lowest responsible bidder. A vendor is not to bill any service charge or additional fee exceeding the per minute rate. The bill also provides that a State, county, or private correctional facility is not permitted to receive a commission or impose a surcharge for video visitation usage by inmates in addition to the charges imposed by the service provider. Further, under the bill, the contract is to include a term that requires monetary penalties to be imposed on a vendor who does not maintain consistent and reliable quality of the video visitation service. In addition, a video visitation service provider is required to refund, in a timely manner, any charges imposed: (1) for a scheduled video visitation that does not occur for any reason other than the fault of the visitor; or (2) any video visitation in which communication between the inmate and the visitor is substantially impaired due to low quality audio or video. The bill prohibits a State, county, or private correctional facility from imposing a charge for video visitation between an inmate and the inmate's attorney, a representative of the attorney, or a member of the clergy. In addition, correctional facilities are required to allow inmates to have contact visits with approved visitors and may only impose reasonable conditions necessary for safety and security within the correctional facility. Finally, correctional facilities are required to implement reasonable visiting hours for both contact visits and video visitation. | In Committee |
| S1469 | Authorizes use of school bus monitoring systems. | This bill authorizes the use of a school bus monitoring system to enforce section 1 of P.L.1942, c.192 (C.39:4-128.1), the State law governing passing a school bus. A school bus monitoring system is defined as a system meeting certain requirements set forth in the bill and having at least one camera and computer that captures and records a digital video or image of any motor vehicle operating near a school bus. Under current law, school buses are required to exhibit flashing red lights when the bus has stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any person with a developmental disability or a child. Drivers of vehicles approaching or overtaking the school bus are required to stop at least 25 feet from a school bus that has activated its flashing lights. The penalty for violating this law, for a first offense, is: 1) a fine of no less than $100; 2) imprisonment for no more than 15 days or community service; or 3) both. For subsequent offenses, the penalty is: 1) a fine of no less than $250; 2) imprisonment for no less than 15 days; or 3) both. This bill provides that the penalty for violating the law, when the violation is not evidenced by the recorded images captured by a school bus monitoring system, would be: 1) a fine of $250; 2) 15 days of community service; or 3) both, in the case of a first offense. For each subsequent offense, the penalty would be a fine of $500 and no less than 15 days of community service. Under the bill, a civil penalty of $250 would be imposed on a person who passes a school bus in violation of current law if the violation is evidenced by the recorded images captured by a school bus monitoring system. Under these circumstances, any civil penalty imposed and collected for this violation is to be forwarded to the financial officer of the municipality in which the violation occurred and used for general municipal and school district purposes, including efforts to improve the monitoring and enforcement of this law through the utilization of a school bus monitoring system and other public education safety programs. A violation that is evidenced by the recorded images captured by a school bus monitoring system would not result in penalty points or automobile insurance eligibility points being assessed on the violator. The bill authorizes a municipality or school district operating or providing Type I or Type II school buses that transport students to contract with a private vendor to provide for the installation, operation, and maintenance of a school bus monitoring system for enforcement purposes. The bill provides that a school bus monitoring system must be capable of capturing and producing a record of any occurrence that may be considered illegal passing of a school bus, and include in that recorded image: -- if the school bus is exhibiting its flashing light; -- if a motor vehicle passes a school bus; -- the license plate, make, and model of the violating vehicle; and -- the date, time, and location of the violation. The bill requires any suspected violation captured in a recorded image produced by a school bus monitoring system to be made available to the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the violation occurred. A law enforcement officer is to issue a summons within 90 days of determining that a suspected violation occurred. A summons may not be issued for a violation occurring more than 90 days from date of the violation. The bill provides that any recorded image or information produced in connection with a school bus monitoring system is not a public record under New Jersey's "Open Public Records Act," is not discoverable as a public record except upon a subpoena issued by a grand jury or a court order in a criminal matter, and is not to be offered into evidence in any civil or administrative proceeding unless directly related to illegally passing a school bus. The bill provides that recorded images or information produced in connection with a school bus monitoring system pertaining to a specific violation are not to be retained for more than 60 days after the collection of any civil penalty imposed, and are then to be purged. All recorded images and information collected but not resulting in the issuance of a summons are to be purged within 95 days of the recording. The bill provides that the owner of a motor vehicle is liable for a summons for illegally passing a school bus as evidenced by a recorded image captured by a school bus monitoring system. However, a lessor or owner of a motor vehicle is not liable for a summons if: -- the lessor demonstrates that the vehicle was used without the lessor's express or implied consent, and provides the name and address of the vehicle operator or registrant; -- the lessee was operating or in possession of the vehicle at the time of the violation and the lessor provides the name and address of the lessee; or -- the owner, lessor, or lessee demonstrates that the vehicle was stolen at the time the violation occurred and provides a copy of the police report regarding the vehicle theft. The bill permits the Commissioner of Education, the Superintendent of State Police, and the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of the bill, including specifications and certification procedures for the school bus monitoring systems and devices that may be installed. The bill also permits the Supreme Court of New Jersey to adopt Rules of Court as appropriate or necessary to effectuate the purposes of the substitute. The bill will take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment, but permits the Commissioner of Education, the Superintendent of State Police, and the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to take anticipatory administrative actions in advance of the bill's effective date. | In Committee |
| S2045 | Requires certain animals used in testing to be offered for adoption; requires establishment of procedures for assessment and disposition of animals; establishes penalties for noncompliance. | This bill requires any cat, dog, or ferret used for product testing or research conducted or contracted by a company, corporation, manufacturer, or contract testing facility in the State to be offered to an animal rescue organization or private individual for adoption when the testing or research is concluded, if the animal is assessed to be suitable for adoption. Current law limits circumstances under which animal product testing or research may be conducted by manufacturers and contract testing facilities. Current law also requires, pursuant to the "Homes for Animal Heroes Act," P.L.2019, c.414 (C.18A:3B-85), that cats and dogs used for educational, research, or scientific purposes by an institution of higher education or a research institution that contracts with an institution of higher education for such use of cats and dogs, to be assessed for the suitability of adoption, and if suitable, to be offered for adoption. The bill expands the "Homes for Animal Heroes Act" to include testing or research using ferrets and to provide for adoption of ferrets used in that way. The bill directs the Office of Veterinary Public Health (OVPH) in the Department of Health (DOH) to establish procedures for documenting the assessment and disposition of any cat, dog, or ferret used by a company, corporation, manufacturer, contract facility, institution of higher education, or a research institution for such purposes. The bill authorizes the OVPH to monitor compliance with the procedures and enforce the provisions of section 1 of the bill and section 1 of P.L.2019, c.414 (C.18A:3B-85), concerning the assessment of the suitability of animals for adoption and the requirements to offer suitable animals for adoption. The bill further requires that each company, corporation, manufacturer, or contract testing facility that is subject to the bill, and each institution of higher education and research institution that is subject to the "Homes for Animal Heroes Act" to register with the OVPH when undertaking animal testing with cats, dogs, or ferrets, and to report to the OVPH: 1) the type and number of animals being used; 2) the date on which the testing or research is completed or upon which the animal is no longer being used in the testing or research; 3) an assessment of the condition of any animal no longer being used in the testing or research and its suitability for adoption; 4) the disposition of the animal, including the name and contact information of the animal rescue organization with which, or the animal rescue organization facility in which, the animal is placed; and 5) if an animal assessed as suitable for adoption is not adopted, documentation of the good faith effort to place the animal with an animal rescue organization or in an animal rescue organization facility, and any effort to offer the animal for private adoption. The bill provides that private individuals who have adopted animals would not have to be identified but requires documentation of which animals were adopted by private individuals. The bill establishes civil penalties for noncompliance with the bill's provisions and requirements, and the provisions of the "Homes for Animal Heroes Act." The bill provides for a civil penalty of $10,000 for a first offense, and $50,000 for a second offense, to be collected in a summary proceeding brought by the DOH pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). Upon finding of a third offense, the DOH is required to institute an action for an injunction to prohibit the company, corporation, manufacturer, contract testing facility, institution of higher education, or research institution from conducting animal testing. The bill provides that the Superior Court would have jurisdiction for enforcing the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" and for imposing an injunction for a third violation. Finally, the bill requires the DOH to maintain a registry of animal rescue organizations and animal rescue organization facilities, directs the DOH to establish a database of those animal rescue organizations and facilities that accept animals that have been used in testing or research, and requires a company, corporation, manufacturer, contract facility, institution of higher education, or research institution, as applicable, to contact an animal rescue organization or animal rescue organization facility listed in the database whenever a cat, dog, or ferret used in testing or research is determined to be suitable for adoption. | In Committee |
| S1737 | Permits EMT, paramedic, or investigator for county medical examiner's office to make determination and pronouncement of death under certain circumstances. | This bill would permit an emergency medical technician (EMT), mobile intensive care paramedic, or investigator for the county medical examiner's office to make the determination and pronouncement of death under certain circumstances. The bill provides that where there has been an apparent death as described in the bill, an EMT, paramedic, or investigator for the county medical examiner's office may make the actual determination and pronouncement of death and is to attest to this pronouncement by: signing in the space designated for this signature on the certificate of death under R.S.26:6-7; or, for the purposes of the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System, transmitting orally or in writing a report of the pronouncement to the attending, covering, or resident physician, or the county medical examiner. The provisions of this bill would only apply: --in the case of an apparent death that occurs in the home or place of residence of the deceased, or at the scene of a motor vehicle accident, homicide, fire, flood, or other natural or man-made disaster or emergency; --when there is no physician or registered professional nurse present who is qualified by law to make the actual determination and pronouncement of death in that setting; and --when the person who is declared to be presumptively dead exhibits one or more of the following signs of death: decapitation, decomposition, lividity, an absence of electrical activity in the heart, or rigor mortis. The bill takes effect on the first day of the seventh month after enactment, but authorizes the Commissioner of Health to take prior administrative action in advance as necessary for its implementation. | In Committee |
| S1753 | Requires health insurance coverage for certain student athlete physical examinations. | This bill requires certain health insurers (health, hospital, and medical service corporations, commercial individual and group health insurers, health maintenance organizations, the State Health Benefits Program, and the School Employees' Health Benefits Program) to provide health benefits coverage for expenses for an annual physical examination for the purposes of pre-participation clearance for student athletic or camp activities. The bill takes effect on the 120th day following enactment and applies to policies or contracts issued or renewed on or after that date. | In Committee |
| S1745 | Prohibits acquisition or disclosure of personal health information without consent. | This bill prohibits a health care provider, mobile application developer, or third party from acquiring or disclosing a person's biometric data, health data, or protected health information (collectively hereinafter referred to as "personal health information"), which information is acquired through the use of in-person or telephone communication, a mobile application, an Internet website, or a wearable device, without obtaining the person's consent. The bill requires the health care provider, mobile application developer, or third party to obtain the person's consent before acquiring a person's personal health information and no more than three calendar days before each disclosure of the person's personal health information. After obtaining the consent of the person, a health care provider, mobile application developer, or third party would not be required to obtain a separate and distinct form of consent before each subsequent acquisition of personal health information, provided that the consent obtained from the person has explicitly authorized such acquisition. However, each disclosure of the personal health information would constitute a separate and distinct disclosure, which would require a separate and distinct grant of consent from the person from whom the personal health information was acquired. Under the bill, the term "acquire" means to collect, obtain, generate, or store any information from a person through any means. In contrast, the term "disclose" means to transmit, release, transfer, share, disseminate, distribute, make available, rent, sell, or otherwise communicate any information to a third party. The provisions of this bill would not apply to a health care provider that discloses or acquires the personal health information of a person to or from another health care provider for the purposes of medical treatment or medical diagnosis. Moreover, nothing contained in the bill may be construed to limit, diminish, or abrogate the rights of a person under the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996," and any regulations promulgated thereunder by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HIPAA) or the obligations of a health care provider or third party under HIPAA. The bill further provides that if a court of competent jurisdiction finds a health care provider, mobile application developer, or third party has violated the provisions of the bill, the court may award damages, computed at a rate of $1,000 per violation, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs incurred in maintaining that civil action; and the private right of action authorized pursuant to this bill does not supplant any other claim or cause of action available to a person under common law or by statute. | In Committee |
| S1724 | Regulates pay-off of trade-in vehicles and certain vehicle title releases. | This bill requires motor vehicle dealers to pay the remaining loan on a customer's trade-in within 15 days of accepting that trade-in. The bill also requires the dealer to provide proof of the payment to the customer upon request. A dealer who violates the bill's provisions is subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 for the first offense and up to $2,000 for each subsequent offense. In addition, a dealer would be required to pay any late cost or fee incurred by the customer as a result of the dealer's failure to pay the remaining loan on a customer's trade-in in a timely manner. In addition, the bill requires a secured party to release the title within 15 days of receipt of payment from the motor vehicle dealer. When the balance is paid by non-certified check, the secured parties are required to release the title within 15 days from the date the check is credited to their account. A secured party who fails to comply with these time requirements is subject to a civil penalty of up to $500 for the first offense and up to $1,000 for each subsequent offense. Under current law, a creditor that takes actual or constructive possession of a motor vehicle is required to notify the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission. This bill invalidates levies placed on vehicles unless a creditor taking constructive possession of the vehicle seizes and takes actual possession of the vehicle within 30 days of providing notice to the chief administrator. The bill also exempts a subsequent purchaser of a trade-in motor vehicle from financial responsibility for a levy on a motor vehicle that is not in a creditor's actual possession. The chief administrator is to release title transfer restrictions on motor vehicles that have been legally, but not physically, seized after 30 days or upon request of the good faith purchaser. | In Committee |
| S1726 | Requires motor vehicle dealers provide loan application to consumers. | This bill makes it an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act for a motor vehicle dealer to fail to provide a consumer with a copy of any loan application prepared in connection with the sale of a motor vehicle. Under current law, a motor vehicle dealer is not specifically required to provide a consumer with a copy of the loan application prepared in connection with the sale of a motor vehicle. This bill clarifies that a motor vehicle dealership is required to provide a consumer with a copy of any loan application prepared in connection with the sale of a motor vehicle. It is the sponsor's view that not requiring the disclosure of loan applications prepared by motor vehicle dealers may allow for the submission of inaccurate financial information to lenders in order to permit a consumer to qualify for a motor vehicle loan for which he or she would otherwise be unqualified. An unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act 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, violations may 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 party. | In Committee |
| S1758 | Requires omnibus drivers to inspect bus at end of route for passengers with disabilities. | This bill requires an omnibus (bus) driver to visually inspect the bus at the end of their transportation route to determine that no person with a disability has been left on the bus. In the event that, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, a bus driver is found to have left a person with a disability on the bus at the end of the route, the driver's commercial motor vehicle driving privilege is to be: ? suspended for one month, for a first offense;? suspended for six months, for a second offense; or? permanently revoked, for a third offense. The bus driver's commercial motor vehicle driving privilege is to be permanently revoked if the driver is found to have acted with gross negligence and a person with a disability who was left on a bus at the end of the route was harmed as a result of foreseeable danger. Additionally, the bill requires the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to include in its records for persons holding or required to hold a commercial driver license (CDL) any information related to a driver leaving a person with a disability on a bus. If a bus driver's commercial motor vehicle driving privilege is suspended or revoked pursuant to the provisions of the bill, information about the suspension or revocation is to be included on their driving record information filed by the MVC with the Commercial Driver License Information System (CDLIS). The federal CDLIS provides states an opportunity to exchange information about CDL drivers, convictions, and disqualifications, including information regarding license suspensions and revocations. | In Committee |
| S1732 | Authorizes application for dismissal of a "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" ("SLAPP"). | This bill would authorize an application for a dismissal of a "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" (a "SLAPP"). "SLAPP" suits are meritless actions brought against individuals who speak out about public issues. Section 1 of the bill defines terms, including the term "act in furtherance of the right of advocacy on issues of public interest." This term is defined as: (1) a written or oral statement made in connection with an issue of public interest in, under consideration or review by, or that is reasonably likely to encourage or to enlist public participation in an effort to effect consideration or review by, a legislative, executive, or judicial body, or any other State or local government proceeding authorized by law; (2) an expression or expressive conduct that involves petitioning State or local government or communicating views to members of the public in connection with an issue of public interest; (3) any written or oral statement made or submitted in a place open to the public or a public forum in connection with an issue of public concern; or (4) any other conduct in furtherance of the exercise of the constitutional right of free speech or right of petition in connection with an issue of public interest.Section 2 of the bill provides that if, at any time during a civil proceeding, the court finds that a pleading was signed with willful intent to suppress a person's act in furtherance of the right of advocacy on issues of public interest, the court may strike the pleading, dismiss the civil action, or grant other relief as provided by the Rules of Court or by law, which may include an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs to the opposing party.Section 3 of the bill authorizes a specific application to seek dismissal of a SLAPP lawsuit. This section provides that, to the extent possible, the court would give expedited calendar preference to an application for dismissal filed to promote prompt disposition of the issues raised in the application to prevent the unnecessary expense of protracted litigation. Section 3 provides that upon the filing of an application for dismissal of a SLAPP lawsuit, the court would stay all discovery and any pending proceedings in the civil action. Notwithstanding the stay, the court, on request of a party for good cause shown, may order that specified discovery or other proceedings be conducted if necessary to allow the parties to meet or oppose the burden of proof. The bill provides that "good cause" would include: (1) whether the party seeking discovery has reasonably identified specific material held or known by the opposing party that would aid the party seeking discovery in meeting or opposing the burden of proof; (2) whether the specific materials sought in discovery are available from a source other than the opposing party; and (3) other relevant factors at the court's discretion. Under subsection c. of section 3, a moving party filing an application seeking dismissal would have the initial burden of presenting prima facie evidence showing that the cause of action at issue arises from an act in furtherance of the right of advocacy on an issue of public interest. If the moving party meets this requirement, the burden shifts to the responding party to establish the existence of prima facie evidence that demonstrates the probability of prevailing on the cause of action, including evidence to support each essential element of the cause of action, evidence showing that the moving party's application for dismissal based on an act in furtherance of the right of advocacy on issues of public interest is devoid of any reasonable factual support or any arguable basis of law, and evidence showing that the moving party's acts caused actual compensable harm to the responding party. After considering pleadings and supporting and opposing affidavits stating the facts on which the liability or defense is based, the court would determine whether the responding party has established the existence of prima facie evidence that demonstrates the probability of prevailing on the cause of action which requires that the civil action proceed to trial. If the court finds that the responding party has met this burden, the application for dismissal would be denied and the civil action would proceed to trial at the discretion of the court; otherwise, the civil action would be dismissed. If the court denies an application for dismissal: (1) the fact that the determination has been made and the substance of the determination could not be admitted into evidence at any subsequent proceeding; and (2) the determination could not affect the burden of proof or standard of proof that is applied during any subsequent proceeding. The bill provides that the court would award a moving party who prevails on an application for dismissal of the SLAPP lawsuit reasonable costs of litigation and any attorney's fees incurred in defending the SLAPP lawsuit. In addition, the court may order additional relief including sanctions against the responding party as the court deems necessary to deter repetition of comparable conduct by the responding party or others similarly situated. Under the bill, if the court finds that the application for dismissal of the SLAPP lawsuit was frivolous or that it was solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, the court would award the responding party reasonable costs of litigation and attorney's fees related to the opposition of the application for dismissal of the SLAPP lawsuit. The bill further provides that unless the right to judgment is waived by the moving party, reasonable attorney fees and costs in connection with the application for dismissal of the SLAPP lawsuit would be awarded, as appropriate, notwithstanding the fact that the responding party requested the dismissal of the civil action subsequent to the filing of the moving party's application for dismissal, but prior to the issuance of the judgment of dismissal by the court. The bill provides that a party aggrieved by the trial court's decision regarding an application to dismiss a civil action alleged to be a SLAPP lawsuit may appeal that decision pursuant to the Rules of Court. To the extent possible, the court would give calendar preference to an appeal of a dismissal of a civil action determined to be a SLAPP lawsuit. The bill provides that in any appeal of a dismissal, the court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs of litigation to the prevailing party. Section 4 provides that the bill would not be applicable to the following causes of action: a. any civil action brought by a governmental entity to enforce any law aimed at the protection of the public safety, health or welfare; b. a SLAPP-back lawsuit; or c. a claim brought against a person primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or services, if the statement or conduct from which the claim arises: (1) is a representation of fact made for the purpose of promoting, securing, or completing sales or leases of, or commercial transactions in, the person's goods or services; and (2) is intended to be directed to an audience that is an actual or potential buyer or customer.Section 5 authorizes the defendant in a SLAPP lawsuit to file a "SLAPP-back" suit. Specifically, the defendant in a SLAPP lawsuit could initiate an action, claim, cross-claim, or counterclaim to recover compensatory damages from the plaintiff of a SLAPP lawsuit or the plaintiff's attorney, or both, pursuant to: (1) the provisions of P.L.1988, c.46 (C.2A:15-59.1); (2) the Rules of Court regarding frivolous litigation; or (3) a civil action based on the common law tort of malicious abuse of process and relevant case law. In order to prevail in such a civil action, the plaintiff must prove the following elements: (a) a SLAPP lawsuit was instituted by the defendant against the plaintiff who is seeking damages under the SLAPP-back lawsuit; (b) the SLAPP lawsuit was actuated by malice; (c) there was an absence of probable cause for the SLAPP lawsuit; (d) the SLAPP lawsuit was terminated in favor of the plaintiff in the SLAPP-back lawsuit; and (e) the plaintiff in the SLAPP-back lawsuit suffered a special grievance, specifically interference with the plaintiff's liberty or property or severe and permanent economic damages. Section 5 of the bill further provides that nothing in the act would prevent a party from seeking compensatory damages related to a SLAPP lawsuit that was terminated in favor of a moving party through any other legal process authorized by law or the Rules of Court. | In Committee |
| S1748 | Increases certain penalties for violations of wage and hour law. | This bill increases certain penalties for violations of the "New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law," P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.). Current law states that for a first violation of that law, an employer is guilty of a disorderly persons offense and may be punished by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000, by imprisonment for not less than 10 and not more than 90 days, or both. The bill increases the fines for a first violation to an amount not less than $500, but maintains the maximum fine of not more than $1,000. Current law also states that for a second or subsequent violation, an employer is guilty of a disorderly persons offense and may be punished by a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000, by imprisonment for not less than 10 and not more than 100 days, or both. The bill increases the fines for a second violation to an amount not less than $1,000 and not more than $2,000. Finally, the bill adds to the law that a third or subsequent violation constitutes a crime of the fourth degree, punishable by a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $10,000, by imprisonment for up to 18 months, or both. | In Committee |
| S1751 | Requires adoption of anti-nepotism policies by school districts and charter schools. | This bill directs boards of education of school districts and county vocational school districts to adopt and implement an anti-nepotism policy. The adoption of such a policy will be a condition for the receipt of State aid. The anti-nepotism policy adopted by a board of education must include, but need not be limited to, the following: (1) a provision prohibiting any relative of a school board member or chief school administrator, school business administrator, school board attorney employed in-house on a full-time basis, or director of personnel from being employed in any office or position in the district. However, such a person employed by the district on the effective date of the policy or the date a relative becomes a school board member, chief school administrator, school business administrator, school board attorney, or director of personnel will not be prohibited from continuing to be employed or to be promoted, or, in the case of a reduction in force, employed in any position to which the person has a legal entitlement. Also, a district may employ such a relative if the district obtains the approval of the executive county superintendent of schools. The executive county superintendent may only grant the approval upon a demonstration by the district that it conducted a thorough search for candidates and that the proposed candidate is the only qualified and available person for the position; (2) a provision prohibiting a chief school administrator from recommending to the school board any relative of a school board member, chief school administrator, school business administrator, school board attorney employed in-house on a full-time basis, or director of personnel unless the exceptions described above are applicable; (3) a provision prohibiting a district administrator including a director of personnel, or a school board attorney employed in-house on a full-time basis from exercising direct or indirect authority, supervision, or control over a relative. If it is not feasible to eliminate a direct or indirect supervisory relationship, appropriate screens or alternative supervision and reporting mechanisms must be put in place; (4) a provision prohibiting a district administrator including a director of personnel, or a school board attorney employed in-house on a full-time basis, or a board member, who has a relative who is a member of the bargaining unit from discussing or voting on the proposed collective bargaining agreement with that unit or from participating in any way in negotiations, although the administrator including the director of personnel, or the school board attorney may provide technical information necessary to the collective bargaining process when no one else in the district can provide such information; and A school district or county vocational school district may exclude per diem substitutes and student employees from its anti-nepotism policy. The bill also directs the board of trustees of a charter school to adopt and implement an anti-nepotism policy. The policy adopted by a board of trustees must incorporate the above provisions and will be applicable to members of the board and to charter school administrators. Under regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Education, the board of education of a school district or county vocational school district was required to adopt an anti-nepotism policy by October 1, 2008. | In Committee |
| S1723 | "Fair Repair Act"; concerns repairs to certain consumer electronics. | This bill, to be known and cited as the "Fair Repair Act," establishes fair repair practices for digital electronic equipment, such as mobile phones, tablets, and other common consumer electronic devices. Under the bill, an original equipment manufacturer of equipment sold, offered for sale, or used in this State is required to make available to independent repair providers or equipment owners: (1) the same diagnostic, service, or repair documentation for no charge or in the same manner and in the same timeframe as the original equipment manufacturer makes it available to authorized repair providers; and (2) equipment or service parts, inclusive of any updates to the embedded software of the equipment, for purchase under fair and reasonable terms. The bill prohibits an original equipment manufacturer that sells diagnostic, service, or repair documentation to an independent repair provider or an owner in a format that is standardized with other original equipment manufacturers and on terms and conditions more favorable than those in which an authorized repair provider obtains the same documentation, from requiring an authorized repair provider to continue purchasing the documentation in a proprietary format unless the proprietary format includes diagnostic, service, or repair documentation or functionality that is not available in a standardized format. The bill also requires each original equipment manufacturer of equipment sold, offered for sale, or used in this State to make available for purchase by independent repair providers and owners all diagnostic repair tools incorporating the same diagnostic, repair, and remote communications capabilities that the original equipment manufacturer makes available to its own repair or engineering staff or any authorized repair provider. An original equipment manufacturer is required to offer tools for sale to an independent repair provider or owner under fair and reasonable terms. Under the bill, an original equipment manufacturer providing diagnostic, service, or repair documentation to aftermarket diagnostic tool manufacturers, diagnostics providers, or service information publications and systems is not responsible for the content and functionality of aftermarket diagnostic tools, diagnostics, or service information systems. In addition, original equipment manufacturers are not to exclude diagnostic, service, and repair documentation necessary to reset a security-related electronic function from information provided to an owner or independent repair provider. The bill makes violations of these provisions unlawful practices under the consumer fraud act. An unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act 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. In addition, violations may 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 party. The bill does not apply to motor vehicles, vehicle manufacturers, or vehicle dealers. The bill's provisions are retroactive to equipment sold or offered for sale on or after July 1, 2012. | In Committee |
| S1738 | Directs Commissioner of Education to study curriculum requirements for geography education in high school. | This bill directs the Commissioner of Education to study the need for, and the advisability of, increasing the curriculum requirements for the study of geography in high school. The study must include an evaluation of the potential positive and negative consequences associated with enhancing the geography education requirements. The commissioner will report his findings and recommendations within 6 months of the bill's effective date to the State Board of Education, the Governor, and the Legislature. There is currently no requirement that a high school student complete a course dedicated solely to geography. Under current State Board of Education regulations (N.J.A.C.6A:8-5.1), a student must complete at least 15 credits in social studies in order to be eligible to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma. All social studies course offerings must integrate civics, economics, geography, and global content within the curriculum. | In Committee |
| S1715 | Establishes pilot project to permit voters in military service on active duty overseas, and their eligible family members, to vote in certain elections using the Internet; makes appropriation. | This bill establishes a pilot project to permit a voter in military service on active duty overseas, and their spouse or dependent to vote using the Internet The pilot project will be for the primary election and general election occurring in the calendar year in which the bill takes effect and would include any person in military service who, by reason of active duty or service, is absent on the date of the election from the place of residence in New Jersey where the person is or would be qualified to vote. The bill requires the Secretary of State to: (1) create an Internet-based voting system for the pilot project that: (a) uses such technology as may be available to ensure the authentication of the voter, the security of the ballot being voted, the privacy of the voter casting the ballot, the ability to audit or verify the voting process by the voter and third party entities, the control of the voting process by the appropriate election officials, the integrity of the voting process for the elections at which Internet voting is to be available, and the compatibility of that process with the voting system currently used by a voter overseas; (b) employs to the extent possible any guidelines proposed or promulgated by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission or any other agency of the federal government for an Internet voting pilot project that assists voters in military service on active duty overseas, and their spouses or dependents who are eligible to vote; and (c) adopts, where possible, the best practices used in similar projects in other states and countries; (2) consult with representatives of the clerks of the counties, the superintendents of elections and the county boards of election with regard to the development and implementation of the pilot project; (3) provide sufficient and accessible notice and information to the public and voters in military service on active duty overseas, and their spouses or dependents who are eligible to vote with respect to the pilot project and the requirements for such voters to participate in the elections at which Internet voting is to be available; and (4) promulgate such temporary rules and regulations as the secretary deems necessary to effectuate the purpose of this bill. The bill requires that the secretary submit to the Governor and the Legislature no later than the 120th day following the day of the general election at which the pilot project is operative a written report with recommendations as to whether: (1) Internet voting for voters in military service on active duty overseas, and their spouses or dependent who are eligible to vote should not be adopted at present; or (2) the pilot project should be expanded and a further assessment of its feasibility should be conducted; or (3) Internet voting for voters in military service on active duty overseas, and their spouses or dependents who are eligible to vote should be adopted permanently by law. The bill provides that such sums as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act are appropriated from the General Fund. | In Committee |
| S1761 | Requires issuance of report on certain information and data on processing of applications for professional and occupational licenses and mandates review of training and call intake in Division of Consumer Affairs. | This bill requires the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to review and collect certain information and data on the professions and occupations regulated by the division, or a board, committee or other entity within the division, and compile a report on the findings to be released to the Governor and State Legislature. The information and data to be reviewed and collected include the number of outstanding applications each profession and occupation has for initial licensure, the number of incomplete applications received, and funding expended to retain employees. The report is to be issued six months after the bill is enacted. Additionally, the Attorney General, or a designee, is to 1) develop and administer training specific to a profession and occupation to new employees hired to process initial applications for licensure in the profession or occupation; and 2) review the feasibility of outsourcing phone call intake and response to businesses or associations that assist individuals seeking a license in a specific profession or occupation. | In Committee |
| S1725 | "Used Car Buyers' Bill of Rights"; prohibits certain "as is" sales of used motor vehicles. | This bill, designated the "Used Car Buyers' Bill of Rights," prohibits "as is" sales of used motor vehicles to consumers, requires dealers to offer contract cancellation option agreements for certain used vehicles, and establishes additional requirements for dealers selling used vehicles. The bill does not apply to transactions between private parties or the sale of used motorcycles, motor homes, or off-road vehicles. The bill makes it an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act for a dealer to sell to a consumer a used vehicle deemed to be "certified" or any other similar descriptive term that implies the vehicle complies with the terms of a used motor vehicle certification program if: the dealer knows or should know that the odometer is inaccurate; the dealer knows or should know that the vehicle was reacquired by a manufacturer or dealer pursuant to state or federal warranty laws; the title to the vehicle is inscribed with the notation "flood," "junk," "Lemon Law Buyback," "manufacturer repurchase," "nonrepairable," "salvage," or another similar title designation; the vehicle sustained damage in an impact, fire, or flood which substantially impairs its use or safety; the dealer knows or should know that the vehicle sustained frame damage which, after repair prior to sale, substantially impairs the use or safety of the vehicle; prior to sale, the dealer fails to provide a consumer with a completed inspection report indicating all the components were inspected; the dealer disclaims any warranties of merchantability on the vehicle; or the term "certified," or any other similar descriptive term, is used in a manner that is untrue or misleading. The bill requires that a dealer offer a consumer a contract cancellation option agreement that allows the consumer to return the used motor vehicle, without cause, if the used motor vehicle has a purchase price of less than $40,000. The contract cancellation option agreement gives the consumer the right to cancel the contract and obtain a refund. The bill sets forth the information to be contained in any contract cancellation option agreement, including the deadline for exercising the cancellation option and returning the vehicle to the dealer, the maximum mileage the vehicle may be driven, which could not be less than 250 miles, and any restocking fee. A dealer would be required to apply toward the restocking fee the price paid by the consumer for the contract cancellation option agreement. A dealer also is required to give notice at its business location and in the contract for the used motor vehicle that there is no cancellation period, sometimes referred to as a "cooling-off" period, unless a consumer obtains a contract cancellation option. Under the bill, the requirement that a dealer offer a contract cancellation option to a consumer does not apply to total loss or salvage vehicles. The bill provides that the fee for the contract cancellation option agreement is not to exceed the following: (1) $75 for a used motor vehicle with a cash price of $5,000 or less; (2) $150 for a used motor vehicle with a cash price of between $5,000.01 and $10,000; (3) $250 for a used motor vehicle with a cash price of between $10,000.01 and $30,000; or (4) one percent of the purchase price for a used motor vehicle with a cash price of $30,000.01 to $40,000. Under the bill, after a consumer exercises the right to cancel a contract under the agreement, no later than three business days for a used motor vehicle purchased by cash, credit or debit card, or bank loan, or 10 business days for a used motor vehicle purchased by check, the dealer is required to cancel the contract and provide the consumer with a refund, including the appropriate portion of the sales tax or other fees paid. In addition, within three business days, a dealer would be required to return to the consumer any used vehicle the consumer conveyed to the dealer as a down payment or trade-in. If the dealer sold or otherwise transferred title to that used vehicle, the refund would include the fair market value of that used vehicle or its value as stated in the contract, whichever is greater. Currently, P.L.1995, c.373 (C.56:8-67 et seq.) sets forth minimum warranty requirements when a dealer sells to a consumer a used vehicle. Under current law, in the event that a used motor vehicle is sold "as is," it is an unlawful practice for a dealer to fail to provide a clear written explanation, prior to sale, of what is meant by the term "as is." The bill amends current law to make it an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act for a dealer to sell a consumer a used vehicle "as is," i.e., without any warranty. The bill eliminates the existing ability of a dealer to sell a consumer a used vehicle "as is" as a result of negotiating a lower price in exchange for waiving the dealer's obligation to provide a warranty. The bill revises the mileage requirements under the dealer's required written warranty. If the motor vehicle has less than 40,000 miles, the warranty would be 90 days or 3,750 miles, whichever comes first. If the motor vehicle has 40,000 miles or more, but less than 80,000 miles, the warranty would be 60 days or 2,500 miles, whichever comes first. If the used motor vehicle has 80,000 miles or more, but less than 125,000 miles, the warranty would be 30 days or 1,250 miles, whichever comes first. If the used motor vehicle has 125,000 miles or more, a consumer would be entitled to any implied warranties created by law. Under the bill, a dealer may sell a used motor vehicle "as is" and is not required to provide a written warranty to a consumer if the used motor vehicle has been issued a salvage certificate of title by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission or declared a total loss by an insurance company, of if the used motor vehicle has been reported as a salvage vehicle or as a total loss in a National Motor Vehicle Title Information System history report. An unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act 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, violations may 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 party. | In Committee |
| S1711 | Requires independent State authority member to disclose contractual relationship between authority and authority member's relatives. | This bill requires a member of an independent State authority to report to the State Ethics Commission the existence of a contractual relationship between a relative of the member and the authority. A member is required to make the report to the State Ethics Commission within 30 days of the creation of a contractual relationship between the authority and the member's relative, or the member's appointment. If, upon or prior to the date of the bill's enactment, a contractual relationship exists between the authority upon which the member serves and the member's relative, then the member is required to report that information to the State Ethics Commission within 30 days of the bill's enactment. A member who violates the provisions of the bill is subject to removal from office and is liable to a penalty of up to $5,000, unless the member knew or reasonably should have known the member was in violation, in which case the penalty is to be no less than $5,000 and no more than $10,000 for each violation. | In Committee |
| S1741 | Prohibits transport of certain items by motor vehicle on certain roadways; provides standards for loading of motor vehicle with certain items. | This bill prohibits a person from loading or operating a vehicle loaded in a way that may cause the contents, which is to include, but not be limited to, furniture, mattresses, or other similar items, or any part thereof, to become dislodged from the vehicle and fall onto any road. The bill also requires that whenever the load of any vehicle is of items that pose a danger on roads if those items were to fall on to the road and the load extends above the height of the sides or tail gate, or extends beyond the rear of the body of the vehicle, or is placed atop the roof of the cabin of the vehicle, the load is to be securely fastened to the vehicle with straps with ratchet fasteners, elastic cords with metal hooks able to withstand the weight of the load, or other similar safety devices and covered by a tarpaulin or other cover but may not be operated on any road under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (DOT) with a speed limit of 50 miles per hour or faster, or any road under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) or the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA). A person, who violates the provisions of the bill by operating a vehicle with load that may become dislodged upon a road under the jurisdiction of the DOT with a speed limit of 50 miles per hour or faster, or any road under the jurisdiction of NJTA or SJTA, may subject to fine of not more than $750. Under the bill, a person may to subject to fine of not more than $1,000, or up to 10 days imprisonment, or both, if the contents of a load becomes dislodged and falls onto a road under the jurisdiction of the DOT with a speed limit of 50 miles per hour or faster, or any road under the jurisdiction of the NJTA or the SJTA. Under the bill, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is to promulgate regulations concerning the minimum safety standards for fastening loads on and loading procedures for any commercial type flat bed motor vehicle, motor-drawn vehicle, and passenger automobile temporarily used to transport material. | In Committee |
| S1716 | Requires State Treasurer to organize and publish certain contract and grant data and information on State expenditure Internet website. | This bill requires the State Treasurer to organize and publish certain State contract and grant data and information on a single, searchable Internet website. The bill requires the State Treasurer, in consultation with the Chief Technology Officer in the Office of Information Technology, to design and develop, operate, and maintain an Internet website with the capacity to retain and display data and information concerning State expenditures. The bill specifies that these State expenditures include but are not limited to purchases, contracts, or agreements and grants, awards, or loans paid with or out of State funds by or on behalf of a State agency. The bill directs that, on or before July 1, 2018, the State expenditure website will, at a minimum, be: (1) accessible through a link prominently displayed on the home page of the official website for the State of New Jersey; (2) available to the general public without charge for access; and (3) organized chronologically by State fiscal year, with additional consideration for type of expenditure and State agency involved with the expenditure of State funds. The website must also provide an opportunity for public input regarding its utility and recommendations for its improvement. The bill allows the State expenditure website to be updated or revised periodically, but stipulates that data and information made available must not be subject to removal. The bill also prohibits the State Treasurer from displaying data or information deemed private or confidential by State or federal law, rules, or regulations. For State fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2018, the bill requires the State Treasurer to utilize the website to publish notice of certain contracts and grants. In particular, the State Treasurer is required to publish notice of all purchases, contracts, or agreements and all grants, awards, or loans, the cost or contract price of which is to be paid with or out of State funds by or on behalf of a State agency. In providing notice of a purchase, contract, or agreement, the bill requires that the State Treasurer disclose: (1) the name and address of the entity contracting with the State; (2) the names of the principal officers and directors of the entity and, if the contracting entity is a subsidiary of another entity, the name and address of the parent entity and the names of its principal officers and directors; (3) a description of the goods and services provided; (4) the cost or price; (5) the beginning and termination dates; and (6) the State fund from which the contract is paid with or out of. The bill requires similar information be published for notice of all grants, awards, or loans. The development of a State expenditure Internet website is intended to provide State residents with an easily accessible and comprehensive "one stop" source for information on the expenditure of State funds. Similar to initiatives in more than a dozen states, the development of a single, searchable website for contract and grant data and information will improve transparency and accountability and simplify the process to access information concerning the allocation and spending of public tax dollars. | In Committee |
| S1717 | Concerns credit card interchange fees and consumer protection. | This bill regulates credit card interchange fees. An interchange fee, commonly referred to as a "swipe fee," is a fee paid by a merchant's acquiring bank to a customer-cardholder's issuing bank as part of an electronic payment card transaction. The merchant's bank then passes this fee onto the merchant. There is little competition regarding credit card interchange fee pricing as Visa and MasterCard, the two largest companies in the industry, set the pricing with their member banks and smaller merchants have no negotiating power to change pricing. As consumers increasingly use debit and credit cards to purchase goods and services, merchants must agree to accept these cards as a form of payment in order to stay in business, but often pass along the costs of the interchange fees onto consumers which inflates the prices of goods and services. Current federal law regulates debit card interchange fees but does not address the fees associated with credit card transactions. This bill regulates credit card interchange fees by prohibiting an electronic payment system from:· imposing any requirement, condition, penalty, or fine in a contract with a merchant relating to the display of pricing for goods or services for sale by the merchant;· inhibiting the ability of any merchant to offer its customers discounts or in-kind incentives for using cash or a debit card or credit card of another electronic payment system;· inhibiting the ability of any merchant to decide not to accept the products of an electronic payment system at one of its locations while still accepting the products of that electronic payment system at other locations;· preventing any merchant from setting a minimum dollar value, provided the minimum is not set below $10, or a maximum dollar value for its acceptance of a credit card;· limiting the number of electronic payment systems through which a credit card transaction may be processed to only one or only affiliated electronic payment systems; or· inhibiting any merchant from choosing the electronic payment system through which a credit card transaction is processed. Under the bill, an electronic payment system is defined as, "an entity which is not a national bank that directly, or through licensed members, processors or agents, provides the proprietary services, infrastructure, and software that route information and data to facilitate transaction authorization, clearance, and settlement, and that merchants access in order to accept a brand of general-purpose credit cards, charge cards, debit cards or stored-value cards as payments for goods or services." A violation of the bill's provisions is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) 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. In addition, 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 further specifies that an electronic payment system found to be in violation must reimburse all affected merchants for all chargebacks, fees, and fines collected from the affected merchants during the period of time in which the electronic payment system was in violation. | In Committee |
| S1735 | Establishes criminal penalties for sale and possession of binary firearm triggers. | This bill establishes a crime of possessing or selling a binary trigger. A "binary trigger" is a device affixed to a semiautomatic firearm that is designed to fire one round upon the pull of the trigger and another round upon the release of the trigger. The bill also clarifies that a firearm affixed with a binary trigger constitutes a machine gun. Under current law, possession of a machine gun is a crime of the second degree, which is punishable by five to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $150,000, or both. The bill also makes it a third degree crime to possess a binary trigger, regardless of whether the person is in possession of a firearm, and provides that the penalty for possessing a binary trigger is to run consecutively with the penalty for possessing an assault firearm or machine gun. The bill also establishes a third degree crime of manufacturing, transporting, shipping, selling, or disposing of a binary trigger. A crime of the third degree is punishable by three to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. The bill allows individuals to voluntarily surrender any binary trigger in their possession to a law enforcement agency within 90 days of the bill's effective date. Licensed manufacturers, wholesale dealers, and retailers have 30 days to voluntarily surrender their binary triggers. The bill is to take effect immediately upon enactment. This bill is consistent with current law prohibiting the sale and possession of bump stocks and trigger cranks, which are similar devices that enable a person to fire a semiautomatic firearm at a greater rate of speed than originally intended by the firearm's manufacturer. | In Committee |
| S1764 | Requires DCF to publish and disseminate information on early childhood mental health to certain professionals. | This bill requires the Department of Children and Families to publish and disseminate information on early childhood mental health to certain professionals. Specifically, the Department of Children and Families, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education, is to publish information on early childhood mental health on its Internet website and disseminate the information to social workers, teachers, and child care workers, whose work consists primarily of providing services to children who are five years of age or younger. The bill provides that the information is to include, but not be limited to: (1) discussing the importance for early childhood mental health awareness; (2) appropriately relaying mental health concerns to a parent or guardian; and (3) referring a parent or guardian to State or community resources to assess a child's mental health needs. Under the bill, the Department of Children and Families may provide in-service training of social workers, teachers, and child care workers on the information published and disseminate pursuant to the bill's provisions. | In Committee |
| S1718 | Revises law concerning prohibition of certain unsolicited checks. | This bill changes the penalties for a violation of the law prohibiting certain unsolicited checks, enacted as P.L.2015, c.120 (C.2A:65D-6 et seq.). Under this law, no person may send an unsolicited check to an individual which, upon being cashed or redeemed, automatically obligates the recipient to pay any fee or enrolls that individual in any club, service, plan, or continuing agreement. A person violating this provision is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation. Under this bill, a first violation is subject to a civil penalty of up to $500, and up to $1,000 for a second violation. A third violation is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act (CFA), P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), and would be considered a first offense under the CFA, with a fourth or additional violation considered a subsequent offense under the CFA. An unlawful practice under the CFA 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, violations may 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 party. | In Committee |
| S1719 | Revises penalty provision of law concerning prohibition of certain unsolicited text messages. | This bill changes the penalties for a violation of the law prohibiting certain unsolicited text messages, enacted as P.L. 2015, C.119 (C.2A: 65D-1 et seq.) Under this law, no person may send an unsolicited advertisement via text message to a communication device capable of receiving text messages if the recipient of the message may incur a telecommunications charge or a usage allocation deduction as a result of the message being sent. The law further prohibits the sending of unsolicited advertising via text message without first obtaining the permission of the recipient. A person violating these provisions is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for any subsequent violation. This bill revises the penalty provision to make first and second violations subject to civil penalties of up to $500 and $1,000, respectively, and to provide that any subsequent violation is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act (CFA), P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). The bill specifies that a third violation would be considered a first offense under the CFA, with a fourth or additional violation considered a subsequent offense under the CFA. An unlawful practice under the CFA 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, violations may 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 party. P.L. 2015, C.119 (C.2A: 65D-1 et seq.) supplemented the CFA and violations of its provisions were unlawful practices under the CFA. This bill is a compromise, by creating a two-tiered penalty structure. This bill intends to provide balance by establishing civil penalties for first and second violations and requiring the enhanced penalties of the CFA for subsequent violations. | In Committee |
| S1736 | Imposes restrictions concerning Port Authority of New York and New Jersey commissioners, officers, and employees regarding employment, gifts, and compensation. | This bill imposes various restrictions upon the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ("port authority"), its subsidiary corporations, and the commissioners, officers, and employees of the port authority and subsidiary corporations. Specifically, the bill prohibits the port authority and its subsidiary corporations from: · compensating any commissioner, officer, or employee for expenses related to commuting or a personal vehicle; · exempting any commissioner, officer, or employee, or former commissioner, officer, or employee from payment of any of its tolls or fares or reimbursing any such individual for use of any of its tolled facilities or transportation services or for payment of any other expenses for commuting between home and work or for travel not directly related to the public business of the authority;· providing to any commissioner, officer, or employee a driver whose assigned full-time or part-time duties are to operate any motor vehicle in which the commissioner, officer, or employee, or an immediate family member, is a passenger, unless the driver is a law enforcement officer who is assigned also to provide for the security of the commissioner, officer, or employee when the need for such security has been documented;· compensating any commissioner, officer, or employee for overnight travel on behalf of the authority or for purposes of conducting authority business unless such travel arrangements and itinerary are approved in writing by the board at a public meeting, except in emergent situations relating to the authority's business;· extending to any commissioner, officer, or employee a personal line of credit or any other form of credit agreement for any purpose unless the use of a credit is directly related and essential to the performance of those official duties of the commissioner, officer, or employee, as documented in writing, that concern the maintenance of security for specified persons or property, law enforcement, inspections or audits of regulated facilities, entities, or persons, or the health, safety, and welfare of members of the public;· providing to any commissioner, officer, or employee any personal expense allowance, or contingent fund for personal or official expenses except where such allowance or fund is expressly provided for by statute or legislative appropriation;· providing to any commissioner, officer, or employee an allowance, stipend, subsidy, or other form of payment for the purchase, lease, or maintenance of a residence; and· providing tuition reimbursement to officers and employees unless (1) the course is taken at an accredited public institution of higher education in New York or New Jersey, (2) the course is directly related to the skills and knowledge required for the duties being performed by the officer or employee, or required for the performance of the duties of a position to which the officer or employee may directly be promoted from the current position, and (3) the officer or employee agrees to remain an officer or employee for five years after the final tuition reimbursement is made. The amount of reimbursement could not exceed 50 percent of the tuition. The bill prohibits commissioners, officers, and employees, of the authority or its subsidiary corporations, from:· soliciting or accepting any compensation, reward, employment, gift, honorarium, out-of-State travel or subsistence expense or other thing of value from any source other than the authority for any matter related to the official duties of the commissioner, officer, or employee or under any other any circumstance which could reasonably be expected to influence the manner in which authority business is conducted;· engaging in employment with any professional service provider, vendor, or independent contractor of the authority for two years after termination;· accepting use of a port authority, or port authority subsidiary-owned residence for purposes not directly related and essential to the performance of those official duties of the officer or employee; and· soliciting, receiving or agreeing to receive, whether directly or indirectly, any ticket or other form of admission to any place of entertainment that is provided free of charge or at a discounted rate by the sponsor, promoter, performer, or operator of the event or entertainment venue unless the same free or reduced admission is available to (a) the public; (b) a class consisting of all officers or employees of New York or New Jersey state agencies, as appropriate, whether or not restricted on the basis of geographic consideration; (c) all members of a group or class in which membership is unrelated to port authority service; (d) all members of an organization, such as an employees' association or state or other public entity credit union, in which membership is related to port authority service; or (e) a group or class that is not defined in a manner that specifically discriminates among state or port authority officers or employees on the basis of branch of government or type of responsibility, or on a basis that favors those of higher rank or rate of pay. Any commissioner, officer, or employee of the authority or its subsidiary corporations who willfully engages in conduct, or accepts a benefit, in violation of the provisions of this bill would be subject to removal from office or employment and fined a minimum of $500 or maximum of $10,000. The enactment by New York of substantially similar legislation would be required, and approval of Congress may be required, before the supplemental compact authorized by this bill may become operative. | In Committee |
| S1759 | Prohibits disclosure of personal information pertaining to certain health care workers who are victims of assault; establishes civil penalty for each violation. | This bill would prohibit the disclosure of personal information pertaining to certain health care workers who are assaulted by a patient or resident of a health care facility. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, health care and social service workers are almost four times as likely to be injured as a result of workplace violence than the average private sector worker. In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor reported more than 23,000 significant injuries due to assault at work. More than 70 percent of these assaults were in health care and social service settings. This bill would prohibit personal information of certain health care workers who are victims of assault from being disclosed in order to prevent further violence, threats or intimidation against the victim. The bill prohibits the disclosure of the name, address, and identity of a victim of an alleged assault or aggravated assault on an indictment, complaint, or any other public record as defined in the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) if the actor is a patient or resident at the facility and the victim is a health care worker who was providing direct patient care or practicing the health care profession and is: 1) a health care worker employed by a licensed health care facility to provide direct patient care; 2) a health care professional licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to Title 26 or Title 45 of the Revised Statutes to practice a health care profession; or 3) a direct care worker at a State or county psychiatric hospital or State developmental center or veterans' memorial home. The bill would require such information to be omitted or redacted, or initials or a fictitious name to appear instead. The bill also requires that any report, statement, photograph, court document, indictment, complaint or any other public record which states the name, address, and identity of a victim would be confidential and unavailable to the public, unless authorized pursuant to a court order. Any person who purposefully discloses, releases or otherwise makes available to the public, without authorization, any of these documents would be guilty of a disorderly persons offense. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by up to six months imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. | In Committee |
| S1762 | Requires availability of accessible mail-in ballot for voters with disabilities. | This bill requires the availability of an accessible mail-in ballot for voters with disabilities. Under current law, registered voters may apply to vote by mail and may receive a mail-in ballot to be completed by hand. Although the law prohibits any person other than the voter to complete the ballot, the law allows persons who need assistance in completing the mail-in ballot to have a family member provide them that assistance. Under this bill, the county clerk would be required to provide an accessible mail-in ballot for any voter with a disability that requests one, provided the voter is registered to vote and is entitled to vote in that county in this State. The bill requires the accessible mail-ballot to contain features to enable a voter with a disability to understand the contents of the ballot, mark-up voting choices, make changes, verify the final voting choices made on the ballot, complete the ballot, and print the completed ballot and related materials such as certificates and envelopes. The bill specifies key features of the accessible mail-in ballot. These would include, but would not be limited to, electronic delivery and access; readability with guided audible prompts; ability to mark the ballot reflecting the voter's selections; confirmation of the voter's selections prior to final completion; ability to print the ballot and related materials or to generate an electronic file for printing and submitting to the county board of elections at a later date; ability to return the ballot by electronic means if the voter is eligible to do so; clear and comprehensive instructions; and any additional features deemed necessary. Upon completion, the voter would then submit their ballot and necessary materials by mail, in person, or using a ballot drop box in the manner provided under current law. If the voter is "electronic return eligible," the voter would be permitted to return the mail-in ballot by electronic means. Under the bill, "electronic return eligible" means a voter who, regardless of any other disability: is blind; has a visual impairment or perceptual or reading disability that cannot be improved to give visual function substantially equivalent to that of a person who has no such impairment or disability and therefore is unable to read or mark a ballot to substantially the same degree as a person without an impairment or disability; or is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to hold, mark, or manipulate a ballot or to focus or move the eyes to the extent that would be normally acceptable for reading or marking a ballot. Finally, the Secretary of State, in consultation with county clerks and county boards of elections, is directed to issue uniform guidelines for election officials to follow for implementing the accessible ballot provisions. | In Committee |
| S1747 | Revises property tax assessment calendar. | This bill would revise the current dates for the administration of the assessment of real property in order to create a more accurate process for that essential assessment function throughout the entire State. The provisions of the bill specifically address the systemic costs which result from the losses due to successful assessment appeals by property owners, which reduce the property tax base, and which require municipalities to refund large amounts of property taxes collected from those property owners prior to the successful assessment appeal, which lowers their assessment, and thereby lowers the amount of property taxes due and payable from those property owners. Under current law, every municipal tax assessor files the municipality's tax list with the county board of taxation, which subsequently sets the local tax rates. Assessment appeals are filed by property owners on April 1 of each year, or on May 1 in the case of a municipality that has undergone a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment of real property. Appeals are heard by the county tax board and generally decided in most, if not all, cases by the end of July. Successful appeals that late in the tax year result in reduced assessments, which results in a reduced municipal tax base, which then results in the under-collection of property taxes to fund current year operations. The bill proposes the re-scheduling of the property assessment appeal process to dates prior to the calculation of the local property tax rate, which would allow for a more accurate local property tax rate to reflect local budgetary needs and the true value of the tax base that provides the property tax revenue to fund the local budget. The following chart sets forth the current statutory dates relative to the individual functions that comprise the real property assessment process, and the proposed dates for those functions under the bill: DATES RELATIVE TO CERTIFICATION OF THE TAX LIST, ASSESSMENT APPEALS, AND THE CALCULATION OF LOCAL TAX RATES IN ALL MUNICIPALITIESDescription of FunctionCurrent DateProposed DateAssessing DateOctober 1 of pre-tax yearOctober 1 of pre-tax yearCertification of Preliminary AssessmentN/ANovember 1 of pre-tax yearNotification of Assessment PostcardsFebruary 1November 15 of pre-tax year Assessment Appeal Filing DeadlineApril 1; May 1 in municipalities wherein revaluation of real property has occurredJanuary 15Assessment Appeals HeardMay, June and JulyFebruary, March and AprilTax List FiledJanuary 10May 5County Preliminary EqualizationMarch 10May 15County Final EqualizationMarch 10May 25Municipal Budget to Tax BoardMarch 31May 15County Budget to Tax BoardApril 1May 15 School Budget to Tax BoardMay 19May 15Certified Tax RatesMay 20May 31Tax DuplicatesJune 3June 3Tax BillsJune 14June 14 The assessment calendar proposed under this bill has been successfully implemented in Monmouth County since 2014, Gloucester County since 2018, and Burlington County since 2021. The calendar has been shown to provide municipalities in these counties with more financial certainty. By notifying property owners of their property tax assessments and deciding appeals of those assessments at earlier times, municipalities can better ascertain their revenues to ensure the integrity of their budgets throughout the fiscal year. | In Committee |
| S1746 | Establishes homestead and bank account exemptions for persons in debt; increases existing exemption amounts for household goods. | This bill establishes a homestead and bank account exemption for persons in debt and increases the existing exemption amount for household goods. Under the bill, an owner can exempt an interest in the homestead from an attachment, execution, and forced sale in an amount that is the greater of: (1) the amount of the median sale price for a single-family home in that county, in the calendar year prior to the calendar year in which the debtor claims the exemption, as determined by using the United States Census Bureau's most recent 1-year American Community Survey data table, B25077, Median Value, or an equivalent valuation approved by the Department of Banking and Insurance, not to exceed $600,000; or (2) $300,000. If the owner or a dependent of the owner is either 60 years of age or older, or is physically or mentally disabled and because of such disability is unable to engage in substantial gainful employment and whose disability has lasted or can be expected to last at least 12 months, or can be expected to result in death, the homestead exemption will be double the aforementioned county median. The bill provides that the homestead exemption will attach to the owner's interest in identifiable cash proceeds from the voluntary or involuntary sale of the homestead and that the exemption in identifiable cash proceeds would continue for 18 months after the date of sale for the homestead or until the owner establishes a new homestead with the proceeds, whichever period is shorter. The bill also provides that, in a bankruptcy case, the owner's exemptions shall be determined on the date the bankruptcy petition is filed or, with respect to property respect to property that becomes property of the estate after that date, the date the property becomes property of the estate. If the value of the owner's interest in homestead property on such date is less than or equal to the amount that can be exempted under the homestead law, then the owner's entire interest in the property, including the owner's right to possession and interests of no monetary value, is exempt. Any appreciation in the value of the owner's exempt interest in the property during the bankruptcy case is also exempt, even if it exceeds the statutory limit. The bill additionally increases the total value of household goods that are exempt from debt collection, from $1,000 to $15,000, and provides for an exemption from garnishment of up to $10,000 for cash held in a deposit account or other account of the debtor, or up to $15,000 if the cash amount is held in a joint account. | In Committee |
| S1731 | Establishes prohibited practices for creditors. | This bill establishes those practices of a creditor, in collecting payment of a debt, that are to be considered unfair, deceptive, and unreasonable. Among those practices are: (1) communications or threats of communications, or implications of the fact of debt or alleged debt to a person other than the person who may reasonably be expected to be liable for the debt; (2) harassing or embarrassing communication by the creditor to the alleged debtor, including, but not limited to, communication at an unreasonable hour, with unreasonable frequency, by threats of violence, by use of offensive language, or by threats of any action which the creditor in the usual course of business does not in fact take; and (3) communications with the alleged debtor using forms or other instruments that simulate the form or appearance of the judicial process. Among other practices considered in the bill to be unfair, deceptive, and unreasonable is the simulation of a law enforcement officer or agent of the government and attempts to join the debtor's social media network. Civil penalties in the bill include $2,500 for a first violation and $5,000 for any subsequent violation. Additionally, any person aggrieved by violation of this act may bring an action in Superior Court to recover damages. | In Committee |
| S1713 | Prohibits the sale of certain children's products containing lead, mercury, or cadmium. | This bill would prohibit the sale, distribution, import, or manufacture of any children's product intended for use by a child under the age of six which contains, is composed of, or is made with lead, mercury, or cadmium. The Director of Consumer Affairs or any manufacturer, distributor, or importer of children's products, who discovers that a children's product intended for use by a child under the age of six contains, is composed of, or is made with lead, mercury, or cadmium, would be required to issue an immediate recall for that product. Within 48 hours of receiving notice of the recall, retail mercantile establishments would be required to remove the children's product from displays and make it unavailable for purchase. Within 14 business days, retail mercantile establishments would be required to return all inventory of the children's product to the manufacturer, distributor, or importer from which it was obtained, at the cost of the manufacturer, distributor, or importer. The manufacturer, distributor, or importer would then have 60 business days to destroy the children's product in such a way that renders it useless, and to dispose of the remnants in a manner and location designed to remove them from access by the general public. The bill specifies the following penalties for violations:· knowingly selling, offering for sale, distributing, importing, or manufacturing a children's product intended for use by a child under the age of six which contains, is composed of, or is made with lead, mercury, or cadmium would be an unlawful practice;· failing to remove the recalled children's product from displays, make it unavailable for purchase, or return it to the manufacturer, distributor, or importer within the required timeframe would be an unlawful practice; and· a manufacturer, distributor, or importer failing to issue an immediate recall or destroy and dispose of children's products returned to them as a result of a recall, as required, would be a crime of the fourth degree for a first offense, a crime of the third degree for a second offense, and a crime of the second degree for a third or subsequent offense. An unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act 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. In addition, 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. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by up to 18 months imprisonment, a fine of $10,000, or both. A crime of the third degree is punishable by three to five years imprisonment, a fine of $15,000, or both, and a crime of the second degree is punishable by five to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of $150,000, or both. | In Committee |
| S1754 | Restricts authority to terminate reciprocal personal income tax agreements with other states. | This bill requires that the authority of the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to enter into reciprocal personal income tax agreements with other states is to be limited by restricting the termination of any such agreement to the enactment by the Legislature and the Governor of a law directing the termination of an agreement. This bill is retroactive to October 19, 1977, the effective date of the Reciprocal Personal Income Tax Agreement between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey. | In Committee |
| S1721 | Requires secured party to deliver motor vehicle certificate of ownership by certified mail. | The bill requires that a motor vehicle certificate of ownership be delivered to the buyer by certified mail, return receipt requested. Under current law, the delivery method of a certificate of ownership is not specified. The bill is applicable to a lender, seller, or other person who has ownership over a motor vehicle until the obligation of debt has been satisfied. The certificate of ownership, or vehicle title, is proof of a buyer's ownership of a vehicle. This important document should be transmitted to the buyer via a secure delivery method. | In Committee |
| S1765 | Requires disclosure of usual and customary price for merchandise offered in certain advertisements. | This bill requires businesses to disclose the usual and customary price for merchandise that is advertised as part of a "Buy One, Get One Free" or similar offer. Current law does not require that a business disclose the usual and customary price of merchandise advertised as part of a bargain offer. This bill is meant to discourage businesses from artificially inflating the sale price of merchandise offered as part of a "Buy One, Get One Free" or similar sale. A violation of the bill's provisions is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). 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. In addition, 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. | In Committee |
| S1740 | Requires motorcycle passengers to be 10 years of age or older. | This bill requires a motorcycle passenger to be 10 years of age or older. A motorcycle operator who transports a passenger in violation of this bill is subject to a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $100. | In Committee |
| S1760 | Specifies additional services for victims of sex trafficking and domestic violence; makes $1,000,000 appropriation. | This bill would establish a safe haven program in fire stations throughout the State for the purpose of ensuring that victims of sex trafficking and domestic violence receive firefighter referrals for appropriate services, such as emergency shelters, legal assistance, victim advocacy, and community resources. Specifically, the bill requires the Attorney General, in consultation with the Department of Children and Families, Commission on Human Trafficking, and Advisory Council on Domestic Violence, to establish the safe haven program, which would include, but not be limited to, the following: - specific training and educational requirements for firefighters concerning emergency housing, victim advocacy, the role of law enforcement in assisting victims, legal assistance, and community resources that are available to victims; - victim evaluation criteria and requirements for firefighters who make referrals and assist in the coordination of the aforementioned services for victims; - anti-discrimination requirements that ensure victims obtain the benefits and services required by the program without regard to their citizenship status; and - specific training requirements for firefighters who assist victims, which would enable the firefighters to serve as referral sources for, and facilitate access of victims to, appropriate resources and services. The bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the "Human Trafficking Survivor's Assistance Fund" created by section 2 of P.L.2013, c.51 (C.52:17B-238) in order to establish and implement the safe haven program as set forth in the bill. | In Committee |
| S1714 | Requires printers to display average cost per 1,000 printed pages and ink cartridges to display yield. | This bill makes it an unlawful practice to sell a printer without information indicating the average cost per 1,000 printed pages for black text and, if applicable, color printing. It is also an unlawful practice, under the bill, to sell an ink cartridge without information indicating the ink cartridge's yield. This information would have to be included on the printer's or ink cartridge's packaging, or on a conspicuously attached label or tag. The bill specifies that the average cost per page is to be calculated by dividing the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the printer's cartridges by their yield. Yield is to be determined using standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization. A violation of this bill is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act which 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 party. | In Committee |
| S1742 | Extends requirements on use of restraint and seclusion to all students; requires immediate parental notification; requires DOE to collect and report data regarding use of restraint and seclusion on students. | In January of 2018, the Legislature enacted P.L.2017, c.291 that established certain requirements in the event that a school district, educational services commission, or an approved private school for students with disabilities choose to utilize physical restraint or a seclusion technique on a student with disabilities. This bill amends that law to provide that in addition to the requirements previously imposed when physical restraint or seclusion techniques are used on a student with disabilities, the school district, educational services commission, or the approved private school for students with disabilities are also required to: 1) request a meeting with the parent or guardian of the student who has been subjected to physical restraint or seclusion on more than one occasion to discuss a plan for improving the student's behavior; 2) in the case of seclusion, to immediately notify the student's parent or guardian when the student is subject to seclusion by telephone or electronic communication. Under the current law, this requirement is only applicable to the use of physical restraint; and 3) provide a full written report of the incident of seclusion to the student's parent or guardian within 48 hours of the occurrence of the incident. Again, under current law, this requirement is only applicable to the use of physical restraint. The bill directs the Department of Education to establish guidelines on adequate physical requirements for a seclusion area, including guidelines on the lighting and space of the seclusion area. The guidelines are to ensure the safety and dignity of the student placed in the seclusion area. The bill also directs the department to annually collect data from school districts, educational services commissions, and approved private schools for students with disabilities on the use of physical restraint and seclusion. The department is to annually publish the data on its website disaggregated by county and by race, gender, and age. Finally, the bill provides that the requirements included in current law and in the bill on the use of physical restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities, will also be applied to the use of physical restraint and seclusion on all other students. | In Committee |
| S1752 | Authorizes special license plates for members of the United States Coast Guard. | This bill would authorize special motor vehicle registration plates for active members of the United States Coast Guard or former active members who have been honorably separated from the United States Coast Guard. These special plates would also be available to the spouse or parent of any person who is an active member of the United States Coast Guard or former active member who has been honorably separated from the United States Coast Guard. The plates would identify the holder as a member or former member of the United States Coast Guard and bear "The United States Coast Guard Seal." Under this bill, the fee for the motor vehicle registration plates is $25, in addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of motor vehicles. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission would be authorized to retain monies collected from the plate purchases to defray all costs incurred by the commission in the implementation of the special plate program. The chief administrator may increase the fee for the plates as provided in the bill or discontinue the issuance of the plates if the average cost per plate exceeds the application fee in two consecutive fiscal years. | In Committee |
| S1733 | "Government Reality Check Act"; prohibits public employers from providing certain benefits to public employees; restricts gifts to public employees; restricts travel by public employees; imposes post-employment restriction on public contracting employees. | Sections 1 through 3: These sections of the bill amend the "New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law," N.J.S.A.52:13D-12 et seq., and the "Legislative and Governmental Process Activities Disclosure Act," N.J.S.A.52:13C-18 et seq., to add to the provision on the acceptance of gifts by members of the Legislature, State officers and employees and special State officers and employees the officers and employees of the staff of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The bill amends provisions of current law that permit the acceptance by members and staff of the Legislature and Executive Branch officers and employees of gifts from lobbyists and governmental affairs agents totaling not more than $250 per year to permit only gifts involving a de-minimus value. Sections 4 through 10: These sections of the bill amend the "School Ethics Act," N.J.S.A.18A:12-21 et seq., and the "Local Government Ethics Law," N.J.S.A.40A:9-22.1 et seq., to prohibit school board members, employees of school districts, and employees and officers of the New Jersey School Boards Association, and local government officers and employees, from soliciting or accepting any gift, favor, loan, political contribution, service, promise of future employment, or other thing of value under circumstances from which it may be reasonably inferred that the gift, favor, loan, contribution, service, promise, or other thing of value was given or offered for the purpose of influencing the officer or employee, directly or indirectly, in the discharge of official duties. The bill also modifies the standard which prohibits a member of the immediate family of such a person, or a business organization in which the public officer or employee has an interest, from soliciting or accepting gifts, favors, loans, political contributions, services, promises of future employment, or other things of value. Current law prohibits a family member or such a business organization from soliciting or accepting a gift or other thing of value based on an understanding that it was given or offered for the purpose of influencing the school or local government official or employee, including an employee of the New Jersey School Boards Association, in the discharge of official duties. The bill changes the standard so that the prohibition applies in circumstances from which it may be reasonably inferred that the gift or other thing of value was given or offered for the purpose of influencing the official or employee in the discharge of official duties. The bill provides for the imposition of a civil penalty of not less than $500 nor more than $10,000 for a violation of these prohibitions, and for possible removal from office and being barred from holding public employment for a period of up to five years if the violator's conduct is found to constitute a willful and continuous disregard of the prohibitions. These sections of the bill also bar State officers and employees, special State officers and employees, members of the Legislature, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and officers and employees of the Office of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and local government and school district officers and employees, and the members of the immediate family of these officers, employees, and members, from soliciting, receiving, or agreeing to receive, whether directly or indirectly, any ticket or other form of admission to any place of entertainment that is provided free of charge or at a discounted rate by the sponsor, promoter, performer owner, or operator of the event or entertainment venue unless the same free or reduced admission is available to (a) the public; (b) a class consisting of all officers or employees of the State, local government, or school district, as appropriate, whether or not restricted on the basis of geographic consideration; (c) all members of a group or class in which membership is unrelated to public service; (d) all members of an organization, such as an employees' association or public employees' credit union, in which membership is related to public service; or (e) a group or class that is not defined in a manner that specifically discriminates among public officers or employees on the basis of branch of government or type of responsibility, or on a basis that favors those of higher rank or rate of pay. Free or discounted admission available to the member of the immediate family would be treated as available to the public officer, employee, or member. "Place of entertainment" is defined as any privately or publicly owned and operated entertainment facility within or outside of this State, such as a theater, stadium, museum, arena, racetrack or other place where performances, concerts, exhibits, games or contests are held and for which an entry fee is charged. Sections 4 through 11: These sections also impose a two-year post employment restriction on a public officer or employee, or a member of the immediate family, or a partnership, firm, or corporation with which the officer or employee is associated or in which the officer or employee has an interest, or a partner, officer, director, or employee while the officer or employee is associated with such partnership, firm, or corporation, from holding, directly or indirectly, within two years next subsequent to the termination of the office or employment of such officer or employee, an interest in, or employment with, or from representing, appearing for or negotiating on behalf of, a vendor or contractor that was awarded a public contract with which the officer or employee had been substantially and directly involved by making an investigation, rendering a ruling, or giving an opinion at any time during the course of the officer's or employee's employment. This prohibition applies to all State officers and employees covered by the State conflicts of interest law, and including a member of the Legislature, and the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and their staff. It also applies to members of boards of education, employees of school districts, and local government officers and employees. A violation of this prohibition would result in a civil penalty of not less than $500 nor more than $10,000, and the bill clarifies the jurisdiction of the various ethics boards over former local government officers and employees for enforcement purposes. Sections 12 through 15: These sections prohibit the State, a county, a municipality, a local school district, a county college, or a fire district from providing, directly or indirectly, to any officer, employee, or elected official and the officer, employee or elected officer from accepting: a residence owned or leased by the government entity that the officer, employee, or official may use at any time for personal purposes, unless the use of the residence is directly related and essential to the performance of those official duties of the officer, employee, or official, as documented in writing, that concern the maintenance of security for specified persons or property, law enforcement, or the health, safety, or welfare of members of the public; an allowance, stipend, subsidy, or other form of payment for the purchase, lease, or maintenance of a residence or a motor vehicle owned or leased by the officer, employee, or official, or by an immediate family member, for the personal or primarily personal use of the officer, employee, or official, except reasonable mileage reimbursement when the vehicle is used for the performance of duties; a motor vehicle owned or leased by the government entity that is assigned exclusively to the officer, employee, or official on a full-time basis, unless the assignment and use of the motor vehicle is directly related and essential to the performance of those official duties of the officer, employee, or official, as documented in writing, that concern the maintenance of security for specified persons or property, law enforcement, inspections or audits of regulated facilities, entities, or persons, or the health, safety, or welfare of members of the public, or is essential, as documented in writing, for a specified period of time to the personal security of the officer, employee, or official; a driver or chauffer whose assigned full-time or part-time duties are to operate any motor vehicle in which the officer, employee, or official, or an immediate family member, is a passenger, unless the driver is a law enforcement officer who is assigned also to provide for the security of the officer, employee, or official when the need for such security has been documented; an exemption from the payment of any toll relating to the use of a State toll bridge or toll road or fare relating to the use of the transportation services of a State agency, or payment for any such toll or fare or any other travel expense for commuting between the place of residence and the place of employment or for tolls, fare, or other travel expense not directly related to the performance of duties by the officer, employee, or official; a personal line of credit or a credit card, or an allowance, stipend, subsidy, or other payment for a credit card, unless the use of a credit card is directly related and essential to the performance of those official duties of the officer, employee, or official, as documented in writing, that concern the maintenance of security for specified persons or property, law enforcement, inspections or audits of regulated facilities, entities, or persons, or the health, safety, or welfare of members of the public; or tuition reimbursement for attendance of courses at an institution of higher education, including a county college, within or outside of this State, unless the course is taken at an accredited public institution of higher education in this State, the reimbursement is limited to not more than 50 percent of the tuition for each course, the employee receives a grade of at least a C or its equivalent, for the course, the course is directly related to the skills and knowledge required for the duties being performed by the officer or employee when the reimbursement is made or required for the performance of the duties of a position to which the officer or employee may directly be promoted from the current position, and the officer and employee agrees to remain a public officer or employee for five years after the final tuition reimbursement is made. If the officer or employee does not remain a public employee for that period of time, the officer or employee must reimburse the public entity for tuition reimbursements made with the reimbursement pro-rated for the number of years the public officer or employee remains after the final tuition reimbursement is made. This paragraph will not apply to tuition reimbursement for a course or program that provides a certification of a skill or understanding sufficient to perform or assess a particular technological, mechanical, industrial, operational, accounting, or construction process or function, and that certification is required for holding that office or employment. Other provisions of law relevant to the matters covered in these sections would remain applicable to the extent not inconsistent. These provisions would not be construed to preclude the imposition of additional restrictions by directive or regulation. For the matters described above, the bill defines "State" to mean any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of the State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by such department; any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality or agency; the Offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor and the officers and employees of those offices; the Legislature of the State, and any office, board, bureau or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch; institutions of higher education of this State; and, to the extent consistent with law, any interstate agency to which New Jersey is a party. For a violation, the officer, employee, or elected official would have to pay a civil penalty of not less than $500 nor more than $10,000 Section 16: This section prohibits a State officer or employee or special State officer or employee, other than a member of the Legislature or such an officer or employee of the Legislature, but including the officers and employees of the Office of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, from undertaking any travel outside of the State, or within the State when it involves an overnight stay, when the expenses of that travel or the expenses incident thereto, or both, are paid in part or in whole with the public funds of a State agency unless that travel has been determined in advance by the office of the Governor to be essential to the performance of the duties of the officer or employee and approved in writing by the Governor or the Governor's designee. When the performance of the duties of an officer or employee require travel on a regular or recurring basis, the Governor may grant approval in advance for such travel, under such terms and conditions as the Governor determines, during a specified period of time not to exceed one year from the date of approval as determined by the Governor. The bill bars an officer or employee from receiving an amount for travel and travel-related expenses in advance of the travel. This requirement will not apply to an officer or employee for travel solely to the Philadelphia, New York City, or Wilmington metropolitan areas to meet with federal or state government officers or employees, or members of the State's Congressional delegation or their officers or employees, for a period not to exceed two consecutive days, or to Washington, D.C., for the same purposes for two consecutive days. Sections 17 and 18: These sections increase the accountability of local units of government regarding approvals and expenditures for travel by local government officers and employees. While a 2007 law, N.J.S.A.18A:11-12, imposed stringent requirements regarding travel and expense reimbursement upon school board members and school district employees, local governments are afforded considerable discretion over authorizing and monitoring travel by local government officers and employees. These sections impose upon local governments travel restrictions and accountability measures that are substantially similar to those currently applicable to school districts. The sections would require local governing bodies to adopt travel policies and procedures ensuring that all travel by local government officers and employees is necessary and fiscally prudent. Local unit travel expenditures would have to be directly related to and within the scope of the officer's or employee's current responsibilities, critical to the needs of the local unit or further the efficient operation of the local unit, consistent with the local unit 's professional development plan, and, except as otherwise provided in statutory law, in compliance with State travel payment guidelines established by the Department of the Treasury and the federal Office of Management and Budget. The bill provides that local units must adopt travel policies requiring: officers and employees to document the primary purpose for the travel, the key issues addressed at the event and their relevance to improving the operation of the local unit; governing bodies to maintain detailed documentation demonstrating compliance with the local unit's travel policy including travel approvals, reports, and receipts for all local unit funded expenditures; and that travel occur only upon prior written approval of the chief financial officer and prior approval of the governing body. These sections apply to the governing bodies and officers and employees of fire districts. | In Committee |
| S1749 | Requires notification of local law enforcement prior to expungement of certain mental health records of prospective firearms purchasers. | This bill provides for certain law enforcement officials to be notified when a person applies to the court to have a mental health record expunged for the purposes of purchasing a firearm. Current law requires licensed firearms retailers to conduct a background check of prospective firearms purchasers using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). A NICS check determines if the person is eligible to purchase a firearm under federal and State law. Pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2013, c.115 (C.30:4-24.3a), the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), in cooperation with the Attorney General and the State Police, has transmitted approximately 558,000 records of mental health adjudications dating back to the 1970s to NICS. Prospective purchasers who were formerly committed to a mental institution, but who have since recovered and now seek to legally purchase a firearm, may be found ineligible due to a mental health record in NICS. To have a mental health record removed from NICS, a person is required to file an expungement application in the state that transmitted the record to NICS. In this State, expungement of a mental health adjudication is governed by P.L.1953, c.268 (C:30:4-80.8 et seq.). A person with a mental health record who has been discharged from a psychiatric facility as recovered, substantially improved, or in substantial remission, may apply to the court to have that record expunged. When considering an application to have the record expunged, the court is required to hear evidence concerning the circumstances of the petitioner's commitment or determination, the petitioner's mental health record and criminal history, and the petitioner's reputation in the community. If the court finds that the petitioner will not likely act in a manner dangerous to the public safety and that the grant of relief is not contrary to the public interest, the court is required to grant relief and expunge the record. The AOC and the State Police amend the record in NICS to reflect the expungement. Once the record is expunged, the commitment is deemed not to have occurred. Under the bill as amended, the expungement of the record is not to be used as the sole basis for denial of a firearms purchaser identification card or permit to purchase a handgun. Law enforcement officials currently are not involved in the determination of whether a mental health record of a prospective firearms purchaser should be expunged. Since law enforcement officials may be aware of information which is not readily accessible to the court, such as pending charges, the purchaser's criminal history, or any aberrant behavior within the community, this bill authorizes law enforcement participation in this determination. Specifically, the bill requires an applicant for expungement to serve notice on law enforcement officials in the applicant's current state of residence if the purpose of the expungement is to remove the mental health adjudication record from NICS to allow for the purchase of a firearm. Upon being served, these law enforcement officials would have the option to provide information to the court concerning the applicant's criminal history or behavior for consideration during the expungement proceedings. | In Committee |
| S1729 | Requires gubernatorial and legislative candidates report contributions within 48 hours of receipt; requires Election Law Enforcement Commission to post reports within 72 hours of filing. | Under current law, candidates for nomination or for election to public office are required to file with the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) cumulative and quarterly reports of contributions received. This bill would require a candidate for nomination to the office of Governor and for election to the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and a candidate for nomination for election or for election to the office of member of the Senate or General Assembly, and any candidate committee, joint candidates committee, or both, of such a candidate, to report contributions within 48 hours of receipt. This bill also requires ELEC to post, within 72 hours of filing, the reports required under current law to be filed by those candidates. This provision would apply only until the 48-hour timeframe required by the bill is implemented. | In Committee |
| S1712 | Makes certain changes to public access of government records. | This bill makes certain changes to the public's access to government records. Specifically the bill: ? exempts from disclosure e-mail addresses, home telephone numbers, unlisted or otherwise and cell phone numbers; ? provides for a uniform per page rate for copying government records; ? requires the Government Records Council to develop a form to be used by records custodians that will allow persons to opt-out of having their address made public; ? permits a records custodian to require the requester to obtain the record from the agency website when the information requested is readily available on the website; ? clarifies special service charges includes costs of labor; ? requires the record custodian to accept a record request made on a document other than the adopted form if it contains a notice that it is an OPRA request and contains the information required on the adopted form; ? provides records custodians a seven day extension to comply with large or complicated requests; ? requires the requestor to pick up the requested documents within fourteen business days of the records being available; ? requires contact information for the custodian of a public agency to be included on the agency website; ? requires mediation for all complaints; and ? requires that attorney's fees be awarded only when a knowing and willful violation is found. Also, this bill will permit a Superior Court to issue a protective order limiting the number and scope of requests a requestor may make under the open public records act, N.J.S.A.47:1A-1 et seq. In appropriate circumstances, the court may eliminate a public agency's duty to respond to requests from the requestor in the future. The bill will require the court, in issuing the order, to determine that the requestor has sought records under the act for an improper purpose, including, but not limited to, the harassment of a public agency or its employees. | In Committee |
| S1734 | Provides three-month reduction or suspension of tax on highway fuels based on average retail price of unleaded regular gasoline; makes an appropriation. | This bill provides for temporary reductions or suspensions of the State tax on highway fuels based on the average retail price of unleaded regular gasoline. The provisions of the bill would apply during the three-month period of June 2022 through August 2022. Under the bill, the State Treasurer, in consultation with the Office of the Economist in the Board of Public Utilities, would be required to determine, on a monthly basis, the average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the State during the current month. Based on these determinations, the rate of tax imposed on highway fuel would be set as follows: (1) no reduction in tax if the average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was less than $4.50 during the preceding month; (2) a 50 percent tax reduction if the average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was equal to or greater than $4.51 but not greater than $5.00 during the preceding month; (3) a 75 percent tax reduction if the average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was equal to or greater than $5.01 but not greater than $5.50 during the preceding month; and (4) no tax would be imposed if the average retail price per gallon of unleaded regular gasoline exceeded $5.50 during the preceding month. The benefits of any reduction or suspension of taxation would be passed on to consumers in the form of reduced retail prices for highway fuels. Under current law, all revenues collected under the motor fuel tax and the petroleum products gross receipts tax are deposited into the Transportation Trust Fund to support the State's transportation system. Notably, these monies are used to pay the State's debt service on transportation bonds. Accordingly, the bill appropriates such amounts as are necessary from the revenues collected under the "Sales and Use Tax Act," P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-1 et seq.) to offset any reductions in motor fuel tax revenues and petroleum products gross receipts tax revenues that occur as a direct result of this bill. These monies would be deposited into the Transportation Trust Fund. The bill also requires these appropriations to be considered when the State Treasurer determines the annual rate of taxation for highway fuel under the petroleum products gross receipts tax. | In Committee |
| S1763 | Permits advanced practice nurse to provide documentation to school district of need for home instruction due to student's health condition. | This bill allows an advanced practice nurse to provide the required written determination documenting a student's need for confinement at the student's residence or other treatment setting in order for a school district to provide home instruction due to the student's temporary or chronic health condition or need for treatment. Under State Board of Education regulations at N.J.A.C.6A:16-10.1, this documentation may only be provided by the student's physician. The bill's provisions are in addition to any other State Board of Education requirements in regard to a student's receipt of home instruction from the school district. | In Committee |
| S1757 | Permits county police department and force to provide police services to municipalities. | This bill would authorize a county police department and force to enter into a shared service agreement pursuant to the "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act," sections 1 through 35 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-1 through C.40A:65-35), with any municipality located in the county to provide any, or all, police services to the municipality that a municipal police department and force is authorized to perform itself, as recommended by the New Jersey Economic & Fiscal Policy Workgroup in its report "Path to Progress." Authorizing counties to perform police services on behalf of municipalities would lower, or eliminate, municipal costs relating to policing and provide property tax relief to municipal residents. The bill also makes a technical correction to N.J.S.40A:14-107 by removing current language in the statute authorizing a county police department and force to enforce all provisions of chapter 171 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes. The statutes in that chapter, designated "Observance of Sabbath Days," were repealed at different times between 1970 and 1999. | In Committee |
| S1720 | Provides State agencies will not enter into contracts with business entities that require persons or public entities to submit disputes to binding arbitration. | The bill prohibits a State agency from entering into a contract or agreement with a business entity that requires any person or public entity, as a condition of doing business with that business entity, to submit a dispute arising after the signing of the contract to binding arbitration. These provisions deny those persons or public entities their rights and remedies in a court of law. The provisions of this bill do not apply to any contract or agreement in effect on the bill's effective date, that is necessary to address a public emergency, or that the State agency determines is unlikely to attract a number of qualified business entities sufficient to ensure a level of competition that will result in a contract price that is in the best interest of the State. | In Committee |
| S1750 | Requires State employees to be trained in disability law and etiquette. | This bill would require the State Treasurer (who has the authority, under law, to establish training programs for State employees) to work in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services to: 1) develop a training program to inform all State employees about the laws, and the rules of etiquette, that are applicable to the treatment and accommodation of individuals with intellectual, developmental, or other mental or physical disabilities; and 2) regularly revise and update the training program in order to maintain consistency with current law and practice in this area. At a minimum, the bill would require the training program to include instruction on: 1) the import and substance of the "Americans with Disabilities Act," 42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.; 2) the methods and approaches that can be used to reasonably accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities; and 3) the proper etiquette that is to be used by State employees when working or otherwise interacting with individuals with disabilities. The training program is to be made available to, and implemented by, each State government employer no later than one year after the bill's effective date, and each State government employer is to administer the training program to all of its employees. Individuals who are employed prior to the implementation of the training program will be required to complete the training no later than 180 days after the training program is implemented, and biennially thereafter. Individuals who become employed after the training program is implemented will be required to complete the training no later than 180 days after hiring, and biennially thereafter. Each employee will be required to file a certification with the employer, stating that the employee has completed the training, and the employer will be required to retain those certifications and forward them to the State Treasurer or the Commissioner of Human Services, upon request. | In Committee |
| S1722 | Imposes certain requirements on motor vehicle rental companies that equip vehicles with electronic toll transponders. | This bill imposes certain requirements on motor vehicle rental companies that equip vehicles with electronic toll transponders, such as E-ZPass, and makes a violation of the bill's provisions an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act. Specifically, under the bill, a rental company which equips a vehicle with an electronic vehicle identification system transponder or other electronic toll collection device is required to allow a renter to opt-out of its use or use a transponder or other device owned by the renter. In addition, the bill provides that a rental company may charge a renter a fee of up to three times the amount of the actual cost incurred by the company for any toll, up to a maximum of $5, if the renter: 1) opts-out of the use of an electronic vehicle identification system transponder or other electronic toll collection device offered by the rental company; 2) drives through an electronic toll collection system for which there is not an option for cash payment; and 3) does not use an electronic vehicle identification system transponder or other electronic toll collection device owned by the renter for the payment of the toll. Under the bill, if a rental company charges this fee, the company is prohibited from charging any additional fees. This provision is to remain inoperative until there is one additional toll collection facility in which there is not an option for cash payment operated by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the South Jersey Transportation Authority, or their successors. Finally, the bill requires any rental company providing or offering vehicles equipped with electronic vehicle identification system transponders to clearly and conspicuously include the applicable terms and conditions of its use, including all charges associated with the use of the electronic vehicle identification system transponder or other electronic toll collection device, in any rental agreement issued to a renter, and post any applicable terms and conditions in a conspicuous location on the business premises. The rental company is required to obtain a signed written agreement from a renter who chooses to use an electronic vehicle identification system transponder or other electronic toll collection device provided by the rental company. The rental company is also required to inform a renter of his or her ability to opt-out of the use of an electronic vehicle identification system transponder or other electronic toll collection device provided or offered by the rental company, or use a transponder or other device owned by the renter and provide appropriate instructions. Under the bill, a violation of any of these provisions by the rental company is an unlawful practice under the consumer fraud act. 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. In addition, violations may 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 party. According to the sponsor, consumers may be unaware of the significant cost of renting a vehicle in an area with many toll roads, and rental car companies do not always clearly and conspicuously state electronic toll policies or estimate costs. Out-of-town visitors often drive rental cars on major highways that assess tolls, and incur surprisingly significant charges due to the additional fees imposed under the rental agreement. Consumers who do not rent a transponder in order to avoid a charge by a rental company may encounter a problem if they are unable to pay cash at a particular toll plaza with no cash lanes. Because consumers view these charges as price gouging, they are demanding action against these rental practices. | In Committee |
| S1710 | Requires DOH to establish uniform standards for retail food establishment health and sanitary evaluation placards. | This bill requires the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with local health agencies, to establish a uniform standard for health and sanitary evaluation placards that includes a three-tier color-coded evaluation system to indicate a health inspector's evaluation of the compliance of a retail food establishment subject to the State Sanitary Code. Currently, upon the conclusion of a retail food establishment's health inspection, the inspector issues one of three evaluation placards: "satisfactory," "conditionally satisfactory," or "unsatisfactory." These placards are posted by a retail food establishment in a conspicuous place for view by the public. There is no uniform color-coded standard in the State for visually distinguishing between the three evaluation placards. The bill, requires the new uniform standard to include a three-tier color-coded evaluation placard system indicating "satisfactory," "conditionally satisfactory," or "unsatisfactory" compliance by a retail food establishment subject to the State Sanitary Code, and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder. The bill also explicitly states that the provisions under the bill would supersede any municipal ordinance or regulation concerning health and sanitary evaluation placards posted in retail food establishments. | In Committee |
| S1743 | Prohibiting training repayment agreements. | This bill prohibits an employer from requiring, as a condition of employment, any employee or prospective employee to enter into training repayment agreement. The bill stipulates that any agreement which is a training repayment agreement is void and that no employee is obligated to make payments under that agreement. The bill defines a training repayment agreement as any agreement requiring an employee to pay an employer, or a training provider or other third party, a sum of money if the employee leaves employment with the employer, including any agreement requiring the employee to reimburse the employer or third party for training previously provided to the employee, except that a training repayment agreement does not include a cash advance to an employee, a payment for equipment sold or leased to an employee, an educational sabbatical leave contract, or a training repayment agreement entered into as part of a collective bargaining agreement. | In Committee |
| S1728 | Provides for legal representation for residential lessees and tenants in any removal or eviction proceeding. | This bill would provide for legal representation for residential lessees and tenants in any action filed in the Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part seeking their removal or eviction pursuant to a proceeding set forth in chapter 18 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes. Under the bill, any covered residential lessee or tenant would be entitled to be represented by counsel. The court could adjourn any removal or eviction proceeding for a reasonable period of time for any lessee or tenant to secure counsel. The court would appoint counsel for any lessee or tenant who is earning an income, after taxes, that is 80 percent or less of the current area median income established annually by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development; or found by the court to have an inability to pay for an attorney. | In Committee |
| S1755 | Requires school districts take certain actions to increase participation in free or reduced priced meal programs; prohibits shaming students with school meal bills in arrears; prohibits certain district actions in collecting unpaid school meal fees. | This bill includes a number of provisions regarding a school district's responsibilities when a student's school breakfast or school lunch bill is in arrears. Pursuant to the bill, prior to contacting the parent to provide notice of the school meal bill in arrears, the school district is required to exhaust all options and methods to directly certify the student for the free or reduced priced meal program. If the school district is not able to directly certify the student, when the district sends the notification of the arrearage to the parent, it must include a paper copy of, or an electronic link to, an application for the school meal program and contact the parent to encourage submission of the application. The bill also includes a provision that requires school districts to ensure that a student whose school breakfast or school lunch bill is in arrears is not shamed, treated differently, forced to go to the end of the food line, or served a meal that differs from what a student whose bill is not in arrears would receive. Under the bill, a district may not permit any action directed at a student to collect unpaid school meal fees. Districts may attempt to collect unpaid school meal fees from parents, but the districts are not permitted to threaten to make a child protective services report solely in regard to the arrearage. The bill also clarifies that nothing in section 1 of P.L.2015, c.15 (C.18A:33-21) requires a school district to deny school breakfast or school lunch to a student whose bill is in arrears, but rather to provide adequate notice and opportunity to the student's parent or guardian if the district determines to take such an action. | In Committee |
| S1727 | "Used Motor Vehicle Dealer Licensing Act." | This bill provides for the licensure of used motor vehicle dealers and establishes an eight-member State Board of Used Motor Vehicle Dealers in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety to oversee their licensure. The board is to consist of three licensed used motor vehicle dealers, one licensed used motor vehicle dealer employed by a used motor vehicle dealer auction company, three public members, and a State executive department member. The bill provides for three types of licensure: retail used motor vehicle dealer, wholesale used motor vehicle dealer, and retail-wholesale used motor vehicle dealer. To be eligible for licensure as a used motor vehicle dealer, an applicant is required to be at least 18 years old, be of good moral character, and fulfill the following requirements: (1) hold a valid New Jersey driver's license demonstrating proof of residency or be an officer of a publicly traded or privately held company with a minimum of 500 domestic employees and hold a valid driver's license in the jurisdiction of the company's corporate headquarters; (2) have an established place of business; and (3) undergo a criminal history record background check. Under the bill, an established place of business includes a trailer, if the trailer is connected to utilities and remains in the same location for at least six months of the year. Further, under the bill, an applicant is not eligible to be licensed as a used motor vehicle dealer if the applicant has been convicted of an offense involving dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation, or of a crime of the first or second degree. The bill provides that no person may engage in business as a used motor vehicle dealer in this State unless that person holds a valid license or the transaction involves an in-State purchaser, who is a used motor vehicle dealer licensed under the provisions of the bill, and a person who holds a valid used motor vehicle dealer license issued by another state. As defined in the bill, "used motor vehicle" means every motor vehicle and motorized bicycle, except a nonconventional type motor vehicle, for which title to, or possession of, has been transferred from the person who first acquired it from the manufacturer or dealer, and so used as to become what is commonly known as "secondhand" within the ordinary meaning of that term, and includes every motor vehicle and motorized bicycle other than a new motor vehicle, a nonconventional type motor vehicle, or a manufactured home subject to real property taxation. The bill also makes changes to several statutes relating to the licensure of motor vehicle dealers by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), currently the regulatory authority that licenses used motor vehicle dealers in the State. In amending these statutes, the bill clarifies that the MVC will no longer license used motor vehicle dealers on or after the bill's date of enactment. | In Committee |
| S1730 | Extends immunity relating to COVID-19 claims in planned real estate developments until December 31, 2022. | This bill would extend existing immunity from civil liability to a planned real estate development for damages arising from a COVID-19 exposure or transmission on the premises of a planned real estate development. Under P.L.2021, c.142, this immunity expires on the first day of calendar year 2022, but would be extended by this bill until the last day of calendar year 2022. The immunity provided by P.L.2021, c.142, and extended by this bill, exists so long as the planned real estate development has prominently displayed a warning, as described in P.L.2021, c.142, at the entrance of any communal space. The immunity provided by P.L.2021, c.142, and extended by this bill, would not apply to acts or omissions constituting a crime, actual fraud, actual malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct. | In Committee |
| S1739 | Requires school districts to provide for the safe operation of electrically operated partitions in classrooms or other school facilities. | This bill requires a board of education of a school district in which classrooms or other facilities used by students have electrically operated partitions installed after the bill's effective date to ensure that these partitions comply with the following: (1) the partition is equipped with two key-operated, tamper-proof, control stations that are located at opposite ends and opposite sides of, and in view of, the partition, and which are designed and constructed to require simultaneous activation of both control stations to operate the partition; (2) the electric device controlling the operation of the partition is capable of being reversed at any point in the extend or stack travel cycle; and (3) devices are provided for all partitions that will stop the forward or backward motion of the partition and stop the stacking motion of the partition when an object passes between the leading panel of the partition and a termination point, or when an object is in the stacking area of the partition. Additionally, the bill requires that the boards of education of school districts with electrically operated partitions installed prior to the effective date of the bill that do not have the above safety features comply with the following: (1) the partition will not be operated while students or other individuals, other than the required operators, are present in the space being divided; (2) the partition will only be operated by individuals appropriately trained in the safe operation of the partition; and (3) appropriate signage stating these requirements will be posted adjacent to each partition operating mechanism. The bill would also require that the board of education of a school district in which classrooms or other facilities used by students have electrically operated partitions ensure that: (1) notice regarding the safe and proper operation and supervision of the partition will be posted in the immediate vicinity of the partition; (2) a procedure is established for the notification of all school employees and all other persons who regularly make use of the area in which the partition is located of the safe and proper procedure for the operation of the partition. Staff will also be trained in the safe operation of the partition; (3) students will not be permitted to operate the partition. Students may be present while the partition is being operated only if the safety features detailed in subsection a. of the bill are installed. Any students present will be required to be under the direct supervision of trained staff; and (4) safety features will not be tampered with and all equipment will be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Additionally, all equipment will be installed in a fail-safe manner so that the failure of any safety device renders the electrically operated partition inoperable until the device is repaired. The bill imposes the safety feature requirements only in the case of electrically operated partitions installed in public school buildings after the effective date of the bill. Additionally, the bill specifies the conditions under which a partition installed prior to the bill's effective date may be operated if it has not been modified to include the safety features required on newly installed partitions. | In Committee |
| S961 | Requires public officer or employee forfeit pension upon conviction of certain crimes; alters factors determining honorable service; opens pension to garnishment upon conviction of certain offenses. | This bill would change the factors to be considered by the boards of State or locally administered retirement systems hearing pension forfeiture cases concerning public employees. It would emphasize the nature of the misconduct, the relationship between the misconduct and the person's public duties, and the person's moral turpitude, and require the board to direct the person's entire pension be forfeited based on these factors. Additional factors may only be used subsequently to mitigate this full forfeiture to a partial forfeiture. Where a forfeiture is warranted, this bill requires that the person receive a refund of their contributions, but allows for the board to determine whether that refund is with or without any accrued interest. This bill would require the forfeiture of the pension or retirement benefit of a person if the person is convicted of any crime of the first or second degree, or the equivalent under the laws of another state or of the United States, when the offense is related to the person's performance in or circumstances flowing from the public office or employment held by the person. This bill also specifies that pension forfeiture applies in cases that result in qualifying guilty or nolo contendere pleas, in addition to convictions. This bill would also open a person's public pension to garnishment in order to fulfill court ordered restitution of public funds when a person has been convicted of, or plead guilty or nolo contendere to, certain offenses. | In Committee |
| Bill | Bill Name | Motion | Vote Date | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1636 | Changes MVC voter registration procedures. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2167 | Requires public and certain nonpublic schools to comply with breakfast and lunch standards adopted by USDA. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S317 | Revises "Athletic Training Licensure Act." | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2019 | Authorizes pharmacists to dispense HIV prophylaxis without individual prescription under certain circumstances; mandates prescription benefits coverage. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S862 | Requires DOT to provide additional information in annual report on pavement condition; makes report available to public. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2051 | Requires law enforcement officer to conduct risk assessment of and provide assistance to domestic violence victims. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S1403 | Requires employer or contractor engaged in work for public body to submit payroll records to DOLWD. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S1320 | Requires certain information be included in certain contracts with licensed public adjusters. | Senate Floor: Concur Governor Recommendations | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S1067 | Directs DHS to conduct landscape analysis of available mental health services. | Senate Floor: Concur Governor Recommendations | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A2929 | Requires disclosure of lead drinking water hazards to tenants of residential units; prohibits landlords from obstructing replacement of lead service lines; concerns testing of certain property for lead drinking water hazards. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A3323 | Requires pay for extracurricular activities to be included in compensation for TPAF purposes. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A3361 | Establishes limit on rent increase for certain dwelling sites for modular or industrialized buildings or manufactured homes. | Senate Floor: Concur Governor Recommendations | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A3128 | Authorizes HMFA to use certain tax credits; directs HMFA to conduct tax credit auctions to provide financial assistance for certain housing purposes. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A1948 | Requires VCCO to issue annual report to Governor and Legislature. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A1682 | Requires State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards pertaining to labor movement; requires school districts to provide instruction on labor movement. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2346 | Creates Code Red alert pilot program to shelter at-risk individuals during certain hot weather and air quality events; appropriates $5 million. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2373 | Provides employment protections for paid first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder under certain conditions. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | 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. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A3518 | Requires MVC to create digital driver's licenses and digital non-driver identification cards. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2783 | "Travel Insurance Act." | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Abstain |
| A3802 | Differentiates certain legal services from traditional insurance products. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| SJR96 | Permanently designates August 17th as "Nonprofit Day" in NJ. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2951 | Authorizes provision of monetary awards to whistleblowers who report State tax law violations committed by employers in construction industry. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2961 | Establishes minimum qualifications for persons employed on public works contract. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S2961 | Establishes minimum qualifications for persons employed on public works contract. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| SJR100 | Designates July of each year as "Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month" in NJ. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4085 | Allows for natural organic reduction and controlled supervised decomposition of human remains. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3041 | Prohibits cooperative from receiving public works contract when cooperative-approved vendor fails to pay prevailing wage; concerns cooperative purchasing agreements with other states; and permits contracting units to award certain indefinite contracts. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4178 | Authorizes State Treasurer to grant temporary deed of easement in Borough of Sea Girt in Monmouth County. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3132 | Imposes certain requirements on secondhand dealers of cellular telephones and wireless communication devices. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3189 | Makes various changes to "New Jersey Angel Investor Tax Credit Act" and Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program; repeals "New Jersey Ignite Act." | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4331 | Establishes licensure for cosmetic retail services. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4429 | Expands prohibitions on employers concerning requirements for employees to attend or listen to communications related to political matters. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3287 | Provides gross income tax deduction for amounts paid to taxpayers for sale of certain real property interests for conservation purposes. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3309 | Establishes "Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act"; revises motor vehicle franchise agreements. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3309 | Establishes "Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act"; revises motor vehicle franchise agreements. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Abstain |
| A4455 | Allows exemption from New Jersey gross income of certain capital gains from sale or exchange of qualified small business stock. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3418 | Authorizes certain types of permanent structures, recently constructed or erected on preserved farmland, to be used, in certain cases, for purposes of holding special occasion events thereon. | Senate Floor: Concur Governor Recommendations | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4603 | Allows commercial farmer to be awarded reasonable costs and attorney fees for defending against bad faith complaints under "Right to Farm Act". | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4712 | Establishes Office of Veteran Advocate and ombudsman for DMVA; appropriates funds. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4765 | Requires driver education and testing on responsibilities when approaching and passing pedestrians and persons operating bicycles and personal conveyances; requires driver's manual to include information on sharing roadway with motorists for certain road users. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3618 | Directs DEP and DOT to establish "Wildlife Corridor Action Plan." | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4897 | Revises law requiring certain student identification cards to contain telephone number for suicide prevention hotline. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3711 | Makes annual allocation of $500,000 from Clean Communities Program Fund for public outreach concerning single-use plastics reduction program permanent. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3776 | Establishes Chronic Absenteeism Task Force. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4937 | Concerns satellite cannabis dispensaries, Cannabis Regulatory Commission membership, and post-employment restrictions on State employees. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Abstain |
| A4937 | Concerns satellite cannabis dispensaries, Cannabis Regulatory Commission membership, and post-employment restrictions on State employees. | Senate Floor: Amend | 06/30/2025 | Abstain |
| A4954 | Requires members of historic preservation commissions to complete historic preservation planning course. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A4971 | Requires EDA to provide grants to certain small businesses affected by State infrastructure and construction projects. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | 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. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3858 | Requires school bus personnel members to call 911 emergency line in potential life-threatening emergencies; requires certain school buses transportating students with disabilities to be equipped with certain safety features; makes appropriation. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3887 | Requires DEP to provide public access for boats to certain State-and county-owned lakes and reservoirs. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5049 | Removes certain limitations on receipt of retirement or death benefits under PFRS under certain circumstances. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3910 | Makes various changes to provision of preschool aid and facilities requirements; establishes Universal Preschool Implementation Steering Committee; requires full-day kindergarten in all school districts. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3917 | Makes various changes to school funding law and Educational Adequacy Report; establishes Special Education Funding Review Task Force. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3931 | Updates requirements for licensure in occupational therapy. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3933 | Establishes School Supervisor Mentorship Pilot Program; appropriates $500,000. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3944 | Provides that certain non-profit corporation alcoholic beverage theater licensees include disregarded entities of such corporations; allows certain community theaters to sell alcoholic beverages. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5100 | Re-appropriates unexpended balance of FY2024 appropriation for Town of West New York to support recreation center; appropriates $3 million for Town of West New York - Recreation Center to restore lapsed FY2024 funding. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5130 | Requires enforcing agency to conduct inspection of construction in specified time window. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S3982 | Requires certain information be provided to parent at least two business days prior to annual Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meeting; establishes IEP Improvement Working Group in DOE. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5170 | Requires State to purchase certain unused tax credits issued under New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4028 | Limits amount of payment that State agency as property owner may withhold from certain contractors on State construction contracts to two percent of amount due. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5199 | Requires resident and fellow physicians employed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, who are eligible for coverage in SHBP, to be eligible to enroll and receive health insurance on first day of employment. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5267 | Requires BPU to procure and incentivize transmission-scale energy storage. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5267 | Requires BPU to procure and incentivize transmission-scale energy storage. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5267 | Requires BPU to procure and incentivize transmission-scale energy storage. | Senate Floor: Reconsidered Vote | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5267 | Requires BPU to procure and incentivize transmission-scale energy storage. | Senate Floor: Amend | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5264 | Requires establishment of automated platform to expedite construction code approval of applications to install residential solar energy systems. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4122 | Revises apportionment of State lottery contributions. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4135 | Provides allowance for certain redevelopment projects undertaken by institutions of higher education under New Jersey Aspire program. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5309 | Permits up to three credits of continuing medical education on menopause to be used by advanced practice nurses and physicians for license renewal. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5378 | Modifies provisions of Cultural Arts Incentives Program, New Jersey Aspire Program, and Grow New Jersey Program; eliminates Community-Anchored Development Program. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5381 | Provides medical documentation requirement for certain members of PERS, PFRS, and SPRS to receive accidental disability retirement allowance for participation in 9/11 World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations; removes filing deadline. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4263 | Revises certain provisions concerning, and establishes certain education and data reporting requirements related to, involuntary commitment. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5447 | Prohibits sweepstakes model of wagering; establishes new penalties for unlawful gambling operations and practices; directs Division of Consumer Affairs and Division of Gaming Enforcement to enforce penalties. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5463 | Requires electric public utilities to submit annual report on voting to BPU. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4293 | Requires owner or operator of data center to submit water and energy usage report to BPU. | Senate Floor: Reconsidered Vote | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4293 | Requires owner or operator of data center to submit water and energy usage report to BPU. | Senate Floor: Concur in House Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4293 | Requires owner or operator of data center to submit water and energy usage report to BPU. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5563 | Establishes "Summer Termination Program" for certain utility customers. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5563 | Establishes "Summer Termination Program" for certain utility customers. | Senate Floor: Amend | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5546 | Concerns financial powers and responsibilities of Capital City Redevelopment Corporation. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4376 | Establishes Department of Veterans Affairs. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5687 | Establishes Next New Jersey Manufacturing Program to incentivize in-State manufacturing investments and job creation. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| A5688 | Imposes surcharge on hotel occupancies in certain municipalities to fund fire services; provides for appropriation. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4426 | Appropriates funds to DEP for environmental infrastructure projects in FY2026. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4426 | Appropriates funds to DEP for environmental infrastructure projects in FY2026. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4467 | Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for FY2026. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4467 | Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for FY2026. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4451 | Clarifies requirements for land use plan element and housing plan element of municipal master plan. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| SCR131 | Approves FY2026 Financial Plan of NJ Infrastructure Bank. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4400 | Extends hours that minor employed by national sports association, league, or team may work under certain circumstances. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4387 | Requires establishment of tracking system in Division of Consumer Affairs to determine compliance with continuing education requirements. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4423 | Authorizes BPU to provide site approval for small modular reactors; authorizes operators of small modular reactors to store spent nuclear fuel on-site. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4476 | Permits awarding of contracts for certain preschool education services by resolution of board of education; extends maximum length of preschool education services contracts to three years. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4472 | Eliminates five percent down payment requirement for local bond ordinances involving hazard mitigation and resilience projects. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4506 | Exempts minor league baseball players from certain State wage laws under certain circumstances. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4530 | Requires BPU to revise community solar program targets. | Senate Floor: Third Reading - Final Passage | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| S4530 | Requires BPU to revise community solar program targets. | Senate Floor: Concur in Assembly Amendments | 06/30/2025 | Yea |
| State | District | Chamber | Party | Status | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NJ | New Jersey Senate District 04 | Senate | Democrat | In Office | 01/09/2024 | |
| NJ | District 4 | House | Democrat | Out of Office | 01/10/2006 | 01/12/2024 |