News & Releases

TRENTON – A package of bills sponsored by Senator Ellen Karcher which would protect public resources from corruption by increasing penalties for misuse of public resources and providing a mechanism to reclaim lost funds due to corruption were unanimously approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today.

“New Jersey’s taxpayers have paid the price for rampant corruption and fraud in government,” said Senator Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer, a leading watchdog for ethics reform in the State Legislature. “Millions of taxpayers’ dollars have been wasted enriching corrupt and unscrupulous individuals who abuse the public trust. These measures, and much more, are needed to restore New Jerseyans’ faith in their elected representatives and protect State and local finances from corruption and abuse.”

TRENTON – Senator John H. Adler, the prime sponsor of S-1498, a bill which would ban the sale of .50 caliber weapons in New Jersey, issued the following statement regarding a NJ CeaseFire press conference calling for approval of the ban:

“Fifty caliber guns are used as sniper rifles in our nation’s military. They’re long-range weapons with ammo which can pierce a fuel tank over a thousand yards away, and even take down a small air craft.

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Barbara Buono and Joseph Vitale that would create several new exemptions in the sales tax, including dues and fees collected by nonprofit organizations such as the YMCA and parking charges collected by municipal and county controlled garages and lots, was approved by the Senate today.

“At the end of the day, it’s up to the Legislature to ensure that sales tax is being applied in a fair and sensible manner,” said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “It was never our intent for non-profit groups like the YMCA to be subject to a sales tax and it is proving to be a huge burden on these groups.”

TRENTON – Senator Ellen Karcher announced that she has signed on to sponsor the Senate version of a bill which would exempt active-duty military personnel serving outside of the State from New Jersey’s gross income tax.

“We should do everything in our power to support the brave men and women defending our country abroad,” said Senator Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer. “I think that our troops serving overseas have earned exemption from the State income tax, by risking their lives to keep America safe. To tax their military pay, when our soldiers are already sacrificing so much for the greater good, is disgraceful.”

TRENTON – Senator Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer, issued the following statement today after the Assembly State Government Committee unanimously approved her bill, sponsored with Senate President Richard J. Codey, to move New Jersey’s presidential primary to the first week of February:

“I applaud the Assembly’s action today to make New Jersey relevant in national politics. For too long, the residents of the Garden State have been disenfranchised by a late primary, making their votes meaningless in the political process, as the party nominees for president are often already decided before the voting booths even open in our home State.