News & Releases

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Ellen Karcher and Assemblymen Bob Morgan and Mike Panter which would require the State Board of Education to include two hours of instruction in suicide prevention as part of the professional development requirement for teaching staff was unanimously approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.

“Suicide is the third leading killer of teens, but it shouldn’t be the case,” said Senator Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer. “Often, there are warning signs that should raise a red flag to trained individuals, but the problem is that teachers, who spend a lot of time with students in the course of a week, do not have the proper tools to identify these warning signs. This training will allow teachers to intervene early, and ultimately, it will save lives.”

TRENTON – Senator Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, sponsor of Senate Bill 1987, which would allow municipalities to enact pay-to-play ordinances that are stricter than state law, made the following statement today following the passage of the bill by the Senate:

“When the Senate last year passed S-2, the legislation which curbed the practice of pay-to-play in New Jersey, it was done with the promise that we would pass a subsequent bill to allow municipalities to pass local ordinances that limited the practice either further.

TRENTON – Senator Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer, a leading advocate on State ethics reform and banning developers’ influence in government, issued the following statement regarding today’s Senate approval of a bill allowing municipalities to pass stronger bans on pay to play, or the practice of trading campaign contributions for lucrative contracts of government favors:

“For government ethics watchdogs, pay to play has long been considered a cancer on the good work and achievements of government at all levels. It is unrelenting and undiscerning, affecting officials on the municipal, county and State level with equal voracity.

TRENTON – Senator Barbara, D-Middlesex, co-sponsor of Senate Bill 1987, which would allow municipalities to enact pay-to-play ordinances that are stricter than state law, made the following statement today following the passage of the bill by the Senate:

“As co-sponsor of S-1987, I am pleased that the Senate passed this critical piece of legislation in the fight to end pay-to-play in New Jersey.

TRENTON – The Senate today unanimously approved “NJ STARS II,” a measure sponsored by Senator Wayne R. Bryant that would allow some of the State’s top students to earn Bachelors degrees, free of cost.

“By allowing these students to earn their Bachelors degrees free of cost, New Jersey would be sending them a clear message that their years of hard work and academic success have indeed paid off,” said Senator Bryant, D-Camden and Gloucester, who chairs the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and serves as a member of the Senate Education panel. “As a State we have an obligation to help these students reach their full academic potential. New Jersey cannot and will not allow financial barriers to determine their future successes.”