TRENTON – Senator Stephen M. Sweeney, Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, today said his panel is prepared to advance an increase in the minimum wage and will work closely on the issue with Acting Governor Richard J. Codey.
“We will be working closely with Governor Codey and his recommendations to provide New Jersey workers with a real-time living wage,” said Senator Sweeney, the Legislature’s leading proponent for increasing the State’s minimum wage, currently set at $5.15 an hour.
TRENTON – Senator Byron M. Baer announced today that he was drafting legislation to create an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) in Englewood and allow the revenue to go towards helping the school district with programs associated with desegregation.
“The courts have ruled that for Englewood to ensure a quality education for all students regardless of race, creed, or gender requires special funding,” said Senator Baer. “Local officials are not trying to avoid that responsibility, but the special needs of the Englewood school district require special attention.”
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP – Senator Fred H. Madden and Assemblyman David R. Mayer will attend a dedication ceremony this Sunday afternoon in Dennis Township for the re-naming of New Jersey Route No. 83 as “Trooper Bertram T. Zimmerman III Memorial Highway.”
Trooper Zimmerman was a New Jersey State Police Officer who served in the Tactical Patrol Unit. The Gloucester Township resident was killed in a car crash on Route 83 earlier this year, while responding to the scene of an armed robbery.
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which would give adoptees and certain others access to the adoptee’s original birth certificates and other related family information was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 23-14.
“So much of one’s identity is defined by answering one key question — where did I come from?” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “Family history is a living tapestry that many of us take for granted, but for adoptees and their descendants, there’s a gap there that, even though they may have been brought up by the best family in the world, cannot be filled. With this bill, we’re giving adoptees the right to know where they came from, and opening the door of history to those that thought it permanently sealed.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Ellen Karcher to create a statewide Office of the Environmental Prosecutor in order to pursue legal action against criminals who violate environmental laws in New Jersey was unanimously approved today by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today.
“In the light of the tight fiscal conditions facing New Jersey, we need to have watchdogs in place to ensure that State investments are producing the most for their money,” said Senator Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer. “The Office of the Environmental Prosecutor, which would largely be a restructuring of the Environmental Law Enforcement unit under the Attorney General, is a lateral move that would put greater emphasis on criminal prosecution of polluters in the Garden State. It would provide key oversight to make sure that polluters cannot undo all the positive environmental work we’re doing on the State level, and would require them to be responsible when they do damage our environment.”
TRENTON – The Senate today gave final legislative approval to a bill, sponsored by Senator Paul A. Sarlo, to make it a crime to lure someone over the Internet into committing a crime. It passed without opposition in the Senate.
“When a sick mind can use technology to endanger a young mother playing with her children in their front yard, we need a strong response,” said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic.
TRENTON – Senators Shirley K. Turner and Ronald L. Rice welcomed committee approval of their bill to appropriate an additional $15 million to the low-income rental assistance program signed into law over the summer.
“The fact that the federal government doesn’t do more than it does now to get working families off the street and into their own homes is illogical,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “But the Bush Administrations attempts this year to cut the Section 8 program is simply unconscionable. It is clearly up to the State to make sure the funds will always be there to get as many poor families into the homes they need to take the first steps out of poverty. This additional $15 million is another step in the right direction.”
TRENTON – With his wife, Maribeth, and daughter, Margaret, by his side, Senator Joseph V. Doria was sworn in today by Senate President and Acting Governor Richard Codey to fill the remaining three years of an unexpired term for State Senator in the 31st Legislative District, which includes Bayonne and parts of Jersey City in Hudson County.
“It’s truly a blessing to be back serving the people of not only the 31st District, but the entire State of New Jersey, for another three years,” said Senator Doria, D-Hudson. “Public service is a noble goal, and I intend to partake in my duties as State Senator with the nobility, humility and honor that the position demands.”
TRENTON – Senator Nicholas J. Sacco welcomed final Senate approval for his measure to discourage the theft of E-ZPass responders by making that theft a crime of the fourth degree.
“Unfortunately, E-ZPass responders are easily removed from vehicles and have proven a popular target for thieves,” said Senator Sacco, D-Bergen and Hudson and Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “This bill seeks to discourage individuals from targetting these devices and the drivers who use them.”
TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora presented the U.S. Men’s Rowing Team with a Legislative Resolution commending the team on their gold medal performance in the men’s eights rowing competition at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
“The Olympics gives the entire country a chance to get behind the finest American athletes every four years,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “For those two weeks, there is only one team any of us cares about – Team USA. This year, New Jersey residents got a special treat as our favorite sons, the US Rowing Team, brought home the gold.”