TRENTON – The Senate today approved a bill, sponsored by Senators Jim Whelan and Linda R. Greenstein, that would maintain…
Linda Greenstein
TRENTON – Senator Linda R. Greenstein, D-Middlesex and Mercer, released the following statement in response to the Governor’s veto of…
Measure is First Step to Blocking Proposed Rule Change TRENTON – A concurrent resolution sponsored by Senators Bob Gordon, Linda…
TRENTON – Acting to expand access to critical health care services for women, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved two bills that would restore cuts to family planning clinics and extend Medicaid coverage for women by leveraging federal matching funds. The bills, S-2824, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, and S-2825, sponsored by Senator Weinberg and Senator Linda R. Greenstein, would restore funding vetoed by Governor Christie for health clinics that provide a wide range of services for women and would have the state take advantage of federal funding that would provide a nine-to-one match in Medicaid support for women’s health care.
“This is long overdue,” said Senator Weinberg. “Women’s health care has been shortchanged and neglected by the governor for more than three years. A modest amount of state funding would restore crucial health care for women and would generate significant federal funds that would go a long way in helping lower-income women in need of medical care. Women are entitled to reproductive health care.”
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Linda R. Greenstein to give consumers greater choice when asking their cable television provider to reimburse them after a lengthy service outage was released today by the Senate Economic Growth Committee.
“While many cable customers may prefer a monetary reimbursement when they experience an extended outage of their services, providing consumers with multiple choices of how they wish to receive their reimbursement is a positive not only for the cable companies but also for customers,” said Senator Greenstein, D-Middlesex and Mercer. “If a consumer is already planning to order a premium channel or purchase a pay-per-view event, it just makes sense to allow them to apply their credit towards these options.”
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Linda R. Greenstein and Jim Beach that would support military families by allowing qualified military spouses to teach in New Jersey schools while completing additional requirements for teacher certification was signed into law today.
“The life of a military spouse is already made difficult by repeated deployments and having to move from state to state. There is no reason why finding employment should be a part of that difficulty,” said Senator Greenstein, D-Middlesex and Mercer. “When it comes to teaching, we should be doing all that we can to encourage more qualified individuals to take up that respected profession. Through this important package of bills, we can show support for our military families and make their transition into our state as seamless as possible.”
TRENTON – In an effort to protect children from sexual predators and reduce recidivism, Senators Fred H. Madden, Jim Beach, and Linda R. Greenstein sponsored legislation that would permit municipalities to enact ordinances regulating where moderate and high-risk sex offenders live and restrict the locations of certain child care centers and school bus stops. The bill today cleared the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.
“Recent tragedies across the country remind us that sex offenders continue to pose a danger to children, and we have an ongoing responsibility to keep our kids safe,” said Senator Madden, D-Gloucester and Camden. “This measure sends a clear message that New Jerseyans are committed to the safety of young people and we will do what it takes to protect our children against convicted sex offenders with a high risk of re-offense.”
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Linda R. Greenstein and Senate President Steve Sweeney that would revise and strengthen Megan’s Law to improve community supervision of convicted sex offenders and to better protect New Jersey’s children cleared the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee today. The legislation also updates the law based on advances in electronic communication and would ensure that minors who sext are not placed on the sex offender registry for life.
“In the aftermath of Megan Kanka’s murder nearly twenty years ago, New Jersey led the nation in implementing a sex offender registry that supplies parents with vital information of dangerous living in their neighborhood in order to protect children from repeat sexual predators,” said Senator Greenstein, D-Middlesex and Mercer. “Since that time, we have seen the widespread use of computers, cell phones and tablets and parents must now be even more vigilant against sexual predators because luring and sexual advances can happen on computers and phones in living rooms and bedrooms. Because of these changes in society, the way law enforcement must conduct oversight has changed dramatically. This legislation will ensure that they have the tools necessary to stop another horrific crime from occurring.”
TRENTON – The Senate Environment Committee today approved a package of bills to upgrade water systems in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and to help local communities throughout the state finance infrastructure projects to improve water quality and deliver safer drinking water to residents.
The first bill, S-2815, sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, would provide short-term funding for environmental infrastructure projects to repair damage incurred during Hurricane Sandy or to mitigate risk of damage from future storms.
“Hurricane Sandy showed the weaknesses in our state’s water treatment operations. These failures caused hundred of millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped into our waterways and left residents throughout the state with water that was unsafe to consume,” said Senator Smith, S-Middlesex and Somerset, Chairman of the Committee. “Over the coming years, a significant investment must be made to ensure that when the next big storm hits, New Jersey families’ water supply is not compromised.”
TRENTON – In an effort to bring awareness to the dangers of driving aggressively, a bill sponsored by Senator Linda R. Greenstein that would teach New Jersey’s new drivers the risks of road rage was approved by the full Senate today.
“Getting a first drivers license can be an exhilarating experience for a young person, but understanding the dangers of the road is essential for the safety of those drivers, particularly with New Jersey’s very congested roadways,” said Senator Greenstein, D-Midddlesex and Mercer. “Experience is key when handling aggressive driving on the roads – from tailgating to erratic lane changes – and new drivers are still gaining familiarity and knowledge on how to handle difficult conditions and hazards on the road. Ensuring that driver’s education courses take the time to teach young drivers how to recognize and handle these situations will begin to prepare them for what to expect when they hit the road. Importantly, this legislation has the potential to save innocent lives and to spare motorists and passengers severe bodily injury that can too often result from road rage incidents on our highways.”