M. Teresa Ruiz

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Sandra Bolden Cunningham (D-Hudson) and Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) that would expand eligibility for the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit and make other changes to the program was approved 37-0 today by the Senate.

By expanding eligibility requirements, the bill would make Secaucus eligible for the credit. The program was created to attract investment in areas surrounding transit hubs, leading to more jobs and encouraging the use of mass transit.

TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senators Sandra Bolden Cunningham and Teresa Ruiz, which would make changes to the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship (NJ STARS) and the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship II (NJ STARS II) programs, to keep them more economically sustainable for the State of New Jersey, received final legislative approval today by the full Senate, by a vote of 33 to 4.

“This bill is a product of a task force charged with the responsibility of studying the NJ STARS programs, and making recommendations of ways to ensure the programs’ longevity,” said Senator Cunningham, D-Hudson, who was a member of the NJ STARS Task Force. “This bill is definitely not the perfect solution to the problems of funding these scholarships. But it is the first step in the right direction toward amending the NJ STARS programs, and ensuring that they can benefit the best and brightest students from all areas in New Jersey.”

“My main concern for this legislation – and for the STARS programs in general – is that there must be a committed effort to ensure that all of the State’s school districts have equal access to these programs,” said Senator Ruiz, D-Essex and Union, who was a member of the NJ STARS Task Force. “The enactment of this bill would serve as the first of many necessary changes that would transform this well-intended legislation from a good law that helps students, to a real chance at higher education for high-achieving students from all walks of life here in New Jersey.”

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Sandra Bolden Cunningham and Teresa Ruiz to expand eligibility for the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Act and provide more incentives for businesses to open near public transportation centers, was approved by the full Senate today.

“The Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit program is an economic incentive designed to encourage smart growth principles and focus on rail and pedestrian modes of transportation rather than automobile travel,” said Senator Cunningham, D-Hudson. “The program also serves as a means of job creation and infrastructure development in the State. Under the bill, in order to be considered a transit hub, a property would need to be within a close proximity to a transit station.”

TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senators Sandra Bolden Cunningham and Teresa Ruiz, which would make changes to the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship (NJ STARS) and the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship II (NJ STARS II), to keep these programs economically sustainable for the State of New Jersey, was approved today by the Senate Education Committee.

“Considering the dire fiscal straits the State is in, these programs must be changed to ensure that they can continue to provide access to higher education for the State’s best and brightest students,” said Senator Cunningham, D-Hudson, who is a member of the NJ STARS Task Force. “I’ve listened to the testimony of students who have benefitted greatly from the NJ STARS programs, even in the short time since they were created. This is a tough, but necessary decision that we’ve had to make, and these revisions to the current law would allow the State to continue to provide these scholarship programs to hard-working New Jersey students.”