TRENTON – The Senate today approved a bill, sponsored by Sens. John H. Adler and Nia H. Gill, to make sure all public entities in New Jersey are authorized to offer health benefits to domestic partners.
The landmark Domestic Partnership Act enacted last year in New Jersey contains a potential loophole because it only authorizes the extension of health benefits to domestic partners working for public entities enrolled in the State Health Benefits Plan, said Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill.
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill which will create the crime of human trafficking and impose prison penalties of up to 20 years on violators of the law, was signed yesterday by acting Governor Codey.
“Today, oppressed women and children, seeking only the American Dream, are given the protection they need from exploitation by human traffickers,” said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic. “For too long, this State has turned a blind eye to the plight of immigrated citizens, forced to work in demeaning and dehumanizing conditions in order to pay back the costs of their immigration. With today’s bill signing, we are sending a strong message that slavery, in whatever form it may rear its ugly head, will not be tolerated.”
TRENTON – The Senate today gave final approval to a measure, sponsored in the Senate by Senator Nia H. Gill, to compensate victims of human trafficking and to punish their oppressors with prison terms of up to 20 years.
“We are acting today on behalf of the thousands women and children who are forced into oppressive acts of sexual slavery and subhuman working conditions and held for years against their will,” said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic.
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Ronald L. Rice and Nia H. Gill which would create a 26-member Gangland Security Task Force to examine the activities of adult and youth gangs and the effect that these gangs have on the communities in which they operate, was approved by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee today.
“After September 11th, the federal government created an office of homeland security to deal with terror, in particular attacks from those living outside this country,” said Senator Rice, D-Essex. “We also must be protected from a real threat that is going on everyday in our own neighborhoods. The stories about gang involvement in a prescription drug ring in North Jersey demonstrates that the frightening reality of gang-related crime is everywhere.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill that would criminalize human trafficking and upgrade the penalties for similar crimes was approved today by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“For thousands of years, people have been selling other humans for financial gain,” said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic. ” No one should have the right to sell another person- It’s inhumane and barbaric, and it shows the lack of respect some people have for their fellow man.”
TRENTON – The Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill that would permit senior citizen tenants to terminate their leases early when accepted into an assisted living or retirement community.
“There comes a point in many seniors’ lives when they realize it is no longer possible for them to live on their own,” said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic. “Unfortunately, this realization doesn’t conveniently come at the end of their residential lease. Our seniors shouldn’t be economically penalized because of the effects of the passage of time. They should be free to move to an assisted living community when they and their family feel it is the right time.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill that would provide the foreign adoptions the same rights afforded to those done domestically was unanimously approved today by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee.
“This is a bill that ensures family stability,” said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic. “This bill would make New Jersey family law consistent with the spirit of the Federal Child Citizenship Act. Families would no longer have to go through a process of re-adopting their children.”
WEST PATERSON BOROUGH – A measure sponsored by Senator Nia H. Gill that would appropriate $250,000 in low-interest loans to help restore and further develop Morris Canal Park has been unanimously approved by the Senate.
“The funding that is being allocated for West Paterson will help restore existing and create new projects to beautify the area surrounding Morris Canal Park,” said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic.
NEWARK – In response to the pervasive growth of gang violence in neighborhoods and correctional facilities, key legislators and law…
Few people are aware of the important role that New Jersey played in the Underground Railroad Movement and how central this role was in the successful freeing of tens of thousands of Africans held in bondage in the American South. More important even than numbers freed, though, is the abstract contribution towards emancipation made by New Jersey residents, black and white, who participated in the state’s Underground Railroad network.
Despite its northern locale, New Jersey was not a “free state”–one which fugitive slaves could reach and find freedom. To the contrary, New Jersey participated in the practice of slavery almost from the time the first African slaves arrived in North America at the beginning of the 17th century. By 1726, New Jersey slaves numbered roughly 2,600, approximately 8% of the colony’s population at the time. Twenty years later, this number had nearly doubled.