Nicholas P. Scutari

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate State Government Committee Chairman, Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, which would extend the time period between certain public questions in municipalities in order to reduce voter fatigue in New Jersey was approved by the panel by a vote of 3-2.

“It makes absolutely no sense to inundate voters with ballot question after ballot question every other year, simply to benefit a small portion of the municipal population,” said Senator Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex and Somerset. “Questions about the number of town council members, the term of office for the mayor, or the method of election – partisan or non-partisan – for government officials have little bearing on the everyday lives of local residents. We want to encourage better voter turnout, and subjecting voters to bureaucratic government changes every year or every other year hurts that cause.”

TRENTON – Calling the prosecution of a self-medicating Somerset County man with multiple sclerosis (MS) a “severe, inappropriate, discompassionate and inhumane application of the letter of the law,” Senators Nicholas P. Scutari and Raymond J. Lesniak today urged Governor Jon Corzine to pardon Franklin Township resident John Ray Wilson, and called on the Assembly to quickly move legislation to decriminalize the medicinal use of marijuana by New Jerseyans with chronic and terminal illnesses.

“It seems cruel and unusual to treat New Jersey’s sick and dying as if they were drug cartel kingpins. Moreover, it is a complete waste of taxpayer money having to house and treat an MS patient in a jail at the public’s expense,” said Senator Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex and Somerset. “Specifically, in the case of John Ray Wilson, the State is taking a fiscally irresponsible hard-line approach against a man who’s simply seeking what little relief could be found from the debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis. Governor Corzine should step in immediately and end this perversion of criminal drug statutes in the Garden State.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Nicholas P. Scutari which would establish campaign finance and disclosure standards and debate rules for New Jersey’s new Lieutenant Governor position was approved by the Assembly today by a vote of 66-12, with one abstention, receiving final legislative approval.

“This November, voters in New Jersey will go to the polls for the first time to vote for a leadership team, not just a Governor,” said Senator Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex and Somerset. “While past acting Governors have done an exemplary job to serve the people of New Jersey, the new Lieutenant Governor position will ensure consistency and predictability in the path of succession, and whoever’s elected will hopefully play a major role in shaping the direction of the State. We need to ensure that the candidates running under the Governor, this November and into the future, are subject to the same reporting, spending and contribution limits as other candidates for office in the Garden State.”