TRENTON – Senator Ronald L. Rice proposed today his eminent domain reform bill which would safeguard the practice against abuse while protecting an important community redevelopment tool. There will be a hearing on June 15, 2006.
“Eminent domain is often a controversial developmental tool but one that is sometimes needed to rejuvenate blighted areas.
“Chairman, members of the Committee, good afternoon.
“I would like to open today by thanking you, Mr. Chairman, for scheduling this informational hearing on my bill, S-88, The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This is not an issue that is bereft of controversy; medical marijuana has both passionate advocates and detractors. Therefore this hearing marks an important opportunity to better educate the public about a subject that is often obscured by the harsh rhetoric, conjecture, and misinformation that attends such heated debate.
NEWARK -Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement today after a shooting at a troubled apartment complex in Newark last night which left a five-year-old boy injured.
“The shooting at Garden Spires is just another example of living conditions that continue to deteriorate at the complex. I have had it with the slum-like conditions that are being perpetuated in housing facilities throughout this State. I am irate at the fact that the Garden Spires complex, located at 175-195 First Street in Newark, is continually the site of tragedy, violence and sub-standard living conditions.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas P. Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex and Somerset, addresses his colleagues on the floor of the State Senate.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas P. Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex and Somerset, addresses his colleagues on the floor of the State Senate.
Codey and Roberts Announce Property Tax Special Session
TRENTON – A Senate joint resolution sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, to urge the government of Turkey to stop racial and religious discrimination by recognizing the religious authority of the Eastern Orthodox Church, was approved by the Assembly State Government Committee today.
Senator Smith noted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the spiritual leader for approximately 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, and is considered the highest authority of the Church.
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg that would make it easier for the public to view the voting records of individual legislators was unanimously approved today by the Assembly State Government Committee.
“Transparency is key in helping voters to understand State government,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen. “Taxpayers should be able to easily access the legislative votes of the representatives they elect, to make sure that their best interests are being represented in Trenton.”
TRENTON – Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, today announced that he has proposed a bill that will increase accountability at the local level by requiring school election ballots, and sample ballots, to include the percentage increase that school budgets would have on the school tax levy in comparison to the previous year.
“More often than not, public attention focuses on budget increases at the municipal, county or state level, with little attention focused on school board spending. This year’s elections showed us that voters are aware of their vested interest in local school board budgets, despite the overall low turnout statewide,” said Sen. Codey. “This bill will allow voters to see the direct impact that school board budgets have on their property taxes, and hopefully engage them in the voting process, and encourage more fiscal responsibility from our districts.”
TRENTON – Senate President and former Governor Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, today announced that he will introduce a package of bills that would make New Jersey a national leader in the fight to crack down on online sexual predators by providing the state with nearly unparalleled authority to monitor or restrict Internet access by convicted sex offenders and impose severe penalties for those convicted of using the Internet for luring.
“We see online sexual predators all over the news these days,” said Sen. Codey. “Their presence has infected the Internet like an out of control computer virus. Essentially, these bills will create a firewall between our children and predators.”
TRENTON – New Jersey’s stem cell agenda moved forward with resounding approval today as the full Senate voted 29 to 10 to approve S-1471, a bill sponsored by Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, which would allocate funding to build a world-class stem cell institute. The legislation, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, allocates $250 million in unused bond capacity for construction of a $150 million stem cell institute in New Brunswick, a $50 million joint biomedical research facility in Camden, and a $50 million adult stem cell research facility at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark.
“New Jersey’s stem cell institute can be the place where hope translates into real therapies,” said Sen. Codey. “New Jersey has a lot of advantages in the race for a cure, with our first rate universities and some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies. This bill has the potential to secure New Jersey’s place as a leader in the life science industry, ease suffering and save countless lives. But, right now there are only a handful of first-rate stem cell scientists and they are waiting on the edge of their seat to see who makes the first serious investment. Every day we wait potentially puts us a day behind.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Bob Smith which would require a higher recycling standard for plastic packaging sold in New Jersey to promote recycling, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease our dependence on foreign oil was approved today by the Senate by a vote of 25-10.
“New Jersey’s natural resources are absolutely precious, and we must do everything in our power to promote conservation and reuse,” said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset, the Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee. “By encouraging greater use of recycled plastics, we will save on landfill space, conserve petroleum used in the production of plastics, and cut down on the emissions associated with producing virgin plastics, or those that contain no recycled content. The measure is far reaching and will protect the environmental health of New Jersey in so many ways.”