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.
Senators Buono, Karcher and Weinberg Call on Horizon to Use Surplus to Lower Health Care Costs, Property Taxes
TRENTON – Senator Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, today released the following statement in support of Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, Jr.’s proposal that local school districts and governments consolidate to share services:
“We’ve demonstrated in Gloucester County that there are large savings in consolidating resources. Statistics have shown that we save $1 million annually from the merger of our special services and vocational school districts. While we continue to search for savings while providing quality service, it only makes sense to consolidate resources. It is working in Gloucester County and it can work on a Statewide basis to reduce service costs that contribute to rising property taxes in our communities.”
TRENTON – Senator Paul A. Sarlo today pledged to hold the State to a commitment he generated at a Senate budget hearing to offer managed care support services on a statewide basis to an estimated 50,000 eligible Medicaid recipients who are aged, blind or disabled.
“I’m glad the Department (of Human Services) agreed to go statewide with the managed care option, but now I want to make sure the followup is carried out,” said Senator Sarlo, a member of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee.
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Bob Smith to study the impact of global warming on New Jersey’s water supply, tourism industry and agricultural products was approved today by the Senate Environment Committee and sent to the full Senate for a floor vote.
“New Jersey has to adjust to the climate change over the years because it will have an impact on our natural resources, our recreational activities and our need for energy sources,” said Senator Smith, the Chairman of the Senate environment panel.
TRENTON – A Senate Joint Resolution sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, to urge the Government of Turkey to stop racial and religious discrimination, and immediately recognize the religious authority of the Eastern Orthodox Church, was approved by the Senate State Government Committee today.
Senator Smith explained that in Istanbul the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the spiritual center of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Ecumenical Patriarch is the highest authority of the Church and leads the world’s estimated 250 million Orthodox Christians, Senator Smith added.
TRENTON – A resolution sponsored by Senators Joseph V. Doria, Jr. and Loretta Weinberg that would designate May 19-25, 2006 as “Genocide Awareness Week” in New Jersey was unanimously approved today by the Senate State Government Committee.
“Too often in our world, acts of unspeakable violence are perpetrated against a people in the name of genocide or ethnic cleansing,” said Senator Doria, D-Hudson. ” The same basic pattern follows, whether you’re talking about Nazi Germany or the Darfur region of the Sudan. Genocide destabilizes the bonds that hold us together in the brotherhood of humanity, and the free world has an obligation to oppose any attempts to eradicate an ethnic group for political, racial or religious reasons.”
TRENTON – Senator Paul A. Sarlo today asked New Jersey Higher Education officials to explain why increases in administrators and faculty at State colleges far exceed the rise in student enrollment for a four-year period that ended last year.
“Despite claims of belt tightening at the State colleges, I find it very troubling that so many more faculty and administrators were added while student enrollments lagged,” said Senator Sarlo, the lead inquisitor for the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee’s examination of the higher education portion of Governor Corzine’s proposed spending plan.
TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner, D-Mercer and Chair of the Senate Education Committee, made the following statement after the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee held hearings on the higher education portions of the proposed FY07 Budget:
“New Jersey will honestly be worse off if these draconian cuts in support for higher education are accepted. It will be our young people who suffer the most as tuitions go up, programs get cut and opportunities to compete with the global economy diminish.
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Fred H. Madden that would rename New Jersey Route 55 as “Veterans Memorial Highway” was approved today by the Senate Transportation Committee.
“This measure would provide a way for South Jerseyans to honor the soldiers who serve our State and country so well,” saidSenator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester. “By renaming this highway to honor our troops, we would be establishing the first highway in the State to honor veterans of the Armed Forces. These men and women risk their lives to make sure that we are able to enjoy the freedoms and luxuries we have, and it is only fitting to honor them in this way.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Barbara Buono which would prohibit the sale of flavored cigarettes in New Jersey was approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee by a vote of 6-0.
“Flavored cigarettes are an insidious marketing ploy from the tobacco industry to hook kids while they’re young,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chair of the Senate Health Committee. “Just as we’re phasing out the cartoon spokespeople and high-profile movie placement that once targeted an early generation of potential smokers, flavored cigarettes are becoming more popular, and drawing in the next batch of customers. We need to block this threat before our kids are lured into a lifetime habit that will eventually kill them.”