Legislation Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney sponsored to create a statewide registry of caregivers for the developmentally disabled who have harmed someone they were supposed to protect was today signed into law by Governor Chris Christie.
The new law establishes a Central Registry of Offenders Against Individuals with Developmental Disabilities to prevent caregivers with histories of abusing the developmentally disabled from harming other individuals.
Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver today announced the Democratic Legislature’s top priority as it finalizes a state budget will be to eliminate Gov. Chris Christie’s plans to hit low-income senior citizens with new and increased prescription drug fees.
Both leaders said no budget with Christie’s senior prescription drug cuts will be approved by the Democrats.
TRENTON – A nonpartisan analysis of Governor Chris Christie’s budget shows conclusively that the proposal would benefit New Jersey’s wealthiest families at the expense of senior citizens, lower-income working families and the middle-class, Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney said today.
Sweeney asked the Office of Legislative Services to calculate the tax burdens under the Christie proposal for hypothetical families at different income levels. The analysis found that seniors on fixed incomes would see their taxes rise by more than $1,300, while a family making $1.2 million annually would save more than $11,500.
TRENTON – Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senator Fred H. Madden and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty today voiced their approval of the completion of the site remediation of an area of land in Franklinville, which once housed the Kiddie Kollege Daycare Center.
Kiddie College was shut down in July of 2006, after the state Department of Environmental Protection’s discovery of mercury in the soil. The site had once housed the Accutherm mercury thermometer factory.
ATLANTIC CITY – In recognition of his long-standing support of the Garden State’s tourism industry, Senate President Stephen Sweeney received the “Friend of Tourism Award” today from the New Jersey Travel Industry Association.
The senator was presented with the award during the 2010 Governor’s Conference on Tourism, a three-day summit held this week at Trump Marina in Atlantic City.
MILLVILLE – Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney today joined with military, federal, state and local officials to officially open Boeing’s new Chinook helicopter modification facility at Millville Airport.
The 80,000 square-foot facility comprising two hangars will be the modification site for the U.S. Army’s CH-47F Chinook helicopters. Boeing Global Services and Support will prepare newly manufactured helicopters for troop and supply transport operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army aims to see 105 helicopters from Boeing’s Pennsylvania manufacturing plant undergo necessary wartime modifications – including the installation of defense systems for infrared guided missiles – at the Millville facility.
TRENTON – Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney was honored today by the New Jersey Community Action Association for his work to help grassroots organizations have the tools they need to make a difference in their communities.
“For nearly 40 years, New Jersey’s community action agencies have been at the center of ensuring all New Jerseyans have the tools to build themselves a better future,” said Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem). “NJCAA’s community leaders ensure low-income residents of all ages and backgrounds have the skills to become self-sufficient, and move their lives forward to not only seek opportunity, but to seize it wherever possible. I look forward to continuing to work with the state’s community action agencies as we move forward with helping New Jersey’s most vulnerable citizens move their lives forward.”
When Governor Christie signed three landmark public employee pension reforms into law late Monday evening, lawmakers should have known the job was only half over. In retrospect, passing these reforms in the first place may have been the easy part, as lawmakers’ offices have quickly become inundated with phone calls and e-mails from nervous employees unsure of what these changes mean to them and their families.
To try to reach out to every single public employee would be a nearly impossibly task. Hopefully, answering these frequently asked questions will not only put their minds at ease, but ensure all residents understand why this action was needed.
TRENTON – The Senate last night passed legislation Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney and Republican Leader Tom Kean sponsored to implement technology to rid the Senate chamber and committee rooms of the wasteful stacks of printed bills and amendments and move to a paperless format.
“If people really want to see wasteful spending, they need to look no further than the countless reams of paper used by the Senate in the course of routine business,” said Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem). “From the stacks of legislation on every desk to the ritual of passing around printed amendments, the Senate burns through literally tens of thousands of dollars in paper every year – most of which is never even read. There’s no need for us to waste this much paper when everything can be done electronically.”
TRENTON – The Senate today passed legislation Senator Fred Madden and Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney sponsored to rename and dedicate Route 47 through Glassboro in honor of South Jersey’s Vietnam veterans.
The measure is timed with the 25th anniversary of the South Jersey Vietnam Veterans Association, which meets at Glassboro’s VFW Memorial Post 679.