Lesniak Statement On Marriage Equality Conditional Veto

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Raymond Lesniak and Jeff Van Drew which would replace the failed Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) with common sense, achievable affordable housing regulations was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 28-3.

“New Jersey is not living up to its affordable housing responsibility,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union, and chairman of the Senate Economic Growth Committee. “COAH has been an abject failure, and as a result, municipal officials have been saddled with unattainable, unrealistic mandates for housing, and little affordable housing has been built. This bill creates a fairer standard, and will result in more housing with less bureaucracy.”

TRENTON – Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, the Chairman of the Senate Economic Growth Committee and prime sponsor of S-1, legislation to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing for a fairer, market-driven approach to create affordable housing, announced that the public hearing scheduled for the bill on Monday, March 8 would be cancelled, and replaced by an availability with the media and members of the Committee to go over, in detail, the provisions of a Senate Committee Substitute for the bill.

“The purpose of Monday’s availability is to go over – in great detail – what the Senate Committee Substitute for S-1 actually does,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “Whether it’s coming from people who are in favor of the new approach to affordable housing outlined in S-1, or people who are opposed, there is a lot of misinformation being spread about this legislation. On Monday, we hope to put that misinformation to rest once and for all, so we can at least begin to discuss the bill for what it is.”

TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg today said the more the governor talks about providing lawmakers a choice in how to let marriage equality move forward, it becomes more and more clear that he is not allowing Republican members of the Legislature who support marriage equality to have any choice in the matter.

Weinberg singled out the governor’s now twice-repeated line that, “I will veto it, and I will work hard to make sure my veto is sustained in the Legislature,” as a signal that he will quash any attempt by individual Republican legislators to vote by the dictates of their own conscience. The governor made the comment at Tuesday’s Bridgewater “town hall,” and again yesterday at a State House press conference.

NEWARK – A group of a dozen faith-based organizations, community development corporations (CDCs) and local development officials met on April 20th with State Senator Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, in a roundtable discussion at the Renaissance Church in Newark to discuss the positive opportunities that Senate Bill S-1, which proposes to significantly reform the state’s affordable housing law, offers to not-for-profit developers in their efforts to revitalize neighborhoods. The meeting was hosted by Pastor Thomas Riddick, whose CDC is actively engaged in the development of affordable housing as part of a larger mission that includes prisoner re-entry, substance abuse services, after-school programs, job training and family counseling.

The group supports the overall concept of switching the planning responsibilities for affordable housing to the local level where, as local CDCs, they can have their voices heard more effectively.

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Teresa Ruiz and Joseph F. Vitale which would provide financial assistance to individuals and families as part of the “New Jersey Economic Assistance and Recovery Plan” was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 35-0, receiving final legislative approval.

“As the national economic meltdown continues to drive down stock prices and increase the volatility in the banking and loan industries, it can be very easy to lose sight of the human impact of the crisis,” said Senator Ruiz, D-Essex and Union, and a member of the Budget Committee. “However, the bad state of the economy has very real consequences for families struggling to make ends meet. These are people who are at the lowest ends of the economic spectrum and may face foreclosure, extreme poverty and homelessness as the cost of living climbs higher and higher – and they need our help.”

TRENTON – Saying he will “take the best” of the Senate’s, the Assembly’s and the Governor’s ideas, Senator Raymond Lesniak announced today he has withdrawn the legislation he sponsored to abolish COAH which Governor Christie conditionally vetoed, S-1, and will introduce a new bill that will inject rationality into New Jersey’s affordable housing laws.

“It’s not just about compromise for the sake of compromise,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “It’s about forging a compromise that creates good public policy. That’s what the people of the State of New Jersey want us to do, so we should just do it.”

TRENTON – State Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, one of the prime sponsors of S-1, legislation which would allow same-sex couples to be married in the Garden State, issued the following floor remarks today in support of the bill:

“Throughout history New Jersey has sometimes been a leader in the evolution of civil rights in the United States of America and sometimes we’ve been a follower.

TRENTON – A number of Senate Committees will convene on Monday, February 1, to consider a wide-range of matters, including reforming the state’s approach to affordable housing and identifying statewide educational priorities.

The Senate Economic Growth Committee will meet at 10:30 am in Committee Room 1 of the State House Annex where they will consider, for discussion only, bill S-1, sponsored by Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, which would reform the state’s approach to affordable housing and abolish the Council on Affordable Housing. The committee will also consider bill S-920, sponsored by Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney and Senator Lesniak, which would revise certain provisions of the “New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009” in order to help facilitate the development of public-private higher education projects.

TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, the sponsor – along with Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, and Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union – of S-1, which would allow same-sex couples to enjoy the same rights to get married that heterosexual couples already enjoy in New Jersey, issued the following statement after a bipartisan coalition of the nation’s mayors announced their support for marriage equality at a news conference in Washington, DC on Friday:

“Clearly, marriage equality is an issue whose time has come. In New Jersey and around the county, we’re seeing policymakers of every political background and every walk of life acknowledge that allowing same-sex couples to get married is simply the right thing to do.

TRENTON – Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, the prime sponsor of S-1, legislation to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) in favor of a fairer, market-driven model to comply with New Jersey’s Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel decisions, issued the following statement regarding a Senate Committee Substitute for his original legislation, S-1. The full text will be available to the public tomorrow:

“The New Jersey Supreme Court, in 1975, established the Mount Laurel doctrine, that municipalities had an obligation to provide by land use regulations realistic opportunity for low and moderate income housing. In 1983, Mount Laurel II was decided and the Court’s opinion reflected its frustration with the lack of effectiveness of its original decision, as if the Court could create homes of brick and mortar through judicial fiat. At that point, the Supreme Court became a legislative body.

TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, issued the following remarks today in support of S-1, her bill to allow same-sex couples in New Jersey to be married under the same protections and classification offered to opposite-sex couples:

“Thank you, Mr. President, for posting this bill, and for having the courage to stand up for the rights of same-sex couples in New Jersey.

TRENTON – In remarks delivered before the full Senate, Senate President Steve Sweeney today called on his colleagues to pass S1, which would establish marriage equality in New Jersey. Senate President Sweeney asked that those who support marriage equality not cave to political pressure, but do the right thing. “Our votes today may be cast as ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but in history they will be forever recorded as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’,” said Sweeney. “There is no third option.”

A copy of the Senate President’s full remarks are below.

TRENTON – Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, one of the prime sponsors of S-1, which would same-sex couples in New Jersey the equal right to marry that heterosexual couples enjoy, issued the following statement today regarding Governor Christie’s suggestion that marriage equality should be decided on the ballot, rather than in the Legislature:

“Marriage equality isn’t like sports betting. It’s a civil right which is already guaranteed in our Constitution. It’s up to the Legislature to guarantee these rights and support marriage equality for same sex couples.”

TRENTON – Senator Richard J. Codey (D – Essex, Morris) issued the following statement today regarding Senate passage of S1, which would establish marriage equality in New Jersey:

“The world isn’t going to end because of this vote. All that will happen is that more people will be able to marry those they love. That’s it. Your street, your neighborhood, your place of worship, your schools, your town…nothing will be different come tomorrow.

TRENTON – Senator Bob Smith, the Chair of the Senate Environment Committee and the architect of legislation designed to preserve the Highlands region in order to protect the clean drinking water supply for half of the state, issued the following statement today regarding a hearing of the Environment Committee on the progress of the Highlands law.

“The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, in the one year since its inception, is already showing signs of success. We are on our way towards realizing a pristine source of potable water that will be protected from groundwater pollution for years to come.