TOMS RIVER – The New Jersey Senate Environment Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee will hold a joint hearing on Thursday, August 7 in the LMH Room at the Toms River Township Municipal Building to discuss issues important to the vitality of the Jersey Shore.
“It’s essential that the people living at the Jersey Shore have a voice in their government,” said Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, the Chair of the Senate panel. “Too often, decisions that affect the economic and environmental vitality of the Jersey Shore are made on the other side of the State in a Trenton committee room. We need to give Shore residents a forum to raise their concerns, and bring their ideas back with us as we go through the legislative process.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator John Adler which will bolster the State’s income verification process for Medicaid and NJ FamilyCare was signed into law today by Governor Corzine.
“New Jersey is fighting for every cent we can get from the federal government to help fund FamilyCare and Medicaid,” said Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill. “We cannot waste our limited resources on health care for people who don’t need our help. The tougher income verification standards will make sure only those who qualify have access to these programs.”
TRENTON � A measure sponsored by Senators Jeff Van Drew and Fred H. Madden, which designates Route 9 in Cape May County as ‘Police Unity Tour Memorial Highway’, has been signed into law by Governor Corzine.
“Public awareness is key to increasing funding for the D.C. memorial,” said Senator Van Drew, D-Cape May. “By changing the name of the section of Route 9 that runs through Cape May County, local residents will take notice, and I’m hoping they will feel compelled to donate to such a worthwhile cause. Our law enforcement officers risk their lives so that we can safely live ours, and the memorial is one way we can thank them for their selfless service.”
TRENTON – Senator John H. Adler. a key member of the State Senate Environment Committee, today said the State Board of Public Utilities should stop imposing “paralysis by analysis” and expedite approval of a windmill project off the coast of New Jersey.
Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill, released the following statement after the BPU said it was delaying a planned August signoff on the windmill project until at least October 2nd.
TRENTON – Senator Jeff Van Drew, Chair of the Assembly Coastal New Jersey Evacuation Task Force (Task Force), unveiled a package of ten bills today that would enhance the State’s ability to evacuate and shelter residents of shore communities during times of severe coastal flooding.
“After seeing the devastation on the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it was clear that New Jersey needed to make sure that we could quickly and thoroughly respond to a similar disaster,” said Senator Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic. “It’s easy to get complacent when New Jersey hasn’t seen a major hurricane is quite awhile. We must assume that disaster can hit at any moment so that we are prepared to get people out of harms way when that next hurricane or major nor’easter does arrive.”
NEW ORLEANS – At the Budget and Revenue Committee meeting held today as part of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) 2008 Legislative Summit, State Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, one of the chief advocates for allowing professional sports betting as a revenue source in New Jersey, issued the following testimony to encourage other states to challenge the federal sports betting ban which prohibits every State except Nevada, Delaware and Oregon from allowing legalized sports betting within their borders:
“In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) despite opposition from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Through this legislative measure, Congress stripped individual states of their ability to conduct betting on professional and amateur sports.
TRENTON – Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, co-Chair of the Legislative Joint Budget Oversight Committee (JBOC), issued the following statement today after a committee meeting during which the State Department of Human Services requested a transfer of funds to pay for unanticipated overtime expenditures:
“The Department of Human Services’ transfer requests are a perennial occurrence. Year after year, following the Governor’s approval of a new budget, JBOC has been asked to grant Human Services’ funding requests to continue operations at State developmental centers, psychiatric hospitals or to meet some other unanticipated cost.
ATLANTIC CITY – Governor Jon S. Corzine signed legislation today sponsored by Senator Jim Whelan that transfers ownership of the Atlantic City Convention Center from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (Sports Authority) to the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority (Visitors Authority).
“We’re streamlining the management of the Convention Center and making it more responsive to the needs of Atlantic City,” said Senator Whelan, D-Atlantic. “It no longer makes sense to have the Sports Authority up in the Meadowlands owning the Convention Center in Atlantic City, especially since the Visitors’ Authority has been running it since the day it opened.”
MOUNT LAUREL – Senator Dana L. Redd, D-Camden and Gloucester, a sponsor of S-1783/A-500, legislation that revises the Fair Housing Act to require municipalities to offer affordable housing options, today released the following statement and applauded Governor Corzine for making the bill’s provisions a reality. The bill signing was held at the Ethel R. Lawrence Homes.
?It is interesting that New Jersey, one of the nation’s most ethnically and economically diverse states, is also one of the most segregated. For far too long, wealthier municipalities have been able to pass on their responsibility to provide affordable housing options by paying local urban centers to take on their obligations through the use of Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs).
TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner today said she is implementing a four-day work week in her district office as part of a pilot program through Labor Day to help her staff save on gas money while providing five extended days of service for constituents.
“The goal is to help my hard-working staff deal with the crisis in gas prices by providing them with a 20 percent reduction in commuting to and from the office,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “The extended hours also will help working people if they need services from the office in both the early morning or early evening hours.”
NEWARK – Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham today held a news conference with Newark Mayor Corey Booker, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, CeaseFire NJ Executive Director Bryan Miller and others, to discuss legislation (S-1774) she sponsored which would prohibit the sale and purchase of more than one handgun per licensed buyer, within a 30 day period. The news conference was held at Elwood Park.
“Handgun violence is on the rise, but taking guns off the streets will help to stop the senseless slaughter of our citizens – it’s common sense,” said Senator Cunningham, D-Jersey City and Bayonne. “Hopefully, passage of this legislation will encourage other states, especially neighboring states like Pennsylvania and New York, to follow suit.”
TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner welcomed news today that Governor Jon S. Corzine signed bill her S-1457, which provides $3.9 billion in funds for school construction projects across the State.
“We need to keep moving forward in revitalizing the aging school infrastructure in many of our urban centers,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer and Chair of the Senate Education Committee. “No child should have to go to school in a building that is crumbling or is overcrowded to a point that it threatens their health and safety and distracts them from learning. We will use these funds efficiently and effectively to build schools that will make kids excited about going to school.”
NEWARK – Legislation sponsored by Senator Ronald L. Rice to provide the $3.9 billion in bonding to fund school districts, which he says are “in desperate need of new construction and renovations,” became law today.
“I am extremely happy to see that the children in need will finally be able to receive the school projects that they were promised years ago,” said Senator Rice, D-Essex. “The State Supreme Court has made it clear that children in Abbott school districts must have their educational needs met. I am pleased that my colleagues in the Legislature as well as the Governor recognized the importance of providing safe schools for our children, and supported this measure.”
NEWARK – Legislation co-sponsored by Senator Teresa Ruiz to increase the amount of bonds authorized under the “Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act” by $3.9 billion became law today at a public bill signing at Oliver Street School in Newark today.
“How can we provide the children of New Jersey with a bright future if we can not even supply safe schools for them to go and learn,” said Senator Ruiz, D-Essex and Union. “Too many of our school are over crowded and need major repairs. I understand that we are in tough economic times, but we need to be responsible for providing a proper learning environment for the children in this State.”
PERTH AMBOY – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which expands the FamilyCare safety net for uninsured New Jerseyans and takes the first step to ensure affordable health care coverage for all State residents was signed into law by the Governor today at a ceremony at Raritan Bay Medical Center.
“Today’s bill signing marks a commitment from the State of New Jersey – that we will not turn our backs on the 1 million working poor State residents who are one major health crisis away from bankruptcy,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “With this new law, we are recognizing that the Garden State must spend its health care dollars smarter, and that the old system of reimbursing hospitals for providing emergency room care as a way to fund our obligation to the uninsured is dysfunctional and unsustainable. Through this law, we are saying that the dream of affordable, quality health care for all New Jerseyans is within reach, and that our State can be a national leader in providing access to appropriate care for the uninsured.”