DEPTFORD – The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee will meet tomorrow at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology to hold its third and final public meeting, designed to gain public input on the Governor’s proposed FY2009 State Budget.
TRENTON – Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, Senator Ronald L. Rice has called for a hearing to discuss the current status of the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) program on Monday.
“When we passed the QSAC law we helped keep some schools from being completely taken over by the State for not making the grade,” said Senator Rice, D-Essex. “Some schools have made improvements, while others still remain below our expectations. I am looking forward to hearing about the success of the program and any suggestions on what we should do to make sure all of the children in this State are getting the education they deserve.”
TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner made the following statement today after hearing testimony from Michael Peters, a representative of the Student Government Association of the College of New Jersey, and Vanessa Frost, an NJ STARS student attending Mercer County College at a public hearing by the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee:
“These two students gave a voice to the frustrations that many New Jersey students face as they try to pay for their college education in New Jersey. As we continue to cut direct aid for our colleges and universities and financial aid programs for our students, we make it harder and harder for them to attend school in their home state.
TRENTON – The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee will hold its second of three meetings seeking public input on the Governor’s proposed FY2009 State Budget tomorrow.
Senator Barbara Buono, Chair of the Committee, said the meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. in Committee Room 4 of the State House Annex and continue throughout the day.
Over 70 members of the public have signed up to testify at the hearing.
LINDEN – Senate State Government Committee Chairman Nicholas P. Scutari today denounced Sequoia Voting Systems for threatening legal action against Union County in order to obstruct an independent investigation into the failure of several of its electronic voting machines during the February presidential primary.
“Evidently, Sequoia believes that maintaining its ‘trade secrets’ trumps the rights of New Jerseyans to have their votes properly recorded in an election,” said Senator Scutari (D-Union). “I call upon the company to submit to an independent investigation as proposed by Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi and the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey in order to insure the integrity of its machines ahead of November’s general election.”
TRENTON –Senator Joseph F. Vitale, a longtime advocate for affordable and accessible health care coverage, today announced an ambitious and transformational health care reform package aimed at covering all New Jersey residents by the year 2011.
“A poll released last week, conducted by AARP, showed that 3 in 4 New Jerseyans want significant change in the way we provide health care in the Garden State,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chair of the Senate Health Committee. “This is an idea whose time has come, as more New Jersey families are struggling with the high cost of health care and more State residents than ever before worry that they may be one serious illness away from bankruptcy. People recognize that we have a moral obligation, as a State, to ensure affordable, high-quality health care for every New Jersey citizen, and this plan will put us on that track.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Barbara Buono which would prohibit the sale of certain flavored cigarettes in the State of New Jersey was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 34-1.
“New Jersey invests a lot of money annually into programs designed to help people kick the smoking habit or educate kids so that they never light up in the first place,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “While the State is doing the right thing in funding smoking cessation and education programs, tobacco companies are constantly trying to recruit new customers and are targeting the next generation of potential smokers. New Jersey should not stand by and allow tobacco companies to use marketing schemes like flavored tobacco, which blatantly target kids to start smoking.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg which would require employees of adoption agencies to undergo criminal history background and Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) child abuse record checks as a condition of employment was unanimously approved today by the full Senate.
“Too often, when a child is put up for adoption, he or she is moved from foster home to foster home before a ‘forever family’ is found,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen. “As a mother and a grandmother, I can attest to how important stability is to the development of children, and a lack thereof can prove to be very harmful. When a child is adopted that lack of stability is intensified. Any adult that these children come in contact with must have their best interest at heart, and by mandating these checks as a condition of employment, we would be fighting to keep our children safe.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Fred H. Madden, which would work to reduce the number of secondary car accidents by allowing drivers who have been in minor collisions to move their cars out of the way of traffic, was unanimously approved today by the full Senate.
“According to the State Department of Transportation, 20% of all accidents are ‘secondary,’ meaning they were caused as the result of another accident,” said Senator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester, a former Acting Superintendent of the State Police, who serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “Drivers are reluctant to move their cars because they think they might get charged with leaving the scene of an accident, and also because they think that moving their cars would hinder police officers’ ability to determine what caused the accident. This legislation would send a clear message that as long as no one is injured, moving cars out of the way of traffic is useful because it would reduce the number of preventable secondary accidents.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Bob Gordon to impose a moratorium on the taking of horseshoe crabs to protect the food supply for the endangered red knot shorebird was approved today by the Senate by a vote of 39-0, receiving final legislative approval.
“Years of poor environmental planning and overfishing have decimated the red knot population and driven this bird to the brink of extinction,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “New Jersey has an opportunity to do the right thing in restoring a centuries-old balance on the food chain between these shorebirds and the horseshoe crab. We must give Nature a chance to re-establish the natural order, and allow the red knot to come back from the verge of annihilation.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Fred H. Madden, which would designate May 27 of each year as “School Bus Driver Appreciation Day,” was unanimously approved today by the full Senate.
“This resolution would serve as a ‘thank you’ to the men and women who transport our children to and from school each day,” said Senator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester. “School bus drivers have to keep the peace on the bus, while also maneuvering through traffic. It’s not always easy to deal with other people’s children, especially in a setting like a school bus, where traffic can take a turn for the worst at a moment’s notice.”
TRENTON – A resolution sponsored by Senator Jeff Van Drew which would call on Congress to enact legislation requiring the publication of a list of companies which are engaged in outsourcing United States jobs to other countries was approved by the Senate today, receiving final approval.
“Investors have a right to know whether the companies they invest in are engaged in the practice of outsourcing American jobs and undercutting the American economy,” said Senator Van Drew, D-Cape May and Cumberland. “By dragging outsourcing into the light of day, and equipping investors with the knowledge of companies’ involvement in the practice, we can bring the strength of the market to bear to sharply reduce outsourcing. Congress must demand that corporations disclose to the public whether they currently outsource jobs, or plan to outsource jobs in the near future, so that we can begin a serious discussion about how to keep American jobs on American soil.”
TRENTON – After over two hours of testimony from Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper on the financial and communications problems that have plague the Meadowlands EnCap project, Senate Environment Committee Chair Bob Smith, presented five recommendations on how to move forward with the EnCap investigations.
“The Inspector General’s report on EnCap and subsequent testimony today leave no doubt in my mind that further action is appropriate in uncovering the full depth of the improprieties involved in this case,” said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset. “There is clearly the appearance that EnCap and Cherokee Investment Partners sought to defraud the State and we need to completely investigate the project and determine if a crime has been committed.”
TRENTON – The Senate approved legislation today sponsored by Senator Jeff Van Drew that would allow local library boards to transfer surplus funds to the local municipality in order to provide property tax relief to homeowners.
“This bill will provide much needed property tax relief to towns that are desperately trying to stay underneath the 4% cap while maintaining services,” said Senator Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic. “Unfortunately, State law can mandate an annual increase in library funding far beyond what is needed, preventing our towns from efficiently and fairly using tax dollars.”
TRENTON – The Senate today approved a bill, S-442, co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney, to authorize special education students who have attended four years of high school to participate in their class graduation ceremonies.
“Special ed students get federally mandated, individual education plans which often extend beyond the standard four-year high school period,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland. “This bill ensures special education students their right to experience the full high school experience while they continue their academic pursuits.”