MANALAPAN – Senator Ronald L. Rice today said that he is looking forward to the public’s input on how to better protect home buyers in New Jersey at the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee hearing.
“Last year the State Commission of Investigation (SCI) uncovered major problems with poorly built homes,” said Senator Rice, D-Essex. “The number of residents with nightmarish experiences of negligent workmanship in their homes has been overwhelming and I wanted to give homebuyers the peace of mind that their houses are safe.”
MANALAPAN – Senator Fred H. Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester, who is a member of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee and the sponsor of three measures aimed at helping to protect home-buyers from dishonest contractors has released the following statement regarding the Committee meeting held to l discuss an SCI report dealing with fraud in the home contracting business. The hearing was held in at the Manalapan Township Municipal Complex:
“This hearing is absolutely necessary to hear the view points of the constituents who would benefit from this legislation.
MANALAPAN – On Tuesday, September 19, the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing in Manalapan on a package of home contractor reforms to protect new home buyers in New Jersey.
The hearing, the last in a series of regional hearings to focus on new home buyer protections, will take place at the Manalapan Township Municipal Complex, 120 Route 522 (at Taylors Mills Road) at 7 P.M.
TRENTON – Senator Nia H. Gill, D-Essex and Passaic, the prime sponsor of legislation enabling a sterile syringe access program to reduce the rate of infection of HIV/AIDS among intravenous drug users in New Jersey, issued the following statement regarding the bill’s approval in the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today by a vote of 5-2, with one abstention:
“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and New Jersey is the only state in the nation that does not permit needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.
TRENTON – Senator John H. Adler, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made this statement after the panel unanimously approved the nomination of Stuart Rabner to be the next New Jersey Attorney General.
“Stuart Rabner has what it takes to restore New Jersey’s moral bearing at a time when we’ve lost our way.
TRENTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee today unanimously approved the nomination of Kevin Ryan to be Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families.
The 10-0 vote sent the nomination of Ryan to the full Senate where a floor vote could be held as early as next Monday, Sept. 25th.
TRENTON – Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement on needle exchange legislation, S-494, that passed, with amendments, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee by a vote of 5-2-1.
“Minorities and women, in particular, are dying every day due to violent crimes committed with guns over drug territories. Heroin of up to 99% purity is on the streets of our cities. The most recent drug problem law enforcement has encountered is the mixing of a substance known as fentanyl with heroin. This mixture has caused a rapid increase in the number of overdoses in our urban communities.
MANALAPAN – On Tuesday, September 19, the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing in Manalapan on a package of home contractor reforms to protect new home buyers in New Jersey.
The hearing, the last in a series of regional hearings to focus on new home buyer protections, will take place at the Manalapan Township Municipal Complex, 120 Route 522 (at Taylors Mills Road) at 7 P.M.
TRENTON – Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement today regarding the placement of needle exchange legislation on the agenda in the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on Monday, September 14th, at 10 a.m. in room 6 of the State House Annex.
“I am adamantly opposed to any measure that would provide drug users with free needles. I will never accept the idea that putting more needles on the street will decrease the spread of disease. Free needles allow those on drugs to remain on drugs for the rest of their lives.
CLIFTON – The Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform has selected Clifton as the site of the first meeting it will conduct for purposes of gathering public comment on pensions and health benefits provided to state, county, municipal, and school district employees.
“We have spent more than a month gathering information from various experts and professionals from across the country,” said Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Passaic), one of the co-chairs of the joint committee. “Now New Jersey taxpayers and residents will have the opportunity to air their ideas and opinions on pensions and benefits reform. With everyone’s collective input, we will work to craft legislation aimed at putting downward pressure on property taxes.”
TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Bernard F. Kenny Jr. today chastised legislative Republican leaders for seeking to “tamper with the election process for political purposes” and for injecting negativity into the U.S. Senate campaign.
“Just like they did in 2001, the Republicans want to tamper with the election process for strictly partisan purposes,” said Senator Kenny, D-Hudson.
TRENTON – Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset, co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Consolidation and Shared Services, issued the following statement today regarding the Committee’s hearing on the successes many New Jersey communities are achieving through joint insurance funds and healthcare pools:
“We heard today that New Jersey is achieving great success in centralizing the administration of health and liability insurance funds. As we continue to explore every option to bring relief to State taxpayers, we should see if we can build on the successes in these two areas to promote shared services across the board.
TRENTON – Senator Raymond J. Lesniak made the following statement before the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission today:
“In 1982, I voted to reinstate the death penalty in New Jersey. I was wrong. Thank God, no one has been executed to date. And thank God, no innocent person was executed. As the saying goes, ‘There but for the grace of God….’
TRENTON – Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, D-Union, who serves as co-Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform released the following statement regarding today’s meeting:
“Today we begin our discussion of health benefits for public employees, and how they figure into the larger picture of benefits reform. The health care crisis is not merely confined to the State Health Benefits Program, nor are its negative effects experienced solely by public employers. As the cost of providing quality health care has skyrocketed, all New Jerseyans, and all Americans are faced with the fear that they will not have adequate insurance coverage. Employers both private and public are straining to meet the needs of their employees, sagging under the duress of ever increasing premiums with no imaginable end in sight.
TRENTON – Senator Joseph V. Doria, D-Hudson, a member of the joint legislative panel reviewing school funding reform, issued the following statement on today’s hearing regarding federal education mandates and special education:
“Today’s hearing showcased the continued resistance that unfounded federal mandates and misplaced special education priorities provide to establishing real school funding reform.