TRENTON – Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement today during the Joint Committee on the Public Schools hearing on School Construction concerning the need to quickly approve his bill that would provide $3 billion to complete the projects put on hold.
“We have a responsibility to adequately meet the needs of our growing public schools, because failure means our children and residents will suffer.
TRENTON – Senator Joseph V. Doria Jr. today said the key to reforming the bankrupt school construction program in New Jersey is to place ultimate decision-making responsibility with the State Education Commissioner.
“We need to make one person accountable for the ultimate decisions and that should be the person most responsible for the education of our children – the Education Commissioner,” said Senator Doria, D-Hudson, and a member of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools.
THOROFARE – Senator Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, the Senate sponsor of the law to raise the minimum wage by $2 in New Jersey, released the following statement today following an event held by Governor Richard J. Codey at the Bergen County One-Stop Career Center to kick off the wage increase. The increase’s first installment of $1 goes into effect on Saturday.
“Saturday will trigger the start of giving dignity to New Jersey’s workers as they strive for self-sufficiency. The majority of workers earning minimum wage have families to support, and this increase will help them make ends meet more easily. I chose to sponsor this law because I feel it’s time New Jersey worked to ease the burden on its minimum wage earners – it’s just the right thing to do.”
THOROFARE – Senator Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem, the Senate sponsor of the law to raise the minimum wage by $2 in New Jersey, released the following statement today following an event held by Governor Richard J. Codey at the Bergen County One-Stop Career Center to kick off the wage increase. The increase’s first installment of $1 goes into effect on Saturday.
“Saturday will trigger the start of giving dignity to New Jersey’s workers as they strive for self-sufficiency. The majority of workers earning minimum wage have families to support, and this increase will help them make ends meet more easily. I chose to sponsor this law because I feel it’s time New Jersey worked to ease the burden on its minimum wage earners – it’s just the right thing to do.”
TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner has proposed the toughest crackdown yet on gasoline price gougers by fining repeat offenders up to $5,000 for each subsequent offense.
Money from the fines should be used to help low income seniors and the disabled pay their heating bills this winter when prices for natural gas and home heating oil are expected to skyrocket.
TRENTON – Three leading Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to crack down on gasoline price gouging by imposing stiff fines on greedy service station owners and the unscrupulous wholesalers who jack up their gas prices multiple times daily.
“We have to send a clear message that heartless profiteers should be fined heavily for their greed,” said Senator Nicholas J. Sacco, D-Hudson and Bergen, the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bernard F. Kenny, Jr., which would provide contract protections to beer and other malt alcoholic beverage wholesalers when dealing with brewers was unanimously approved by the Senate Law, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee today.
“This bill is about fairness, ensuring that brewers can’t reap the benefits from a wholesalers’ hard work in marketing their product, and then turn around and stick it to the wholesaler when the demand is high,” said Senator Kenny, D-Hudson. “The marketing and distributing of alcohol is big business in New Jersey, and wholesalers can spend millions carving a niche in the market for a specialty beer. We want to make sure that the contracts between brewers and wholesalers provide ample protection to allow wholesalers to be fairly compensated for their investments.”
WILLIAMSTOWN – A measure sponsored by Senators Fred H. Madden and Wayne R. Bryant that would require clinical laboratories to help with early kidney disease detection by monitoring creatinine levels in patients blood was signed into law today by Governor Richard J. Codey at the St. Matthew’s Baptist Church Community Development Center.
“Early detection is the key to ending the scourge of kidney disease,” said Senator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester. “Identifying kidney disease in its earliest stages will allow patients to receive the treatment they need to stall the disease and enable them to lead longer, healthier lives.”
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.
TRENTON – In his capacity as Senate President, Acting Governor Richard J. Codey today named Senator Nia H. Gill, D-Essex and Passaic, to be the new Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.
“New Jersey is extremely fortunate to have a public official with the integrity, the intelligence and the eloquence of Nia Gill,” Governor Codey said. “Senator Gill will make an outstanding Chair of this important committee because, as always, she will put the people first – just like her predecessor.”
TRENTON – A bill, sponsored by Senators Wayne R. Bryant and Nia H. Gill to boost the ability of locally-based health care centers to meet the needs of their communities was signed into law today by Acting Gov. Codey.
“The growing network of community health care centers serves the front lines of those in need,” said Senator Bryant, D-Camden. “By going into communities where they meet the needs of both the insured and uninsured, health care centers provide life-saving services to the underserved.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senators Paul A. Sarlo and Joseph M. Kyrillos to establish the “New Jersey Hall of Fame” to celebrate New Jerseyans who have made notable contributions to society was signed into law today by Governor Richard J. Codey.
“Too often the media negatively portrays New Jersey and its residents,” said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic. “We want famous New Jerseyans to know that we are proud of their accomplishments, and the Hall of Fame will serve as a tribute to those who have and continue to represent our State well around the country and throughout the world.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senators Steve Sweeney and Fred H. Madden that prohibits the use of scanning and re-encoding devices which are often used to gain illegal access to encoded information on ATM, credit, debit and other electronic payment cards was signed into law today by Governor Richard J. Codey.
“Anyone with access to re-encoding equipment and someone else’s credit card can become an identity thief,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “This new law will work to help protect consumers from having their identities stolen, and incurring sky-high credit card debt.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which would provide substantial protections for New Jersey’s consumers from identity theft, and give them the tools to prove their innocence after a theft takes place was signed into law today by Governor Codey.
“In today’s high-tech world, we’re learning more and more that a criminal with a stolen social security number can be a very dangerous thing,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “With the right information, a thief can run up thousands of dollars in illegal purchases, all the while leaving you holding the bag for their shopping spree. The damage done to an individual’s credit history from identity theft can be lasting and substantial, but with the right tools we can make identity theft cases less frequent and less devastating when they do happen.”
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Shirley K. Turner which would increase consumer protections from identity theft in New Jersey and allow victims greater ability to clear their names was signed into law today by Governor Codey.
“Identity theft is one of the most insidious crimes out there, because it turns a person’s good credit against them, racking up debt for someone else’s illegal purchases,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “In the Internet Era, information is oftentimes more valuable than material possessions, and anyone can become a victim at any time. However, with the proper precautions in place, New Jersey can help guard our residents from this particular type of victimization and ensure that consumers are not helpless to identity theft.”