TRENTON – The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved several key budget bills today, showing their commitment to passing a budget before the June 30th deadline.
“With only ten days to go until the budget is due, it is important that we keep moving forward in the process so that this budget passes on time,” said Senator Wayne Bryant, D-Camden and Chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. “Today we started assembling the pieces of a fiscally responsible budget that benefits the people of New Jersey not just this year, but puts the State in a better financial position for years to come.”
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which would reinstate the Public Advocate as a watchdog agency to protect the interests of everyday New Jerseyans was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 25-12.
“Reinstating the public advocate is a necessary step to give a voice back to the voiceless, and ensure that State government truly represents the best wishes of the people it represents,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “Under the current system, it sometimes seems like the politically-connected or well-represented are the only ones with access enough to change the course of government, while the needs of the working poor and less advantaged go by the wayside. With a strong Public Advocate back in place to help those State residents who sometimes fall through the cracks, we can ensure that New Jersey will be responsive to the real needs of the people we serve.”
TRENTON – Senator Nicholas J. Sacco’s legislation to permit local school districts to implement random drug testing policies for student athletes was approved by the full Senate today.
“We need to do everything in our power to reduce the prevalence of drug use among students in our schools,” said Senator Sacco, D-Bergen and Hudson. “It concerns me that our student athletes see professional athletes using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs and feel they must follow suit to stay ahead of the curve. We need to empower our schools with the ability to curb this problem before it starts and provide students already abusing drugs to get the help they need.”
TRENTON – Legislation, sponsored by Senator Ronald L. Rice which would establish a new State monitoring system to ensure student proficiency in the core curriculum, was approved by the full Assembly today.
According to Senator Rice, “The New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) is the only system that can rewrite the present school takeover laws and ensure that children are learning what the State requires.”
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Barbara Buono that would require students at New Jersey’s public colleges and universities to go outside to light up their cigarettes received final legislative approval as it passed the Assembly today.
“Allowing students to smoke inside of dorm buildings is an unacceptable health risk,”said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “Not only does smoking dramatically increase the potential for a serious fire, but it also exposed non-smoking classmates to the dangers of second-hand smoke. College students need to realize when you live in a dormitory, your actions affect your neighbors as much as they affect you. Students who choose not to smoke should not have to deal with these risks.”
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Shirley K. Turner that would require all voting machines to produce an individual paper record for each vote cast passed the full Assembly and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today.
“Every November, the millions of New Jersey residents go to the polls to exercise their basic right to vote and make their voices heard,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “Those people want assurances that each individual vote is counted every single time they go to the polls. While New Jersey has not faced the voting irregularities that have plagued Ohio and Florida in recent years, without a paper trail, there are no guarantees that the results reported at the end of the night reflect the votes of the people.”
TRENTON – A package of bills sponsored by Senator Wayne Bryant that would work to reform elections in New Jersey was approved today by the full Senate.
“This group of bills is designed to streamline the voting process,” said Senator Bryant, D-Camden and Gloucester. “As legislators, we must ensure that all eligible voters are able to make it to the polls, and cast their vote for the people they feel best represent their interests.”
TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senators Barbara Buono and Fred H. Madden that would establish a State domestic violence public awareness program was unanimously approved today by the full Senate.
“Education is the first step to empowering women to fight back against abuse,” said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “We will show them how to seek help if they are victims of domestic violence – how to seek out counseling and remove themselves from a hostile home environment. This campaign will get women the resources they need to begin the healing process and return to healthier, more normal lives.”
TRENTON – The Senate approved legislation today sponsored by Senate Shirley K. Turner that would raise the mandatory age for wearing a bicycle helmet from under 14 to up to 17 years old.
“Helmets save lives, plain and simple,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “While every individual from 3 to 103 should wear a helmet while riding a bike or skateboard, it is especially important for our children to be protected. It is estimated that bicycle, skateboard and roller skate injuries cost American families more than $8 billion each year and that much of that cost comes from head injuries. There is simply no excuse for our youngsters to go out without a helmet on.”
TRENTON – Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset, the Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee and the prime sponsor of legislation which would create a State program to retrofit diesel engine with cleaner-burning technology, issued the following statement today regarding amendments approved on the Senate floor for his bill:
“The amendments adopted today represent a compromise between clean air and a healthy business climate, and that compromise will go a long way towards building a balance which we can all live with.
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Paul A. Sarlo and Joseph V. Doria to increase penalties on prescription drug dealers and crack down on the booming black market trade of stolen prescription drugs was approved today by the Assembly by a vote of 78-0.
“The retail of stolen prescription drugs, such as OxyContin and other prescribed pain killers, is big business in New Jersey, and we have to shut that business down,” said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic. “There’s big money for criminals to get involved in prescription drug-running, and we need more than just a slap on the wrists to deter others from getting involved as well.”
TRENTON – Two leading Senate Democrats said they liked what they heard today from Anthony Coscia, Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, about reducing flight capacity at Teterboro Airport.
“This is the first time we’ve had the Port Authority working with us as a partner to get the federal government to reduce the number of flights at Teterboro,” said Senator Paul A. Sarlo, Chairman of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee.
TRENTON – Senator Paul A. Sarlo today said he wants a legislative hearing Monday to highlight the need for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to help reduce the number of flights coming in and out of accident-troubled Teterboro Airport.
“I’m confident our effort to reduce flights at Teterboro will take off once we get the power of the Port Authority behind us,” said Senator Sarlo, Chairman of the Legislative Oversight Committee.
TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Joseph F. Vitale and Nia H. Gill which would enact a number of protections for gift card consumers, including a provision requiring that gift cards could not expire within a two-year period after purchase, was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee today.
“Many people save a gift card for a rainy day, but with little in the way of regulation, they may be surprised at the register to find that their gift card is either no longer valid, or has been severely diminished in value,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “Businesses should not be allowed to take advantage of their customers’ delay in redeeming gift cards, especially when such a delay may be no fault of the redeemer in the first place. Reasonable regulation is more than fair, and will put New Jersey at the forefront of consumer protection in regards to gift cards.”
TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Joseph Coniglio that would require retailers offering gift cards to disclose expiration dates and other conditions on those gift cards at time of purchase and restrict the fees that retailers can charge to gift card holders that carry a balance on the card passed the Senate Commerce Committee today.
“There is a basic expectation that a gift card will be treated the same as cash at the store we purchase it from,” said Senator Coniglio, D-Bergen. “However, some retailers have come to use expiration dates and hidden dormancy fees to reduce the value of these cards and increase their profit margins. Consumers deserve to know the terms and conditions of any gift card so they know exactly what they are buying.”