** Preview ** Senate To Vote On Fy 2010 Appropriations Bill, Environmental Infrastructure Funding, Changes In Emt Certification

TRENTON – The state Senate today approved a four-bill package focused on better preparing our students for the jobs of tomorrow, creating job-training opportunities for unemployed residents and helping our small businesses expand and grow. The bills were introduced in an effort to combat the state’s decade’s high unemployment rate and to reinvigorate New Jersey’s sluggish economy.

“New Jersey’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the country, so we can’t just sit by and hope things will get better,” said Senate President Sweeney. “In three years the governor has failed to put forward any kind of plan to create jobs. The Legislature, in the meantime, has put forward dozens of bills that would have created jobs and we are moving forward with more. We hope to have bipartisan support moving forward, because too many people in our state just cannot find a job.”

TRENTON – The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today approved three bills that would create job training opportunities for residents and provide incentives that will help small businesses expand and grow. The measures are part of a four-bill package introduced by Senate Democrats in response to the state’s decade’s high unemployment rate and the need to create job-training opportunities in New Jersey and to get residents back to work.

“New Jersey’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the country, so we can’t just sit by and hope things will get better,” said Senate President Sweeney. “In three years the governor has failed to put forward any kind of plan to create jobs. The Legislature, in the meantime, has put forward dozens of bills that would have created jobs and we are moving forward with more. We hope to have bipartisan support moving forward, because too many people in our state just cannot find a job.”

TRENTON – Senate President Steve Sweeney (D – Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland) and Senator Bob Gordon (D – Bergen, Passaic) today introduced legislation that will encourage small businesses to hire those who have been out of work for 30 or more days by providing them with a credit on their payroll taxes.

“Our 35 year high unemployment rate of 9.8% is simply unacceptable,” said Sweeney. “We have taken action before only to be stopped in our tracks by the governor. The governor’s ‘middle-class’ agenda may not include anything about jobs, but ours clearly does. We will continue to pick up the ball where he has dropped it.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney which would create a three-year pilot program to provide high school students with financial literacy education was unanimously approved by the Senate Education Committee today.

“A major contributing factor in the current national economic crisis is the fact that too many people don’t know the basics of personal finance,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “It’s easy to fall for the traps of the credit card mentality when you don’t understand the terms and conditions of your credit card, or don’t know the importance of balancing your checkbook. This bill would give students the instruction they need in personal finance to become self-sufficient and hopefully avoid the economic pitfalls which have hurt older generations.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney which would create a three-year pilot program to provide high school students with financial literacy education was approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee yesterday by a vote of 13-1.

“A major underlying factor in the economic collapse going on around the nation and around the world is a fundamental ignorance about personal finance,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “People have lived beyond their means for a long time, and have not recognized the consequences until it was too late. We need to educate future generations about the basics of financial literacy, so that hopefully we can avoid the credit card mentality which has helped to drag down our economy in New Jersey and around the country.”

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney which creates a three-year pilot program to provide high school students with financial literacy education was signed into law last week by Governor Corzine.

“This bill represents a significant step forward in making sure New Jersey’s students get the education they need in personal finance to make good financial decisions later in life,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “Whether it’s personal credit history, interest rate calculations or planning for retirement, too many students leave high school without an understanding of even basic financial concepts. For many, this ignorance has directly contributed to an epidemic of living and spending beyond their means, and it’s time we do something to counter the credit card culture mentality that has forced so many of our State’s youth to be saddled with crippling and massive debt.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney which would create a three-year pilot program to provide high school students with financial literacy education was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 35-1, receiving final legislative approval.

“New Jersey has to do a better job in preparing our students for the economic realities of the world around them,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “Ignorance of basic financial concepts like compound interest and credit ratings have contributed to years of living and buying beyond our means, and have helped to destabilize our global economy. We need to ensure that New Jersey’s students are given the education they need to make better financial decisions for the future.”