Morning News Digest: February 3, 2012

By Missy Rebovich

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Pascrell and Rothman face off with microphone time at Passaic  Dems dinner

It’s like the sun.

If you stare directly at the seven-headed chandelier in this North Jersey banquet hall for too long, you feel like you could lose your eyesight.

That central fixture lit up the polished dance floor in the Tides, an Italianate manse nestled on a mountain high above Paterson, where 9^th District rivals U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell didn’t dance tonight in a room jammed with party foot soldiers.  (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)

http://www.politickernj.com/54543/pascrell-and-...

Assembly panel moves A1 to chamber vote

The Assembly Judiciary Committee heard extensive testimony today before approving the marriage equality bill, A1. The panel approved the bill on party lines, 5-2, with two Democrats changing their previously held positions and one Republican – in her first day on the job – casting her vote with tears in her eyes.

Chairman Peter Barnes, (D-18), Edison, and Ralph Caputo, (D-28), Nutley, both reversed their previously held positions to release the bill from committee.  (Carroll, PolitickerNJ)

http://www.politickernj.com/54531/assembly-pane...

Englewood rabbi Boteach wants to go to Congress

Whoever survives the Democratic Primary showdown between U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell in the 9^th District may have to contend with a rabbi if Shmuel (Shmuley) Boteach has his way.

The Englewood rabbi/author told the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) before the organization’s filing deadline last night that he wants to be the party’s nominee for Congress and accordingly submitted his name.  (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)

http://www.politickernj.com/54526/englewood-rab...

Dems worry about Harris and Kwon as GOP decries political maneuvers

Absent confirmation hearings, Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are publicly weighing the early pros and cons of the two men Gov. Chris Christie nominated to the state Supreme Court, using dribbled out news to assess their fitness. 

“It’s politics,” said state Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-16), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, when asked why Committee Chairman state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-22) won’t comply with the governor’s call for swift hearings.  (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)

http://www.politickernj.com/54519/dems-worry-ab...

Christie’s golden touch: Romney raises $1.6M in N.J. over 3 months

Gov. Chris Christie’s endorsement of Mitt Romney was worth its weight in gold to the Republican presidential contender, new records show.

State donors wrote a whopping $1.6 million in checks to Romney’s campaign in the final three months of last year, more than tripling his overall take in New Jersey, according to a report filed this week with the Federal Election Commission.

The fundraising report is the first since Christie, who had been toying with a presidential bid, announced in October that he was backing Romney in a crowded Republican field. Since then, the records show that 86 cents of every dollar donated to a Republican candidate in New Jersey went to Romney.  (Renshaw and Rizzo, The Star-Ledger)

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/christ...

Christie in Denville: Tax cuts help all

From an auditorium packed with roughly 600 people at the Morris County School of Technology, Gov. Chris Christie discussed Thursday his plans for leading New Jersey to economic prosperity.

The governor knocked his Democratic predecessors for a “decade of stagnation.”

“We lost 117,000 jobs in 2010 alone. Seventy billion dollars in wealth left New Jersey between 2004 and 2010,” he said. “We had the largest budget deficit by percentage in the country. Taxes were raised 115 times by Gov. McGreevey, Gov. Codey and Gov. Corzine.”  (Townsend, Gannett)

http://www.app.com/article/C0/20120202/NJNEWS/3...

Gov. Christie brags about fights with Democrats

The crowd was familiar and friendly, and Gov. Chris Christie soaked it up like a sponge full of energy.

Speaking at a charter school in Denville before a packed gymnasium, the governor bragged about how he had Democrats fighting with him, not over spending money but over cutting spending.

“To have Democrats arguing with me about which taxes to cut, I feel like I have died and gone to heaven,” the governor said at his town hall event at Morris County School of Technology, a charter school in his home county.

He noted that despite cutting education money, test scores in the state remained high overall. However, the significant achievement gap among black, Hispanic and lower-income students also remains despite more state dollars going to urban districts.  (DeFalco, Associated Press)

http://www.app.com/article/20120202/NJNEWS10/30...

Ex-Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush attends N.J. Chamber of Commerce annual meeting in Whippany

A popular Republican governor tonight wowed a crowd of Morris County business leaders with his education reform message.

But it wasn’t Gov. Chris Christie.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush addressed 600 attendees at the county Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting at the Hanover Marriot Hotel in Whippany. He spoke about Christie’s signature issue in Christie’s home county, and the place where he cut his political teeth.  (Portnoy, The Star-Ledger)

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/ex-fla...

Sen. Sweeney declares Legislature will not send Christie a same-sex marriage referendum bill

State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) announced today that the Democratic-controlled Legislature will not consider moving legislation that would allow voters to decide through a ballot referendum is same-sex marriage should be legalized in New Jersey.

As the climax to a lengthy public hearing, the Democratic-controlled Assembly Judiciary Committee late Thursday afternoon voted 5 to 2 along party lines in favor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

The senator said the full Senate will vote on Feb. 13.  (Hester, New Jersey Newsroom)

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/sen-swee...

Assembly panel approves bills to force more oversight over Port Authority

No officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey appeared Thursday at an Assembly hearing to discuss bills designed to make the agency more accountable.

The bistate agency’s snub didn’t stop the Assembly Transportation Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee from voting to release four bills that would make the agency more accountable and transparent in light of headlines about rampant overtime, hiring of the politically connected and the fiasco over last summer’s hastily approved toll and PATH fare hikes.  (Higgs, Gannett)

http://www.app.com/article/20120202/NJNEWS/3020...

N.J. Assembly panel approves bill raising mandatory school attendance from age 16 to 18

Legislation that would raise New Jersey’s compulsory school attendance age to 18 was approved Thursday by the Assembly Education Committee.

In an effort to reduce New Jersey’s high school dropout rate, the proposal (A-1411) would raise the age requirement for attendance from 16 to 18 years of age. Students who graduate high school before their 18th birthday would be exempt.

“Societal changes and the increasing demands of the labor market continue to place a premium on education,” Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer), a sponsor, said. “A person who stops attending school at age 16 will always lack the skills and preparation to successfully compete in the workforce and function in society.  (Hester, New Jersey Newsroom)

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/nj-assem...

Newark city councilman announces bid of U.S. Congress

Newark City Councilman Ron Rice made official his bid for U.S. Congress in a YouTube video today featured on his Facebook page.

In November The Star-Ledger reported that Rice was planning a run against 22-year incumbent Rep. Donald Payne Sr., (D-10th) the patriarch of one of Newark's most influential political families.

Congressional redistricting has left the 10th district in largely the same shape as before demographically, but includes more suburban voters, whom Rice will try to court. The 10th district includes parts of Essex, Union and Hudson Counties.  (Giambusso, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/newark...

Assembly committee votes to put charters under local control

The Christie administration’s slowdown in approving charter schools in the suburbs hasn’t slowed the push by Assembly Democrats to tighten controls on all charters -- possibly imperiling a slew of schools awaiting their final OK.

The Assembly education committee yesterday moved a bill that would give local voters the right to approve new charters in their home districts. If passed by both houses, the law would make New Jersey only the third state to require charter schools to face a local referendum.

First proposed last year, the new bill has been toughened for the new session. Amendments filed with the bill would make those referendums retroactive for as many as 30 urban and suburban schools awaiting their final charters.  (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0202/2354/

Three Republicans file to oppose Pascrell or Rothman in 9^th District

Democrats are not the only ones who will duke it out this spring to represent voters in the redrawn 9th Congressional District.

Three Bergen County Republicans applied this week to be the GOP nominee in the district, where Democrats hold the edge in terms of registered voters.

Most of the focus so far in the 9th District, which includes parts of Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties, has been on the high-profile Democratic primary battle between Rep. Steve Rothman of Fair Lawn and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. of Paterson.  (Ensslin, The Record)

http://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/Three_...

Fine Print: Sen. Ruiz’s new tenure bill

Synopsis: The bill (S-1455) is the latest working version of a measure to revise teacher tenure and evaluation in New Jersey.

Primary Sponsor: State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex)

What it does: The new proposed Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act makes key changes in Ruiz’s original bill filed last year. It tightens some provisions on how evaluations would be conducted and by whom; adds requirements for helping all teachers; and more closely aligns other provisions with changes sought by Gov. Chris Christie.  (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0203/0210/

Federal agency eases waiting time for offshore wind projects

The prospect of wind turbines spinning off the Jersey Coast grew more likely yesterday, when the U.S. Department of Interior cleared the way for leasing activities for offshore wind farms by the end of the year.

In finding that leasing and site assessment activities at potential offshore wind farm sites posed no significant environmental impact, the Bureau of Ocean Management probably shaved as much as two years off the time it would take developers to navigate the permitting process, according to offshore wind advocates.  (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0203/0025/

NJ checkup: Finding solutions before doctor shortage is critical

New Jersey’s chronic doctor shortage is expected to worsen as patients get older and sicker, and federal healthcare reform brings broader coverage for the uninsured. Over the next decade, the state will have 3,000 fewer doctors than needed, according to projections cited as the state legislature begins to tackle the problem.

The Senate’s health committee has approved a bill, S-173, requiring the state Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to convene a planning summit to address the doctor shortage and provide a “blueprint of what we need to do in New Jersey,” said Sen. Robert Singer (R-30), the measure’s sponsor.  (Fitzgerald, NJ Spotlight)

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0203/0053/

AP source: Fakebook IPO won’t affect Newark pledge

Facebook’s public stock offering apparently will not affect its company co-founder’s pledge of shares worth $100 million to the Newark, N.J., school system.

A person with direct knowledge of Mark Zuckerberg’s pledge said Thursday the gift did not specify a number of shares but was to total $100 million over five years, so it would not fluctuate because of a stock offering.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the donation and spoke on condition of anonymity.  (DeFalco, Associated Press)

http://www.app.com/article/20120202/NJNEWS10/30...

Rutgers-Camden chancellor denounces merger plan

Rutgers-Camden chancellor Wendell E. Pritchett spoke out forcefully Thursday against Gov. Christie's plan to merge the school into Rowan University, adding his weight to a movement within the state's flagship university to try to block the proposal.

Later in the day, Richard McCormick, president of the Rutgers system, issued a statement saying he had spoken with Pritchett and "shared many of his concerns."

"This is a very significant proposal. I will carefully consider all of the options before recommending to the Rutgers governing boards what I believe to be in the best interest of the entire university and the state of New Jersey," McCormick wrote.  (Osborne, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20...

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Tainted soil, ice arenas, medication disposal bill advances

The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee advanced three bills today, dealing with air quality in indoor skating facilities, disposal of prescription medications, and having public contracts address soil contamination issues.  (Mooney, State Street Wire)

http://www.politickernj.com/54539/tainted-soil-...

AG committee releases raw milk bill

The sale of raw milk by the state’s dairy farmers would be allowed under a bill released by the Assembly Agriculture Committee Thursday.

The committee voted 5 to 0 in favor of releasing the bill.

The bill, A-518, would allow the sales with some restrictions and would require a permit from farms seeking to sell raw milk.  (Isherwood, State Street Wire)

http://www.politickernj.com/54535/ag-committee-...

Pro-RGGI bill advances

The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee released a bill – along partisan lines – that seeks to keep the state in the regional emissions reduction initiative.

Last summer, Gov. Chris Christie pulled New Jersey out of the Northeastern cooperative known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, arguing that it was failing in its goal, that the solar energy market it seeks to subsidize is collapsing, and that the utility bill charge it carries puts the state at a disadvantage.  (Mooney, State Street Wire)

http://www.politickernj.com/54528/pro-rggi-bill...

From the Back Room

Aron: Freshman legislators caught off guard by new benefits law

NJTV Correspondent Michael Aron reports today on the new law restricting new members of the Legislature from obtaining state health benefits. 

The law, passed in 2010, ruled ineligible all part-time elected and appointed officials including mayors, council members and freeholders.  State legislators are part-time officials.  (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)

http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/aron-fres...

Romney camp not quite sure what Christie does for a living

Though Gov. Chris Christie is GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney's lead surrogate, it seems Romney is not quite sure what Christie does for a living.

The latest campaign finance report filed by Romney lists $2,500 donations from both Christie and his wife Mary Pat.  But in the field marked "contributor occupation," the Romney people list "Information requested per best efforts."  (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)

http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/romney-ca...

Opinion 

Politics may derail Christie judicial nominees

The wagons are circling. You can hear the predatory birds overhead.On Wednesday, prominent Korean-Americans rallied in Hackensack in support of Phillip Kwon, one of Governor Christie's two nominees to the state Supreme Court. Kwon is the first Korean-American and first immigrant nominated to the state's high court. Christie's announcement last week was greeted with cheers. The enthusiasm was short-lived.  (Doblin, The Record)

http://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/doblin...

Conflict between N.J. politics, justice at heart of ex-Hunterdon prosecutor’s lawsuit

Prosecutions and politics make a toxic soup. The mix endangers civil liberties and degrades support for the rule of law. When the power to prosecute is thought to be used for political purposes, who can trust anyone in authority?

Just think of what is happening in Hunterdon County.

Wednesday, one of New Jersey’s leading law enforcement authorities — granted, not a household name — sued in state court in Trenton, contending he had been fired 18 months ago because he opposed the prosecution’s dismissal of indictments brought against the then Hunterdon County sheriff and two of her employees.  (Braun, The Star-Ledger)

http://blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/2012/02/braun....