TRENTON – Governor Jon S. Corzine today took action on the following legislation: 

S-869/A-3056 (Turner, Sacco/Wisniewski, Prieto, Gusciora) – Permits municipalities to adopt ordinances requiring bond from landlords in certain circumstances 

S-924/A-3791 (Van Drew/Milam, Albano) – Requires DEP to notify coastal municipalities of certain settlement discussions 

S-2502/A-3842 (Singer, T. Kean/McKeon, Cryan, N. Munoz, Evans) – Establishes “New Jersey Lung Cancer Research Fund”; provides for voluntary contributions by taxpayers on gross income tax returns 

S-2765/A-4231 (Rice/Watson Coleman) – Exempts certain HUD certified counseling agencies from licensing and regulation as debt adjusters; revises criminal practice of acting as debt adjuster 

S-2885/A-4089 (Girgenti, Sweeney/Wisniewski, Scalera, Evans) - Makes emergency medical technician certification valid for five years

SJR-72/AJR-129 (Turner, Bateman/Gusciora, Lampitt) – Designates first week in March of each year as “Technology Innovation Week”

A-1072/S-480 (Wagner, Voss, Moriarty, Evans, Greenstein/Gordon, Bateman) – Requires prompt parental and staff notification of contaminated soil found on school property 

A-2879/S-2050 (Diegnan, Vas, Chivukula, DeAngelo, Watson Coleman, Lampitt/Sarlo) – Allows certain corporate notices to be provided via electronic transmission 

A-2882/S-2049 (Diegnan, Vas, Milam, Watson Coleman, Lampitt/Sarlo) – Provides one hour and two hour service options for expedited over the counter corporate service requests 

A-3002/S-2518 (Scalera, Lampitt, Vas, Evans/Girgenti, Ruiz) – Requires school security drills to improve emergency preparedness 

A-3338/S-2391 (Giblin, Wisniewski, H. Smith, Evans/Cunningham, Sweeney) – Adds non-voting member of NJT board 

A-3657/S-2514 (Burzichelli, Green/Sweeney) – Concerns extension of certain local government financial agreements 

A-3990/S-3051 (Cryan, Chivukula/Whelan, Vitale) – Requires health care service firms to file annual cost report with DHS as condition of Medicaid reimbursement 

ACS for A-4227, 4228/SCS for S-3053, 3054 (Wagner, N. Munoz, Voss, Moriarty, Angelini, Stender/Gordon, Vitale) – Prohibits use of electronic smoking devices in indoor public places and sale to minors 

A-4301/S-3076 (Johnson, Spencer, Rodriquez, Evans, Gusciora, Greenstein, Ramon/Girgenti) – Brings State law into conformity with federal law concerning sharing of certain mental health information relating to the purchase and possession of firearms 

A-2754/S-1802 (Egan, Ramos/Weinberg, Madden) – CONDITIONAL Veto - The “Jobs, Trade and Democracy Act” 

The Governor issued the following conditional veto message on Assembly Bill NO 2754:

ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 2754 

To the General Assembly: 

Pursuant to Article V, Section I, Paragraph 14 of the New Jersey Constitution, I am returning Assembly Bill No. 2754 with my recommendations for reconsideration. 

I support the sponsors of this bill, the “Jobs, Trade and Democracy Act,” in their efforts to establish a formal role for the Legislature with respect to international trade agreements.  In this regard, it is appropriate to create a citizens’ commission to advise and assist the Governor and the Legislature concerning the effects of trade agreements on State and local laws, as well as to provide a forum for citizens and legislators to voice their concerns and make recommendations to protect New Jersey’s jobs and business environment from potential negative impacts of trade agreements. 

Accordingly, I herewith return Assembly Bill No. 2754 and recommend that it be amended as follows: 

Page 2, Section 2, Line 18:                                        Delete “often are not” and insert “have not always been” 

Page 2, Section 2, Line 19:                                        Delete “do” and insert “have” 

Page 2, Section 2, Line 19:                                        Delete “provide” and insert “always allowed for” 

Page 2, Section 2, Line 32:                                        Delete “some cases” and insert “the case of some other states, but not New Jersey,” 

Page 2, Section 2, Line 34:                                        After “without” insert “consultation or” 

Page 2, Section 2, Line 42:                                      After “involved.” insert “The Legislature therefore declares that it shall be the policy of the State of New Jersey that consultation with the State Legislature, through the Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Jobs, Trade and Democracy, shall be required for the State to be bound by any trade agreement.” 

Page 2, Section 3, Line 45:                                        After “Citizens’” insert “Advisory” 

Page 2, Section 3, Line 46:                                        After “Citizens’” insert “Advisory” 

Page 2, Section 3, Line 9:                                          Delete “a.”

Page 3, Section 4, Line 11:                                        delete “the consent of the State Legislature” and insert “consultation with the Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Jobs, Trade and Democracy established pursuant to section 5 of this act” 

Page 3, Section 4, Line 12

through Page 5, Section 4,

Line 3:                                                                       Delete subsections b., c., d., and e. in their entirety 

Page 5, Section 5, Line 5:                                          After “established” insert “in but not of the Department of the Treasury”  

Page 5, Section 5, Line 5:                                          After “Citizens’” insert “Advisory” 

Page 5, Section 5, Lines 7-8:                                     Delete “serving as State Legislative Points of Contact pursuant to section 4 of this Act” and insert “appointed at the beginning of each legislative session to serve during the term of the legislative session as follows:  one member of the Senate shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate and one appointed upon the recommendation of the Minority Leader of the Senate; and one member of the General Assembly shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly and one appointed upon the recommendation of the Minority Leader of the General Assembly” 

Page 5, Section 5, Lines 36-39:                                 Delete “Commission members are entitled, to the extent that the commission has the funds needed, to receive reimbursement of necessary expenses if they are not otherwise reimbursed by their employers or others whom they represent.” 

Page 6, Section 5, Lines 12-13:                                 Delete “Assist the State Legislative Points of Contact in carrying out their duties pursuant to section 4 of this act” and insert “Conduct an assessment of the impacts of international trade agreements on state and local laws, state sovereignty, and the business environment” 

Page 6, Section 5, Lines 16-18:                                 Delete “With the assistance of personnel of the departments and State agencies represented by the ex officio members of the commission, analyze and assess” and insert “Conduct an assessment of” 

Page 6, Section 5, Lines 22-24:                                 Delete “With the assistance of personnel of the departments and State agencies represented by the ex officio members of the commission, provide an annual” and insert “Recommend legislation or preferred practices and work with interested groups in other states to develop means to resolve the conflicting goals and tension inherent in the relationship between international trade and state sovereignty, and prepare and distribute a” 

Page 7, Section 5, Lines 20-28:                                 Delete subsection g. in its entirety and insert “g.  The commission shall hold annually, with adequate public notice, public hearings in each of not less than three regions of the State regarding the potential social, environmental, economic, and other impacts of trade agreements, and make the proceedings of the hearings available to the Legislature and the public.

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