SMITH BILL TO AUTHORIZE OPEN SPACE BONDING APPROVED IN COMMITTEE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Environment Committee Chairman, Senator Bob Smith, which would give voters in November the option to approve up to $600 million in open space borrowing was approved by the Environment panel today by a vote of 4-1.

“Open space preservation is absolutely vital to preserving the quality of life in New Jersey,” said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset. “As the most densely populated state in the nation, there is more pressure to build on every open area in the State than anywhere else in the country. While I believe we need a healthy, consistent and sustained effort to preserve open space through dedicated funding, this bill will make sure that pristine open space isn’t gobbled up by suburban sprawl before we can finally come to agreement on just what that dedicated funding should look like.”

SMITH STATEMENT ON JOINT HEARING ON OPEN SPACE

TRENTON – Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset, and Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the joint hearing between his panel and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on the state of open space preservation efforts in New Jersey:

“Today, we heard from advocates from every corner of the State who had a common message – that, even in these tough economic times, New Jersey cannot shirk its responsibility to preserve pristine open space.

SMITH RENEWABLE ENERGY PACKAGE SIGNED INTO LAW

PISCATAWAY – A package of bills sponsored by Senator Bob Smith which will promote renewable energy usage throughout the State of New Jersey was signed into law today by Governor Corzine at the Busch Cogeneration Facility at Rutgers University’s Busch campus.

“Today, the Governor has taken a strong step forward in promoting clean, sustainable energy and New Jersey’s burgeoning green economy,” said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset, the Chair of the Senate Environment Committee. “As we continue to work to put New Jersey on strong financial footings during this national economic crisis, we need to look to alternative energy production as a valuable part of that, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and creating hundreds of new green collar jobs in the Garden State. These new laws will lower utility bills, advance renewable energy production, and serve as incentives to business growth in the State.”

EDISON – Fighting upside-down poll numbers as usual and wading into an election year budget battle with Republicans who say he’s a remote and rudderless Wall Streeter intent on doling out further pain to the middle class, Gov. Jon Corzine Wednesday night gave an arms-flailing, podium-pounding address long on defiance, short on patience with the opposing party, and layered generously with narrative slices from his own life.   

“I read the polls – I don’t like these things, well, it’s early – but I come from a 120-acre farm in the middle of nowhere,” cried Corzine, who told members of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization (MCDO) that he fought Hank Paulson, former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, before Paulson ousted him from Goldman and became secretary of treasury under President George W. Bush. 

State Sen. Bob Smith (D-Piscataway)

EDISON – At the Middlesex County Democratic Organization’s (MCDO) annual convention at the Pines Manor here tonight there was palpable frontrunner fever for Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) as the state’s first Democratic Party candidate for lieutenant governor.

“No one but (Gov.) Jon Corzine can make that choice, but Barbara Buono would be a magnificent lieutenant governor,” veteran state Sen. Bob Smith (D-Piscataway) told PolitickerNJ.com. “I think her chairmanship of the budget committee gives her a unique perspective, and she’s very well liked in Middlesex.”

In his introduction of the governor to the convention, Smith billed Buono as a fierce Corzine ally.

SMITH LICENSED SITE PROFESSIONALS BILL APPROVED BY FULL SENATE

Measure Would Break Backlog Of Site Remediation Projects By Allowing Professional Review, Approval

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, Chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, which would establish a licensed site remediation professional program in New Jersey to speed up the clean-up of contaminated sites around the State was approved by the full Senate today by a vote of 34-4, receiving final legislative approval.

“Right now, New Jersey has a backlog of over 20,000 known contaminated sites in the State that are not being cleaned up fast enough,” said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset. “These sites are a blight on our neighborhoods, a major public health hazard, and an impediment to the environmentally-sound redevelopment of our aging urban and suburban industrial communities. If we’re going to overcome the backlog, ensure the public health and transform these sites into useful, viable property, we need to change how we handle the site remediation approval process in the Garden State.”

SMITH BILL TO CREATE PANEL TO REVIEW CRIMINAL SENTENCING ADVANCES IN ASSEMBLY

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Bob Smith which would consolidate and refocus efforts to review the State’s criminal sentencing provisions to ensure greater fairness and efficient use of New Jersey’s resources was approved by the Assembly today by a vote of 60-14, with 3 abstentions.

SMITH-BUONO BILL TO CREATE FLEXIBILITY IN ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO SPEND FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS ADVANCES

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, Chair of the Senate Environment Committee, and Senator Barbara Buono, Chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, which would create needed flexibility in the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust Fund to allow the State to spend federal stimulus dollars on clean water and wastewater projects was unanimously approved by the Senate Environment Committee today.

SMITH BILL AUTHORIZING PUBLIC ENTITIES TO IMPLEMENT ENERGY SAVINGS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS SIGNED INTO LAW

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Environment Committee Chairman, Senator Bob Smith, which gives public entities the option to enter into energy savings improvement projects in order to leverage future cost savings to pay for energy efficiency projects, was signed into law today by Governor Corzine.

“This new law represents a significant step forward in promoting New Jersey’s green economy and creating new green-collar jobs in the state,” said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset. “Unfortunately, as the national economic climate continues to worsen, there is less capital available to public agencies to engage in environmentally sustainable, energy efficient construction. However, with this new law in place, green construction will literally pay for itself, with public agencies able to capitalize on future energy savings to shepherd projects from the design phase to reality.”

SMITH BILL AUTHORIZING PUBLIC ENTITIES TO IMPLEMENT ENERGY SAVINGS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS APPROVED BY SENATE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Environment Committee Chairman, Senator Bob Smith, which would give public entities an opportunity to enter into energy savings improvement projects, in order to leverage future cost savings to pay for energy efficiency projects was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 36-0.

“The future of our economy will rely very heavily on green-collar jobs and construction projects designed to enhance energy efficiency,” said Senator Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset. “As we continue to look for ways to mitigate the economic distress New Jersey is facing as a result of the national recession, we need to adopt a new paradigm in job creation and efficient use of our existing resources. We know that energy efficiency projects have a large return on their investment; through this bill, energy efficiency projects for public entities would quite literally pay for themselves.”