Cherry Hill

ADLER-BUONO BILL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IN STATE AGENCIES APPROVED

TRENTON - A bill sponsored by Senators John H. Adler and Barbara Buono which would give the State Auditor the authority to conduct performance reviews of State agencies to ensure that government is held accountable for its spending was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 38-0.

"State government can no longer look the other way when it comes to fiscal recklessness and runaway spending," said Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill. "We all recognize that we have to do more with less, and that we have to make an efficient government a top priority. By asking the Auditor to root out government waste, we will be able to have more accountability for the taxpayers' dollar."

"This year more than ever, we're seeing the price of government waste," said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. "Programs have gotten too big, too fast, without demanding results that really matter to the taxpayers of New Jersey, and as a result, we find ourselves in almost a perpetual budget crisis. We need to conduct constant reviews, to ensure that government stays on track and the end result - the benefit to the taxpayer of New Jersey - is our primary focus."

TURNER: HEARINGS NEEDED ON SCHOOL ELECTION ISSUE

TRENTON - Senator Shirley K. Turner agreed today to call hearings shortly by her Senate Education Committee on what election cycle Spring school board votes should be shifted to "so as to never repeat the dismal turnouts we just witnessed statewide."

As Chair of the Senate Education panel, Senator Turner, D-Mercer, said the hearings could begin over the next two months to weigh multiple legislative proposals such as her bill to shift the school board elections to the date of the November general election.

ADLER INTRODUCES BILL TO HOLD DEPARTMENTS ACCOUNTABLE

TRENTON - On the eve of Governor Corzine's first annual budget address, in which he's expected to announce tough initiatives to close a $4.5 billion deficit, Senator John H. Adler has introduced legislation to hold departments accountable to the people of New Jersey.

"In his inaugural address, Governor Corzine asked us to hold him accountable," said Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill. "That principle of accountability should hold true across all levels of government. In tough economic times, we need to make sure that the taxpayers of this State are getting what they pay for."

ADLER: "DEATH-BY-SMOKING SUIT" IS GROTESQUE

TRENTON - Senator John H. Adler, the prime sponsor of the smoke-free law set to take effect next month, said its legal challenge today by a group of disgruntled restaurant and bar owners is a "grotesque misfire which can only lead to more cancer, heart disease, human suffering and death" by second-hand smoke.

"It's pathetic that these restaurant and bar owners have the gall to try and keep poisoning the bodies of their workers and customers," said Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill. "They should take the money they're spending on lawyers and lobbyists and put it into health care for their workers."

ADLER: TAX REFORM CLOCK SET TODAY

TRENTON - Senator John H. Adler, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today made the following comment on the Inauguration Day of Governor Jon Corzine.

Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill, has led the effort in the Senate to provide for a Constitutional Convention on property tax reform.

TRENTON - Senator John H. Adler, D-Cherry Hill, made the following statement today following the final passage of bill S-2083, which would give domestic partners funeral and inheritence rights, and S-2167, which would permit public entities that do not participate in the State Health Benefits Plan to offer health benefits to the domestic partners of employees:

"New Jersey has been at the forefront when it comes to recognizing and protecting the rights of families. Today we continue that work by expanding the rights provided by domestic partnerships.

TRENTON - Domestic partners would have the same rights as married couples with respect to inheritances and funeral arrangements under a bill sponsored by Senators John H. Adler and Nia H. Gill that was approved by the Senate today.

"The citizens of the State of New Jersey realize that there are many ways to form a family," said Senator Adler, D-Cherry Hill and the sponsor of the original bill to create domestic partnerships. "Currently, same-sex couples have no rights when it comes to administering the funeral of a passed partner. It makes little sense to grant this right only to married couples and deny it of domestic partnerships."

I wanted see Jon Corzine in person at some point before the polls close, so I made my way at the crack of dawn to a fire station at the uptown end of Washington Street in Hoboken, where the senator was to cast his ballot shortly after 6 A.M.

Corzine could just as easily have voted absentee (as apparently hundreds of thousands of N.J. voters have), but then he wouldn't have been to offer the press the obligatory candidate-takes-part-in-democracy photo op.

Maybe it's because he's favored to win, or maybe it's because of Hoboken's just-across-the-river proximity to Manhattan, but I counted at least 19 men and women with still and video cameras crammed into the firehouse. I may be wrong, but I don't think there were any print reporters there; this was all about getting a picture on today's newscasts. (I also wondered how many TV cameras will record Doug Forrester voting in West Windsor, which is a pretty long drive from both New York and Philadelphia.)

When Corzine flung open the maroon curtain and emerged from the bvoting booth,someone-- one of the cameramen, I think-- shouted, "Give us a thumbs up!" And the candidate did. Then Corzine moved outside-- politiciking is prohibited in polling stations-- and the scene looked like New Hampshire, circa January 2004: a crush of cameramen elbowing and nudging each other for position as Corzine fielded a few questions.

Nothing memorable was asked or said; again,this was all about the sound bite. One reporter asked him why the race had suddenly become "a squeaker."

"Polls are volatile," Corzine said. "I've seen polls as low as 4 and as high as 10. We'll see what it is tonight."

Then he hopped into the front seat of an S.U.V., which took off for the New Jersey Turnpike and Cherry Hill, where he was due to greet commuters-- and Philadelphia television crews-- at 7:30.

What Does a $470,000 gift to a State Union Boss Buy?

State Employees Who Double as Campaign Workers

In what appears to be a clear, criminal violation of State law, a Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) employee used a State email account and State computer to send an email message to her fellow State employees inviting them to come by her State desk to volunteer to help Jon Corzine's campaign for governor.