Joseph Roberts

ROBERTS/CONAWAY BILL REQUIRING INSURERS
COVER KIDS' HEARING AIDS HEADS TO GOVERNOR
'Grace's Law' Would Ensure Coverage for Children Below Age 16

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. and Assemblyman Herb Conaway, M.D. sponsored to require health insurance plans to provide coverage of medical expenses incurred for hearing aids for children 15-years-old and younger was today passed by the Assembly and sent to the Governor's desk.

ROBERTS: JACKSON A 'BRILLIANT CHOICE' FOR EPA

"At a time when the nation needs to recommit itself to the ideal that environmental stewardship and economic prosperity go hand-in-hand, President-elect Obama is making a brilliant choice."

ROBERTS STATEMENT ON CIVIL UNIONS REPORT

"As I have said many times before, same-sex marriage in New Jersey is only a matter of 'when,' not 'if.'

John Rooney, the longest serving member of the New Jersey State Assembly, has not yet made a decision about seeking re-election to a fifteenth term in 2009.  The 69-year-old Bergen County Republican has been battling some health issues lately, and hinted last year that he might not run again.  Rooney also faces the threat of a contested GOP primary now that Republicans who have been at odds with him in recent years control the county organization.

Rooney was first elected to the Assembly in 1983, when he won a special election to replace Joan Wright.  Wright became Director of the state Division of Women under Governor Thomas Kean.

If Rooney retires, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts would become the senior member of the State Assembly.  Roberts won an Assembly seat in a 1987 special election following the death of Francis Gorman.

STATEMENT OF ASSEMBLY SPEAKER ROBERTS

(TRENTON) - Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. today issued the following statement after the conviction of former Senator Wayne Bryant:

"Today's verdict underscores the need to build upon the reforms we've already implemented in the budget process and go even further on strengthening our ethics laws.  I look forward to working with the governor and the Senate to accomplish that goal."

An image from Pamela Lampitt's 2007 campaign website. The two-term Assemblywoman from Cherry Hill is not expected to seek John Adler's State Senate seat.

Assemblywoman Pam Lampitt is privately telling friends that she will not seek the 6th district State Senate seat that will be vacated by Congressman-elect John Adler.  Lampitt, entering her fourth year in the Assembly, has a strong relationship with Speaker Joe Roberts and sources suggest she would be a frontrunner for a committee chairmanship next session. 

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts is expected to announce tomorrow that Bill Castner will leave his post as Executive Director of the Assembly Majority Office in January and will be succeeded Bill Caruso, Congressman Rob Andrews' long-time chief of staff. 

ROBERTS COMMENDS KOLLURI APPOINTMENT
TO HEAD-UP SCHOOLS CONSTRUCTION EFFORT

(TRENTON) - Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. today applauded the appointment of state Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri to be the new chief executive officer of the Schools Development Authority - the state's $12.5 billion school construction program.

ROBERTS: JACKSON A 'TALENTED MIND AND STEADY HAND'
TO LEAD GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

(TRENTON) - Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. today released the following statement regarding Governor Jon S. Corzine's selection of state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson to be his Chief of Staff:

"With many tough challenges facing the state, Governor Corzine has chosen the right person in Lisa Jackson to lead his staff -- she is a talented mind and a steady hand."