Paul Sarlo

SENATOR SARLO REACTS TO OPENING OF PROPERTY TAX SPECIAL SESSION

TRENTON - Senator Paul A. Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic, released the following message today regarding Governor Jon S. Corzine's address to the State Legislature and the beginning of the special session on property tax reform:

"Governor Corzine delivered a clear message this morning that the key to providing property tax relief must focus on reforming the system rather than just throwing more money at the problem.

SARLO-CONIGLIO-McNERNEY CALL FOR VLTs TO HELP FUND BUDGET

TRENTON -Bergen County Democratic leaders - Senators Paul A. Sarlo and Joseph Coniglio and County Executive Dennis McNerney - today called for approval of video lottery terminals in the Meadowlands as a funding source of $300 million for the State budget.

"It's time to make use of this revenue-producer-in-waiting so New Jersey can help itself and not lose out to other states," said Senator Sarlo, whose 36th District also includes parts of Essex and Passaic counties. "The market is there and VLTs are coming to the States that take the action now to set them up.

SARLO URGES CAUTION FOR TEEN TANNERS

TRENTON - Senator Paul A. Sarlo, a Senate sponsor of the bill to restrict the use of tanning salons by teenagers, today said its enactment will help fight skin cancer for generations to come.

"Like smoking in earlier generations, young people didn't really know the cancer-causing dangers of over-exposure to ultraviolet rays until fairly recently," said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic. "With the medical evidence now convincing, we need this legislation to back up our warnings to young people who sometimes believe they are immune to danger."

ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CLEARS SARLO/GIRGENTI MEASURE STRENGTHENING PENALTIES FOR ORGANIZED SHOPLIFTING

TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senators Paul A. Sarlo and John A. Girgenti that would create the crime of “leader of an organized retail theft enterprise,� and impose prison time on persons found guilty of leading or participating in organized theft rings received unanimous approval today from the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

“This legislation would help apprehend members of these shoplifting rings on every level, from the low men on the totem pole to the ringleaders,� said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic. “Groups like these force store owners to raise prices, leaving the rest of us to have to pay more and make up for the lost profits. Tougher penalties are needed to send a clear message to these shoplifting organizations that the State is standing behind store owners and honest consumers, and we will not allow these theft rings to continue – if they are caught, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.�

"Organized retail crime is more serious than simple everyday shoplifting and that is why I am committed to fighting this growing problem," said Senator Girgenti, D-Bergen and Passaic. "The economic impact on the retail industry is enormous and usually gets passed onto the consumers. This bill would send a strong message by increasing the seriousness of organized retail crime, above and beyond what you would be prosecuted for if it were a regular theft.�

SARLO, CONIGLIO PRESS FOR BUDGET CUTS

TRENTON - Senator Paul Sarlo, a member of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee, today said the Legislature should seek "millions of dollars in additional cuts" before agreeing to raises taxes as a last resort.

"We have to find the collective will to make more painful cuts," said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic. "Governor Corzine has done a commendable job in making government more efficient, but we in the Legislature now have to go even further."

SARLO TOUTS $12 MILLION SAVINGS FOR BUDGET WITH MANAGED CARE

TRENTON - Senator Paul A. Sarlo today pledged to hold the State to a commitment he generated at a Senate budget hearing to offer managed care support services on a statewide basis to an estimated 50,000 eligible Medicaid recipients who are aged, blind or disabled.

"I'm glad the Department (of Human Services) agreed to go statewide with the managed care option, but now I want to make sure the followup is carried out," said Senator Sarlo, a member of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee.

SARLO: ARE STATE COLLEGE BELTS TIGHT ENOUGH?

TRENTON - Senator Paul A. Sarlo today asked New Jersey Higher Education officials to explain why increases in administrators and faculty at State colleges far exceed the rise in student enrollment for a four-year period that ended last year.

"Despite claims of belt tightening at the State colleges, I find it very troubling that so many more faculty and administrators were added while student enrollments lagged," said Senator Sarlo, the lead inquisitor for the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee's examination of the higher education portion of Governor Corzine's proposed spending plan.

Lyndhurst Mayor Richard DiLascio is considering a bid for State Senate against Democratic incumbent Paul Sarlo in 2007, several South Bergen GOP leaders say. DiLascio was elected Mayor of Lyndhurst in 2005, heading a slate of local candidates that ousted longtime Mayor James Guida. Running with Assembly Minority Leader Paul DiGaetano, he lost a 2003 Assembly race to Democrat Frederick Scalera by 1,302 votes, and won 36% of the vote in a 1997 Republican primary against incumbent State Senator John Scott.

Paul Sarlo, a 37-year-old Democratic State Senator and the Mayor of Wood-Ridge, is viewed as a man of considerable political ambition. When it looked as though Richard Codey might be moving on to the United States Senate, Sarlo was actively seeking votes for Senate President. He is keeping an eye on the ninth disrict House seat, in case Congressman Steven Rothman decides to run for something else down the road. And Democrats know know Sarlo well say the assume he has his other eye on Drumthwacket. But first Sarlo must win re-election to the Senate in a district where the GOP says Sarlo's business and family ties could put the 36th into play. Republican insiders believe that Sarlo's day job, as a civil engineer for a construction company owned by Joseph Sanzari, is a potential liability. Sanazri, whose public contracts in New Jersey have reportedly exceeded $50 million over the last two years, has gotten some attention in recent weeks from a federal grand jury investigation of his friend, New Jersey Turnpike Authority Chairman Joseph Simunovich. Sanzari allegedly gave Simunovich free rides on his jet. Sanzari, his family and his companies have contributed over $500,000 to political campaigns and party organizations over the last four years. Sarlo also has a potential problem with his two brothers: Thomas Sarlo, is a Little Ferry Councilman, and another brother, Charles Sarlo, is the in-house counsel to a politically active architectural firm, DMR Architects of Hasbrouck Heights that has contracts with Little Ferry and Wood-Ridge to help plan local redevelopment contracts. According to the Star-Ledger, DMR has donated more than $60,000 to Democrats in Bergen and Hudson counties in recent years, including contributions to the Sarlo campaigns. Sarlo won his Senate seat by an impressive margin over former Assemblyman John Kelly in 2003, but Republicans would need to recruit one of three candidates to challenge Sarlo: former Assemblyman (and gubernatorial candidate) Paul DiGaetano, Bergen County Clerk (and former Assemblywoman) Kathleen Donovan or Nutley Mayor Joanne Cocchiola. One Democratic leader wondered why Sarlo doesn't just obviate any appearance of a conflict and find an engineering job with a firm that doesn't do business with the state.

SARLO/GIRGENTI MEASURE TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR 'ORGANIZED SHOPLIFTING' CLEARS SENATE LAW, PUBLIC SAFET, AND VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

TRENTON - A measure sponsored by Senators Paul A. Sarlo and John A. Girgenti that would expand current shoplifting laws by establishing penalties for "organized retail theft enterprises," received unanimous approval today from the Senate Law, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee.