Ronald Rice

RICE FIGHTS NEEDLES EXCHANGE ON SENATE FLOOR

BOTH HOUSES ARE EXPECTED TO APPROVE THE SYRINGE ACCESS MEASURE TODAY

TRENTON - Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement today regarding the expected final Legislative approval of a bill to begin needle exchange programs in New Jersey.

Senator Rice said he sent a packet of information to his colleagues in the Legislature in hopes to persuade the members to vote against needle exchange. The information includes the OLS findings which disprove many of statistics that pro-syringe access activists have been spreading.

"If you read through the packet of information that is attached you will see that my arguments for blocking needle exchange are valid. I ask that all the members of the media take the time to see the truth about needle exchange.

SENATE TO TAKE UP PROPERTY TAX REFORMS, NEEDLE EXCHANGE ON MONDAY

TRENTON - The full Senate will meet on Monday to vote upon a packed agenda that includes many of the reforms proposed by the Joint Legislative Committees on Property Tax Reform, needle exchange legislation and three Senate committee hearings.

"From the onset, our goal has been to provide immediate relief to New Jersey's taxpayers and lasting, long-term reforms to our system," said Senate President Richard J. Codey. "Many of the proposals coming up for a vote this week will help us reign in out of control spending and tax levies and get growth under control. This process is definitely a marathon, not a sprint, and will be sustained in part by the proposed property tax credit until our more complex reforms are implemented and begin to pay dividends."

RICE GEARS UP TO FIGHT NEEDLE EXCHANGE BILL

TRENTON - Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement today regarding the placement of needle exchange legislation on the agenda in the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on Monday, September 14th, at 10 a.m. in room 6 of the State House Annex.

"I am adamantly opposed to any measure that would provide drug users with free needles. I will never accept the idea that putting more needles on the street will decrease the spread of disease. Free needles allow those on drugs to remain on drugs for the rest of their lives.

Newark Democrats say that newly-elected North Ward City Councilman Anibal Ramos, Jr. is a possible candidate for State Senate in the 28th district in 2007. Mayor Cory Booker is expected to back a challenger to Ronald Rice, who has held the seat since the death of John Caufield in 1986; Rice won just a quarter of the vote against Booker in his run for Mayor last spring. With the strong support of Newark Democratic leader Stephen Adubato, Sr., Ramos easily defeated incumbent Hector Corchado in the race for City Council.

Newark Councilman-At-Large Luis Quintana remains a possible candidate for the State Senate in the 29th district, where Booker -- and an increasingly large number of Essex County Democrats -- seem interested in ousting the incumbent, former Mayor Sharpe James.

But one insider says it would be highly unlikeky for Democrats to replace Newark's two African American Senators with two Latinos -- strongly suggesting that there is little chance for Ramos and Quintana to both go to the Senate next year.

Only one Latino has ever served in the New Jersey Senate: Robert Menendez, who represented Hudson County from 1991 (following the death of Christopher Jackman) until his election to Congress in 1992.

RICE DEMANDS FARBER INTERVENE IN GETTING ANSWERS FROM THE GANGLAND SECURITY TASK FORCE

NEWARK - Senator Ronald L. Rice released the following statement today in regards to the rising gang-related crime in New Jersey and the lack of noticeable progress by a task force assembled to study the problem.

"We need to have real action immediately on solving the gang problem in our State. The killings and shootings are taking place on a daily basis in our urban communities and we no longer have time for empty rhetoric -- we need solutions now.

RICE HAS NEW FORMULA FOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

TRENTON - Senator Ronald L. Rice said that to ease the tax burden on New Jersey's residents, the property tax rebate formula should be changed so that 20 percent of the rebate is directly allocated to municipalities to help curb their need to raise local taxes.

"We must recognize the burden imposed on New Jersey residents who are doing all they can just to get by as the State continues to ask more and more of them," said Senator Rice, D-Essex.

RICE-VITALE BILL TO SET UP COMMUNITY-BASED LIVING FOR DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED RECEIVES FINAL LEG. APPROVAL

TRENTON - A bill sponsored by Senators Ronald L. Rice and Joseph F. Vitale which would begin to move certain residents in New Jersey's developmental centers to live in community-based settings was unanimously approved by the Assembly today, receiving final legislative approval.

"Through this legislation, we can give adults living with disability a little freedom and independence while still giving them the treatment and attention they need," said Senator Rice, D-Essex. "Moving out on one's own is a turning point for many from adolescence to adulthood, and we're extending that same opportunity to New Jersey's developmentally disabled community. If their individual treatment plan allows it, developmentally disabled citizens should be allowed to find their own place in the community."

LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS TO OUTLINE 2007 BUDGET PRIORITIES TOMORROW

RICE OPENS THE EMINENT DOMAIN DEBATE IN SENATE

TRENTON - Senator Ronald L. Rice, Chair of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee today, released the following statement regarding his eminent domain reform bill, S-1975, which would safeguard the practice against abuse while protecting an important community redevelopment tool.

"The issue of eminent domain generates a great amount of passion among individuals, especially those who face the loss of their property. Their individual passion is certainly understandable.

"While the General Assembly has had a number of public hearings, this is the first of many hearings in the Senate on the topic of eminent domain. While I am sure there are those that will argue that this bill does not go far enough, I believe it takes a balanced approach to this issue.

"One of the most fundamental tenets in our democracy is forging the proper balance between the needs of the many versus the needs of individuals. The short term debate over the use of this tool can obscure the longer term benefits of certain projects.

RICE: WE NEED TO MOVE FASTER IN BUILDING NEW SCHOOLS

TRENTON - Senator Ronald L. Rice, Chair of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, made the following statement today after the Committee heard testimony from representatives of the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) on the status of pending school construction projects:

"The main thing that I am concerned with is the time frame in which these schools will be built. The Administration has been moving in the right track with the SCC and improving its accountability, but now they need to move on funding the schools we have promised to build.