SWEENEY BILL TO ENHANCE NEW JERSEY INVESTMENT STRATEGY SIGNED

New Law Will Authorize Pension Funds and Cash Management Funds to Help Support NJ Businesses, Make Safer Long-Term Investments

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney to give the State Division of Investment more options in terms of how they invest State cash management and pensions funds was signed into law last week by Governor Corzine.

“The current national economic crisis has demanded that we be more flexible with how New Jersey invests its money,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “With enhanced authority, the State Investment Council can invest funds in New Jersey bank and credit union accounts, which will help encourage lending to State businesses, small and large. This law will allow the Investment Council to immediately begin to reshape our State’s investment portfolio to increase the return while helping to rebuild New Jersey’s economy.”

GORDON-WEINBERG BILL TO PROTECT VULNERABLE ADULTS FROM ABUSE ADVANCES

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Bob Gordon and Loretta Weinberg which would require certain public officials to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation against vulnerable adults suffering from physical or mental illness or disability was unanimously approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee yesterday.

“New Jersey needs to do a better job protecting its most vulnerable population,” said Senator Gordon, D-Bergen, and a member of the Senate Health Committee. “Unfortunately, under current law, reporting of suspected abuse or exploitation of vulnerable adults is entirely voluntary, even among public servants sworn to protect the community. This bill codifies what should be considered common sense, and helps abused individuals get access to the help they need.”

SCUTARI - RED LIGHT CAMERAS STILL WRONG FOR NEW JERSEY

Senator Denounces Decision to Move Ahead with Programs in Newark, Brick and East Brunswick

TRENTON – Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, D-Union, an opponent of a pilot program that uses traffic signal surveillance cameras to catch people who run red lights, issued the following statement today regarding the fact that three New Jersey municipalities – Newark, Brick and East Brunswick – appear ready to go live with their red light camera systems:

“I’ve said in the past that red light cameras are a mistake, and I’m disappointed that three municipalities in the State are moving forward with the program. Simply put, these cameras are nothing more than a money-grab for municipalities, and will result in more traffic accidents than if we did nothing at all.

SCUTARI - RED LIGHT CAMERAS STILL WRONG FOR NEW JERSEY

Senator Denounces Decision to Move Ahead with Programs in Newark, Brick and East Brunswick

TRENTON – Senator Nicholas P. Scutari, D-Union, an opponent of a pilot program that uses traffic signal surveillance cameras to catch people who run red lights, issued the following statement today regarding the fact that three New Jersey municipalities – Newark, Brick and East Brunswick – appear ready to go live with their red light camera systems:

“I’ve said in the past that red light cameras are a mistake, and I’m disappointed that three municipalities in the State are moving forward with the program. Simply put, these cameras are nothing more than a money-grab for municipalities, and will result in more traffic accidents than if we did nothing at all.

SWEENEY-SARLO BILL TO CUT EMPLOYER TAXES AND DISCOURAGE RAIDING OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FUND SIGNED INTO LAW

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman, Senator Paul A. Sarlo, which would reduce employer taxes paid to the unemployment insurance (UI) fund when the fund’s reserves exceed a certain cap was signed into law last week by Governor Corzine.

“New Jersey’s UI fund has been tapped in good times and bad to pay for a variety of unrelated programs, and over the last few years, the tab has come due,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “It’s only through massive cash infusions by the State Legislature and a tax increase on employers this fiscal year that we’ve kept the fund solvent. This cycle of diversion and emergency infusion is bad public policy, jeopardizing the fund’s long-term fiscal integrity and costing taxpayers billions.”

SWEENEY BILL ESTABLISHING FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAM SIGNED INTO LAW

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney which creates a three-year pilot program to provide high school students with financial literacy education was signed into law last week by Governor Corzine.

“This bill represents a significant step forward in making sure New Jersey’s students get the education they need in personal finance to make good financial decisions later in life,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “Whether it’s personal credit history, interest rate calculations or planning for retirement, too many students leave high school without an understanding of even basic financial concepts. For many, this ignorance has directly contributed to an epidemic of living and spending beyond their means, and it’s time we do something to counter the credit card culture mentality that has forced so many of our State’s youth to be saddled with crippling and massive debt.”

CRYAN STATEMENT ON ELECTION OF
STEPHEN SWEENEY AS NEXT SENATE PRESIDENT
AND SHEILA OLIVER AS NEXT ASSEMBLY SPEAKER

(TRENTON) – Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan today issued the following statement as Democrats voted to elect new Leadership in the Legislature:

SARLO MEASURE TO STREAMLINE PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT ADVANCES

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Paul A. Sarlo which would streamline the property tax reassessment process in order to provide quicker relief for property taxpayers during the current national recession was unanimously approved by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee today.

“Homeowners are dealing with the fallout from a nearly unprecedented economic crisis and the bursting of the national real estate bubble,” said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic. “As a result, many property taxpayers may be paying taxes on property which very simply isn’t worth what it used to be. This bill simplifies the mechanism by which neighborhoods can reassess property values in a declining real estate market, in order to hopefully bring some measure of relief to hard-hit taxpayers more quickly.”

LESNIAK-CUNNINGHAM BILL TO GIVE JUDGES MORE DISCRETION FOR NONVIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS CLEARS JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Sandra Bolden Cunningham to amend New Jersey’s drug-free school zone law to give judges more discretion in sentencing nonviolent drug offenders was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee today by a vote of 8-5.

“When we first created drug-free school zones, the intent was to protect children from being ensnared in the criminal drug trade,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union, and a member of the Judiciary Committee. “However, the practical implications of drug-free school zones over the last 20 years have been a judiciary stripped of any discretion regarding sentencing nonviolent offenders, and a legal policy favoring incarceration over rehabilitation for people who would hardly be considered dangerous drug kingpins. Giving judges more discretion over drug crimes will create a fairer, smarter sentencing policy for drug offenses that gets drug-addicted individuals into treatment rather than into prison.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Sen. Shirley Turner to create a permanent interdistrict public school choice program that establish choice districts that could enroll students across district lines was approved 4-0 today by the Senate Education Committee.

The bill (S2982) would allow local or regional districts to choose to participate in the program to apply to the Commissioner of Education by April 30 in the year prior to the district entering the choice program. The application would be approved or rejected within three months.