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Abortion bill’s path remains uncertain as SCOTUS weighs Roe
Abortion rights activists this week renewed a push to advance a long-stalled bill that would codify New Jersey’s abortion protections and make a series of related reforms, but the bill’s path into law remains muddy amid U.S. Supreme Court cases that advocates fear could upend Roe v. Wade. Supporters of the bill held an event […]
GOP leaders file suit to block N.J. Statehouse vaccine policy
Republican lawmakers from both chambers filed a suit against the State Capitol Joint Management Commission Wednesday in a bid to block vaccine rules the panel approved last month. The filing from Sen. Steve Oroho (R-Sussex) and Assemblyman John DiMaio (R-Warren), who will lead Republican caucuses in their respective chambers in the next legislative session, alleges […]
Newark mayor, ex-campaign treasurer fined $30K over election law violations
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and a former campaign staffer who in 2018 pleaded guilty to embezzling over $220,000 in campaign funds were fined more than $30,000 for the finance violations, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission announced Wednesday. The commission found 264 reporting violations in disclosures submitted by Frederick Murphy, who served as treasurer […]
Panel approves nearly $740M in spending funded by pandemic windfalls
A bicameral panel approved nearly $740 million in spending using federal dollars and millions from a fund established to ease the state’s debt burden. Gov. Phil Murphy last week submitted a series of spending proposals to the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, which must approve expenditures made using federal aid dollars provided under the American Rescue […]
Budget panel to hear proposal to spend bonded funds
A bicameral panel will meet Tuesday to approve the first capital expenditures from a multi-billion dollar fund established to reduce New Jersey’s debt. Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday sent the panel a $435 million proposal for capital spending from a dedicated fund established with billions of dollars borrowed by the state late last year. Republicans, […]
Bill allowing pregnant prisoners to stay with child gets Senate companion
An Assembly bill that would impose new limits of inmate discipline and allow women who give birth behind bars to stay with their child got a Senate companion Monday. If passed, New Jersey would join a group of roughly 10 states that allow imprisoned mothers to remain with their child after giving birth. The Bureau […]
Murphy submits $263M spending proposal for federal funds
Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration outlined more than a quarter billion dollars in federally funded spending in a proposal shared with a legislative panel Tuesday. The governor’s proposal includes nearly $263 million in spending priorities that range from additional hospital funding, rental assistance, and money for school construction projects to items apparently unrelated to the pandemic, […]
Bill to make candidates subject to state bribery laws lurches into motion
A long-stalled Assembly bill that would make political candidates subject to the same bribery rules as elected officials appears to have lurched into the motion after receiving a bipartisan companion in the Senate. Assemblyman Greg McGuckin (R-Ocean) introduced the bill in 2012 after a federal judge dismissed extortion charges against then-Assemblyman Louis Manzo (D-Hudson). The […]
SCOTUS won’t hear Waterfront Commission’s appeal of N.J. withdrawal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case lodged by the Waterfront Commission of the New York Harbor in an attempt to keep New Jersey in the bistate compact. The body was tasked with combatting organized crime and ensuring fair hiring practices in ports on both sides of the Hudson River, […]
GOP gains leave Jersey Shore nearly free of Democratic legislators
Democrats’ successive losses over the past two legislative cycles have all but obliterated the party’s hold over the Jersey Shore. Starting on Jan. 11, only one Democrat, Sen. Vin Gopal, will represent the coastal region south of Sayreville in the Legislature, and even he finds himself on a precarious perch amid Republican enthusiasm that could […]
Business leaders celebrate coming glut of federal funds for infrastructure
New Jersey and national business leaders are celebrating coming investments following the signing of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is expected to bring tens of billions in federal dollars to the Garden State. The state is expected to receive nearly $6.9 billion in federal dollars for road and highway improvements, U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez […]
Guardian’s election brings LGBT representation back to Statehouse
The election of Don Guardian to the state Assembly will give New Jersey its first openly gay legislator in more than three years. Guardian, a former Atlantic City mayor, defeated Assemblyman John Armato (D-Atlantic) and Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick to bring LGBT representation back to the capitol, buoyed by Republican enthusiasm that gave the […]