Briefs
Progressive, labor groups urge Democratic leaders to abandon campaign finance bill
The bill, sponsored by Senate President Nicholas Scutari, would remove checks on corruption and government spending, critics say in a letter.
Eight months after launch, fund for immigrant workers has doled out more than $30 million
Progressive groups and immigrant activists have called on the governor to allocate $1 billion for immigrants and their families excluded from federal pandemic aid.
Man gets new trial after Supreme Court finds he confessed during unlawful interrogation
The justices ruled detectives unlawfully continued to question a man accused of killing his wife after he inquired about obtaining an attorney.
N.J. colleges would be required to mandate COVID-19 vaccine under new bill
Many New Jersey colleges already require some students and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but a new bill would require colleges to do so.
N.J. train engineers ordered back to work after labor dispute sparks Juneteenth callouts
A federal judge on Sunday ordered New Jersey Transit train engineers back to work after hundreds called out sick over the weekend in a labor protest, prompting widespread cancelations and delays. Jim Brown, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, emailed all train engineers last Monday about Juneteenth, a federal and state […]
Assembly panel will weigh most of Murphy’s gun control package
An Assembly panel will weigh most bills included in Gov. Phil Murphy’s latest gun control package next week, but it’s still not clear when — or if — those measures will be heard in the Senate. The Assembly Judiciary Committee on Wednesday is scheduled to consider five of the bills the governor first announced in April 2021. […]
Senate clears bill enacting stricter bail rules for some gun offenses
The bill would permit court officials to detain more people suspected of committing gun crimes before trial.
Protesters demand state Senate president advance gun bills
About a dozen moms and children protested near Senate President Nicholas Scutari’s office in Clark Tuesday demanding the senate leader support the new push for Gov. Phil Murphy’s package of gun control bills. Though New Jersey is already home to some of the nation’s strictest gun laws, the protesters, dressed in red “Moms Demand Action” shirts […]
To make car stops safer, bill would require driver’s manuals to list drivers’ duties, rights
Two state lawmakers want to require the state to print motorists’ rights and responsibilities during police stops in the driver’s manual, a measure intended to make interactions with cops safer. Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr. (D-Burlington) and Assemblywoman Shanique Speight (D-Essex) introduced the bill earlier this month. “It’s certainly been raised in the public’s mind that more often than anybody […]
Judge tosses order that limited protests outside Hudson officials’ homes
A Superior Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise filed against a group of activists and voided a restraining order that had severely restricted when the group could protest outside DeGise’s home. The order, issued in December 2020, limited protests to a single hour every two weeks, barred more than 10 […]
Assembly panel to weigh tax credits for hiring people recovering from drug addiction
Assembly lawmakers will weigh a bill Thursday encouraging businesses to hire individuals recovering from drug addiction. The measure would provide businesses with gross income tax credits of up to $2,000 for each worker recovering from drug addiction, with the size of the award depending on how many hours an eligible employee works. “We have to […]
Lawmaker wants to make discrimination against weight, height illegal
Sen. Andrew Zwicker wants to make New Jersey the second state in the nation to ban weight and height discrimination, saying employers should not be able to discriminate against someone because of their body size or shape. Zwicker (D-Middlesex) introduced a bill last week that would expand the state’s Law Against Discrimination to include weight […]