Gov + Legislature
Lawmakers eye eliminating county constables in N.J.
Lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that would abolish county constables, five months after a state watchdog condemned constables as untrained, unsupervised — yet often armed — cop wannabes who are subject to no accountability. Sen. Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen) introduced the bill in March to implement the State Commission of Investigation’s recommendation to eliminate the “outdated” […]
N.J. moves to license cops in bid to increase public trust in policing
New Jersey will move to license its police officers in a bid to increase public trust and accountability, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday with legislators and police union officials. The move, if approved by lawmakers, means New Jersey would join the 46 states that already license law enforcement officials, and supporters say it would provide […]
GOP senator introduces bills to loosen gun restrictions in New Jersey
A freshman state senator inspired to run for public office after he was denied a concealed carry permit has introduced a bevy of bills that would expand gun rights in New Jersey. Most of the legislation sponsored by Sen. Ed Durr (R-Gloucester) seeks to loosen some of the famously tight restrictions New Jersey places on […]
Measure would use swelling cash surplus to offset unemployment tax hike
Assembly lawmakers are set to advance a bill to defray unemployment insurance tax hikes on businesses Thursday, their bid fueled by the state’s ample surplus cash. The automatic tax hikes are intended to replenish New Jersey’s unemployment trust fund, which pays out benefits to laid-off workers and was drained by skyrocketing jobless claims in the earliest […]
Calls mount for increased funding for New Jersey’s state parks
Sylvia Kocses had a great second date in 1967 at Washington Crossing State Park with the man who would become her husband. When they had kids, the park in Mercer County became their go-to, with its playgrounds, nature center, open-air theater, and 13 miles of trails. Now 71, Kocses takes her grandchildren and husband for […]
State projects billions more in revenue after income tax collections
New Jersey is swimming in cash, and the glut has lawmakers eyeing more tax relief. Two months after they issued already optimistic revenue projections, officials from the Treasury and Office of Legislative Services now predict New Jersey’s tax collections will surge above even those rosy expectations. The legislative office’s forecast collections for the current and […]
Drivers fleeing a crash with multiple victims can only be charged once, court rules
Drivers who flee crashes that leave multiple people dead can only be charged once with fleeing the scene, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday in an opinion that upholds the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition of multiple punishments for the same offense. Judge Julio Fuentes, writing for the court, said justices based their decision in […]
N.J. lawmakers seek to curb cannabis use
As New Jersey nears the end of its first month of legal recreational marijuana sales, lawmakers have introduced a series of bills aimed at restricting what types of workers can use cannabis off the job. One measure (S2518), sponsored by Sen. Robert Singer (R-Ocean), would amend the state’s recreational marijuana law to ban cannabis consumption […]
Top cannabis official faces lawmakers during five-hour hearing
It’s been three weeks since New Jerseyans started heading to local dispensaries to pick up legal, recreational cannabis – the start of what’s expected to be a multi-billion dollar industry that launched nearly four years after lawmakers began seriously discussing marijuana legalization. And in front of Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) and the Senate Judiciary Committee on […]
Assembly panel advances voting reforms meant to speed election results
In a show of bipartisanship, an Assembly panel unanimously approved a series of tweaks to New Jersey’s voting systems Tuesday. The proposed changes include allowing ballots to be counted before Election Day, truncating the state’s grace period for late-arriving mail-in ballots, and requiring rolling reporting of election results. Lawmakers have sought changes to the state’s […]
Prisoner reentry group announces mental health, addiction services for vets
The New Jersey Reentry Corp. will partner with health organizations to offer mental health and addiction services to veterans who received an other-than-honorable discharge, former Gov. Jim McGreevey announced Thursday. The services will include acute short-term psychiatric care provided by Hackensack Meridian Health, a 30-day program for veterans with substance use and mental health disorders […]
Bill would require in-person motor vehicle services for senior citizens, people with disabilities
All Motor Vehicle Commission locations would be required to provide in-person services to senior citizens and people with disabilities under a new bill set for introduction this week. Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris), who said he plans to introduce the measure Thursday, said the requirement would end the “confusing, inconvenient policies that have plagued New Jersey […]