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ASSEMBLY PANELS TO EXAMINE SCHOOL FEES, CONSIDER TOUGHER ROAD RAGE & DRUG CRIME LAWS & BRINGING VETS HOSPITAL TO SOUTHERN N.J.

(TRENTON) – Assembly committees on Thursday will discuss the impact of new fees being imposed on parents and students for school activities and consider legislation to increase road rage penalties, give law enforcement more authority to combat drug offenders and bring a veterans’ hospital to southern New Jersey, among other items.
All hearings are set for the State House Annex in Trenton.
They will be streamed live at: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee will consider legislation (A-1561) sponsored by Linda Greenstein, Matt Milam and Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex) to include road rage in the state’s assault-by-auto statute and lead to enhanced punishments.
The legislation has been named after Jessica Rogers, a young woman from Hamilton in Mercer County, who suffered severe injuries and was left paralyzed following a March 2005 auto accident that resulted from road rage.
“Drivers who put their own selfish needs before the safety of the public must be held accountable,” said Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer). “Road rage is more than a cultural phenomenon. It is a real threat to others.”
The committee will also consider legislation (A-2416) sponsored by Assemblymen Angel Fuentes and Gilbert L. “Whip” Wilson (both D-Camden) to give law enforcement more tools to effectively combat drug crime.
The bill (A-2416) would give a law enforcement officer or prosecuting attorney the authority to apply for a restraining order against person who is being charged with a criminal offense and who is released without being detained.
“It is too easy for individuals being charged with a crime, particularly crimes related to drugs and drug violence, to return to the same places and people that facilitate this behavior,” said Fuentes.
The Assembly Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hear testimony on the mental health care available to returning service members and their families. It will also weigh various bills to help veterans, including a bill (A-845) sponsored by Milam to establish a New Jersey Veterans’ Hospital Task Force to bring a veterans’ health care facility to southern New Jersey.
Southern New Jersey lacks a federal Department of Veterans Affairs inpatient veterans medical center, forcing veterans needing inpatient care to travel to veterans’ hospitals in northern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware.
“Our veterans deserve our best, and forcing our southern New Jersey veterans to travel long distances for health care is not acceptable,” said Milam (D-Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland). “We need to do better, and this task force will help us determine the best way possible to ensure veterans in southern New Jersey get the best health care possible.”
The Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee will discuss plans by the Christie administration to privatize various transportation services.
The Assembly Agriculture and Natural ReDests Committee will hear testimony on the Department of Environmental Protection’s ban on cultivating commercial shellfish species for education, research and ecological purposes in some coastal and inner harbors.
The Assembly Education Committee will discuss the impact of various fees being imposed on students for numerous activities, including busing to public schools. With the new school season underway, the committee will hear testimony from witnesses on how state aid cuts have precipitated these fees.
Included on the agenda is a bill (A-406) sponsored by Assembly Democrats Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex), Joseph Cryan (D-Union) and Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden) to help rein in exorbitant contracts by requiring the state Department of Education to develop a model contract for school districts when employing superintendents.
The committee will also consider an eco-friendly, long-term, cost-saving measure (A-1084) sponsored by Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), Peter Barnes (D-Middlesex) and Albert Coutinho (D-Essex) that would require the incorporation of solar panels in the construction of new school facilities, as well as a measure (A-1637) sponsored by Connie Wagner and Joan Voss (both D-Bergen) that would help generate revenue by allowing advertising on the exterior of school buses.
Lastly, the committee will consider bills (A-2454) to help deter steroid use among middle and high school students sponsored by Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen), Coutinho and L. Grace Spencer (D-Essex) and (A-2920) sponsored by Voss to develop a school district policy to educate students on dating violence and ways in which to identify and avoid potentially abusive behavior.
The Assembly Homeland Security and Preparedness Committee hear testimony and consider legislation (A-2934) sponsored by Assemblyman Fred Scalera (D-Essex) on emergency communications interoperability.
The Assembly Human Services Committee will receive testimony on the Christie administration’s decision to delay implementing a law to protect public safety by allowing for involuntary commitment to outpatient treatment for some individuals with mental illness.
For full agendas please visit:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/calendar/091410.htm.