Sports Gaming, Expanding Mammogram
Availability, Prescription Drug Safety & Improving Energy Infrastructure Also on Tap
Bills to Promote ALS and Veterans Donations & Cut Red Tape Also Set
(TRENTON) – An 8-bill higher education affordability and reform package – including bills to freeze tuition, improve cost certainty for families, boost accountability, crackdown on sexual assault on campus and regulate for-profit institutions – top Thursday’s Assembly voting session.
Legislation to eliminate sports gaming prohibition, ensure mammograms are available to women under 40 who lack access to family medical history due to adoption, study the state’s energy infrastructure needs and expand a prescription drug safety program are also to be considered.
Measures to promote donations to the ALS Foundation and to veterans’ needs, cut red tape, improve physical education teacher certification and clean antiquated laws off the books are also up.
The session is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live at:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp.
HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM LEGISLATION INCLUDES:
· A-668 (Cryan/Quijano/Coughlin/Lagana) – Requires institutions of higher education to provide to prospective students certain cost, loan, and debt information in financial aid shopping sheet.
· A2801 (Jasey/Stender/Riley/Garcia) – Provides that no more than 120 credits will be required for baccalaureate degree awarded by a public institution and no more than 60 credits for an associate degree.
· A2802 (Riley/Cryan/Giblin/Mukherji/Lagana/Moriarty) – Directs Secretary of Higher Education to establish a communication and incentive plan to encourage re-enrollment in college; requires Statewide reverse transfer agreement.
· A2805 (Jasey/Riley/Cryan/Stender/Pinkin) – Directs Secretary of Higher Education to establish common core course numbering system for public institutions of higher education.
· A2807 (Cryan/Riley/Eustace/Quijano/Lagana/Moriarty) – Prohibits four-year public and independent institutions of higher education from increasing resident undergraduate tuition and fees for nine continuous semesters following student’s initial enrollment.
· A2812 (Riley/Cryan/Diegnan/Giblin/Benson/Garcia) – Requires development of longitudinal data system that maintains individuals’ data from preschool through entry into workforce.
· A2814 (Cryan/Burzichelli/Riley/Benson) – Directs Secretary of Higher Education to revoke proprietary school’s license to award academic degrees if school fails to achieve certain minimum graduation rates.
· A2815 (Pinkin/Cryan/Riley/Quijano/Benson) – Requires New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority to annually prepare report on debt held by public institutions of higher education.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
· A3711 (Caputo/Mazzeo/Burzichelli/Mukherji) – Repealing partially all prohibitions, permits, licenses, and authorizations concerning sports wagering.
· A1247 (Prieto/Mukherji) – Requires health benefits coverage for mammograms for women under 40 who lack access to family medical history due to their or their parent’s adoption.
· A2586 (DeAngelo/Quijano) – Establishes “Energy Infrastructure Study Commission.”
· A2859 (Eustace/Benson) – Requires Division of Consumer Affairs to install prescription medication receptacles in certain law enforcement locations.
· A3335 (Prieto/Diegnan/Lampitt/Oliver/Garcia) – Requires preparation programs for teachers and school counselors to include programming to improve student career readiness.
· A2581 (Mukherji/Pintor Marin) – Requires OAL to maintain Internet database summarizing all State rule-making actions.
· A3064 (Mazzeo/Lagana) – Repeals anachronistic, superseded, or invalidated sections of statutory law.
· A1898 (Burzichelli/Spencer) – Requires OLS to provide certain notices and reports to legislators and legislative staff by electronic means only
· A3290 (Singleton/Vainieri Huttle/Benson) – Allows gross income taxpayers to use their gross income tax returns to make voluntary contributions to ALS Association for services to New Jersey residents
· A3256 (Diegnan/Pinkin) – Requires teachers of health and physical education in grades kindergarten through six in public schools to possess the appropriate endorsement to the instructional certificate, and includes a “grandfather” provision.
· A2313 (DeAngelo/Quijano) – Enables the collection of voluntary contributions for New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts through gross income tax returns.