Allowing Service Animals on School Buses, Special Needs Work-for-Housing, Allowing Minors to Give Consent for Behavioral Health Care, Promoting Non-Traditional Science & Tech Programs, Deterring Student Steroid Use & Cybersecurity Discussion Also on Tap
(TRENTON) – Legislation to require New Jersey businesses provide earned sick leave to employees, require the labeling of all food containing genetically modified material, create a contract program for businesses owned and operated by disabled veterans and an animal welfare bill package highlights Thursday’s Assembly committee meetings.
Bills to allow service animals on school buses, establish a special needs work-for-housing program, allow minors to give behavioral health care consent, deter student steroid use and promote nontraditional science, tech, engineering and mathematics programs are also among the bills on tap, as is a discussion on the cybersecurity concerns.
The committees are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and will be streamed live at:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp.
Highlights include:
· A2354 (Lampitt) – Concerns earned sick leave. 10 a.m. Labor.
· A1359 (Stender/Eustace) – Requires labeling of all foods containing genetically modified material. 1 p.m. State and Local Government.
· A976 (Andrzejczak/Mazzeo) – Creates State contract set-aside program for businesses owned and operated by disabled veterans. 10 a.m. Military and Veterans’ Affairs.
· A3651 (Pinkin/Vainieri Huttle) – Establishes Special Needs Work-for-Housing Pilot Program within Department of Human Services to provide certain individuals with supportive housing in exchange for work activity or alternative work experience. 1 p.m. Human Services.
· The Assembly Education Committee will meet at 10 a.m. to hear testimony on ways to improve teacher readiness, teacher induction, and professional development.
· A3435 (Garcia/Mukherji/Vainieri Huttle/Mainor/Eustace) – “Boys & Girls Clubs Keystone Law”; permits minors to give consent for behavioral health care. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3690 (Mazzeo/Vainieri Huttle/Lampitt) – Allows student with disability to bring service animal on school bus. 1 p.m. Human Services.
· A201 (Gusciora/Benson/Wilson) – Requires court to issue animal protective orders against persons found guilty of abusing animals; A1023 (Benson/Lampitt) – Authorizes placement of involved animal with animal welfare agency or similar entity pending adjudication of alleged animal cruelty violation when not adjudicated in seven days; A2938 (Andrzejczak) – Permits municipalities to contract with animal and humane societies which engage in animal foster care; A2961 (Andrzejczak) – Establishes penalty for failure to include bittering agent in antifreeze; and A3381 (Gusciora) – Expands acts of animal cruelty to include theft or release of animal during burglary. 2 p.m. Agriculture and Natural Resources.
· A311 (Diegnan) – Requires public schools to weight courses in visual and performing arts equally with other courses worth same number of credits in calculating grade point average. 10 a.m. Education.
· A940 (Singleton/Wimberly/Riley/Caride/Benson/Quijano) – Establishes the four-year “New Jersey Innovation Inspiration School Grant Pilot Program” in DOE to fund non-traditional science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs. 10 a.m. Education.
· A3077 (Jasey/Vainieri Huttle/Mainor/Watson Coleman/Wimberly/Oliver) – Requires school districts and charter schools to annually provide to parents or guardians of enrolled students information on certain tests to be administered during the school year. 10 a.m. Education.
· A2699 (Vainieri Huttle) – Establishes measures to deter steroid use among students. 10 a.m. Education.
· A1667 (Johnson/DeAngelo/Andrzejczak) – Permits a child whose parent or guardian is ordered into active military service to remain enrolled in the school district where the child’s parent or guardian resided prior to active military service. 10 a.m. Military and Veterans’ Affairs.
· A882 (Vainieri Huttle/Quijano) – Concerns stalking and related restraining order protections for adoptive children and their adoptive parents victimized by persons whose parental rights to the adoptive children have been terminated. 1 p.m. Human Services.
· A2658 (Vainieri Huttle) – “Innovative Services for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act.” 1 p.m. Human Services.
· A962 (Singleton) – Authorizes disclosure by DCF of information regarding child abuse to religious institutions. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A1473 (Diegnan) – Requires annual physical examination of child 19 years of age or younger include certain questions related to cardiac health. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3453 (Prieto/Pinkin) – Establishes traumatic brain injury screening and education program in DCF. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· The Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee will meet at 2 p.m. to take testimony on cybersecurity threats, standards, new technologies and how the public can protect itself.
· A2841 (Lampitt/Benson/O’Donnell/Vainieri Huttle/Tucker) – Requires DHS to develop timeline for use by individuals with developmental disabilities to gain benefit of State and federal programs; requires posting timeline on DHS, DCF, and DOE websites. 1 p.m. Human Services.
· A3632 (Tucker) – Requires Commissioner of Health to review impact of disabilities on persons in minority and underrepresented communities. 1 p.m. Human Services.