Combating Sexual Assault on Campuses, State Investment Council
Reform, Graduated Driver Safety, Clean Vehicle & Buildings, Improving SNAP program, Tax Relief for Caregivers, Combating Animal Fighting, Child Suicide Prevention & Whistleblower Protections for Public Workers Also on Tap
(TRENTON) – Expanded tuition equality, regulating transportation companies such as Uber, reforming criminal record expungement, monitoring domestic violence offenders, ensuring fair disaster relief funding and tuition help for veterans highlight Thursday’s Assembly committee meetings.
Bills to combat sexual assault on campuses, make State Investment Council activity more transparent, improve graduated driver safety, promote environmentally friendly vehicles and buildings, improve Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provide tax relief for caregivers, combat animal fighting, prevent child suicide and improve whistleblower protections for public workers are also on tap.
The meetings are slated to being at 10 a.m. and will be streamed live at:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
· A-3617 (Schaer/Johnson/Prieto/Quijano) – Allows certain students including undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria to qualify for State student financial aid programs. 2 p.m. Budget.
· A3401 (Mainor/Jimenez/Garcia/Moriarty/Lagana) – Regulates passenger transportation companies that use an online application program to connect drivers to passengers; A3586 (Singleton/Mukherji/Garcia/Lagana) – Directs MVC to establish permit and safety requirements for companies that use online application program to match passengers with drivers; A3751 (McKeon) – Requires certain insurance coverage for motor vehicles involved in transportation network company trips; A3755 (Spencer) – Directs MVC to establish permit, background check, and safety inspection requirements for companies that use online application program to match passengers with drivers; A3765 (Lagana/McKeon) – Requires transportation network companies to obtain permit from MVC and maintain insurance coverage; A3854 (Wisniewski) – Requires transportation network companies to make certain disclosures and register with MVC; and A3906 (Coughlin) – Requires transportation network companies to register with MVC and maintain certain insurance coverage’s. 10 a.m. Transportation.
· A3276 (Mazzeo) – “Mainland Memoriam Act”; directs MVC to create graduated driver’s license informational material to be distributed by motor vehicle dealers. 10 a.m. Transportation.
· A206 (Gusciora/Green/Wimberly) – Permits automatic expungement of criminal records under certain circumstances.; A471 (Green/Watson Coleman/Quijano/Wimberly) – Permits automatic expungement for certain persons completing a sentence to drug court under the special probation statute; A1662 (Johnson/Lagana/Wimberly) – Provides for expungement of certain records of victims of identity theft; A1663 (Johnson/Giblin/Lagana/Wimberly) – Permits immediate expungement of court records where the person is acquitted or discharged or where the charges have been dismissed; A1815 (Wilson/Tucker/Wimberly) – Creates “Expungement Waiting Period Reduction Study Commission;” A2879 (Spencer) – Authorizes court to waive certain fees, offer mediation as sentence; authorizes defendant information in presentence report; reduces certain expungement waiting periods; requires benefits be considered in juvenile plan; A3060 (Mainor/Wimberly/Spencer) – Directs the expungement of all crimes upon application, after two-year period, except crimes of the first degree; and A3108 (Gusciora/Watson Coleman) – Permits expungement for one-time disorderly persons offense after a period of two years. 10 a.m. Judiciary.
· The Assembly Human Services Committee at 1 p.m. will receive testimony about the processing and backlogs of Medicaid and federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications and the related impact of the termination of the contract for the Consolidated Assistance Support System (CASS). It will then hear the following bills:
· A-3963 (Vainieri Huttle) – Provides for receipts for applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; A-3976 (Vainieri Huttle) – Requires DHS to ensure that expedited benefits under Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are made available to certain households; and AR175 (Garcia/Tucker/Vainieri Huttle/Mosquera) – Urges Commissioner of DHS to encourage counties to use best practices to increase timely processing of applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 1 p.m. Human Services.
· A3806 (Singleton/Mosquera) – Establishes four-year pilot program in Ocean County for electronic monitoring of certain domestic violence offenders; designated as “Lisa’s Law”; appropriates $1 million. 10 a.m. Judiciary.
· A3666 (Mazzeo/Eustace/Andrzejczak/Mukherji) – “Disaster Victims Protection Act”; requires Governor to allocate federal and State disaster aid to municipalities in proportion to amount of catastrophic physical damage sustained within each municipality. 2 p.m. State and Local Government.
· A3567 (Pinkin/McKeon/Mukherji/Vainieri Huttle/Quijano) – Requires school districts, nonpublic schools, and institutions of higher education to report allegations of sexual assault to law enforcement. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3772 (Mazzeo/Schaer) – Provides State Investment Council must report private money managers’ fee information and that council’s regulations addressing political contributions will apply to federal or national committees and non-State political committees. 2 p.m. Budget.
· A3967 (Andrzejczak/Lagana/Mazzeo/Benson) – Provides in-State tuition at New Jersey public institutions of higher education to military veterans. 10 a.m. Military and Veterans’ Affairs.
· A3037 (Andrzejczak) – Revises animal fighting laws; establishes minimum penalty for criminal animal cruelty offenses; establishes additional penalties for animal cruelty offenses; A2547 (Garcia/Jimenez/Cryan) – Creates new offenses and penalties regarding animal fighting; and A3596 (Lagana) – Establishes crimes of dog fighting and leader of a dog fighting network; amends RICO to add leader of a dog fighting network. 2 p.m. Agriculture and Natural Resources.
· A-3833 (Quijano/Vainieri Huttle/Handlin) – Extends “whistleblower” protections to employee disclosure of governmental mismanagement, waste and abuse. 10 a.m. Labor.
· A1855 (Lampitt/Schaer/Mosquera/Benson/Vainieri Huttle) – Provides gross income tax credit for certain expenses paid or incurred for care and support of qualifying senior family member; designated as Caregiver’s Assistance Act. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A1485 (DeAngelo/Benson/Garcia) – Establishes special license plates for honorably discharged veterans. 10 a.m. Military and Veterans’ Affairs.
· A235 (Gusciora/Singleton/Lagana) – Elevates strangulation assault of a victim to aggravated assault in all instances. 10 a.m. Judiciary.
· A1042 (Schaer/McKeon/Spencer/Singleton/Benson) – Requires DHSS to establish “New Jersey Autism Website.” 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3149 (Singleton/Schaer/Lagana) – Provides for voluntary contributions by taxpayers on gross income tax returns to support autism programs. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3655 (Vainieri Huttle/Lagana) – Provides rental and lease protections for domestic violence victims. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3813 (Coughlin/Lampitt) – Adds cyber-harassment to the domestic violence statutes. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3834 (Lampitt) – “The Child and Family Suicide Prevention Act;” requires continuing medical education requirement for pediatricians include courses on suicide prevention. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3846 (Cryan/Lagana/Vainieri Huttle/Spencer) – Establishes third degree crime for certain trespasses involving victim of domestic violence. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A-3311 (Singleton/Schaer/Lagana) – Requires Governor’s annual budget message to include description and fiscal analyses of recommendations to raise State revenue estimated at $1 million or more. 2 p.m. Budget.
· A-3059 (Egan/Diegnan) – Requires use of goods made in the United States for public contracts; requires businesses that receive public contracts or development assistance to disclose job exportation information. 2 p.m. Budget.
· A3620 (Schaer/Singleton) – Establishes a joint legislative and executive branch New Jersey Consensus Revenue Advisory Board to provide consensus revenue forecasting advice for State budget purposes. 2 p.m. Budget.
· A2580 (Mukherji/Pintor Marin) – Provides for priority consideration, by DCA, DEP, DOT, and municipalities, of permit applications for green building projects. 2 p.m. Environment and Solid Waste.
· A-2894 (Mazzeo) – Permits municipalities to use portion of State aid under Clean Communities Program for snow and ice removal. 2 p.m. Environment and Solid Waste.
· A3293 (Mazzeo/Andrzejczak/Pinkin) – Allows military personnel and veterans to present certain identifying documents in lieu of municipal beach tags to gain admission to certain beaches. 10 a.m. Military and Veterans’ Affairs.
· A3753 (Lampitt) – Requires hospitals and birthing centers to provide parents of newborns with information on health insurance coverage for newborn children. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
· A3841 (Gusciora) – Authorizes the court to order electronic monitoring of certain defendants upon a second or subsequent conviction of stalking. 10 a.m. Judiciary.
· A-2405 (Cryan) – Concerns low emission and gas emission vehicles; establishes Clean Vehicle Task Force. 2 p.m. Environment and Solid Waste.