Public Administration Amended Bill to Create Mental Health Diversion Program Passes Senate - After receiving a conditional veto from Gov. Murphy on Nov. 27, S524 passed the Senate on Dec. 11. The legislation creates a mental health diversion program to redirect from the criminal justice system people who have committed nonviolent offenses and received a mental [...]
Healthcare NJ Set to Expand Coverage of Palliative Care Services - The NJ Assembly approved amended legislation to expand insurance coverage for palliative care on Dec. 7. A5225 would enable Medicaid coverage of services for those with serious advanced illnesses, including pain and stress relief, programs to improve quality of life, and measures to relieve burdens [...]
Health Casino Smoking Ban Stalled in Senate Committee - Members of the New Jersey Senate Health Committee debated S264, which would eliminate the smoking ban exception for casinos and simulcasting facilities. Casino employees, their union representatives, and public health advocates strongly support this legislation, arguing that second-hand smoke endangers workers’ health. Representatives of the casino industry [...]
Transportation and the Environment New Rule Will Require All Car Sales to be Electric by 2035 - Governor Murphy announced the filing of Advanced Clean Cars II on Nov. 21 by the Department of Environmental Protection. The new rule will require 51% of all car sales in NJ to be for zero emissions vehicles by 2027 [...]
Public Administration Policy Discussions at the Annual Conference of the League of Municipalities - Atlantic City hosted the annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference from Nov. 14-16 of this year. The ACLU led the first-ever panel of NJ caucuses of color, including the Legislative Black Caucus, the Legislative Latino Caucus, and the Asian American [...]
Elections and Public Administration Priorities for ‘Lame Duck’ Session - Lawmakers have enjoyed an extended summer break since June 30, 2023. On Nov. 7, Democrats strengthened their control of the legislature, adding a net five Democrats to the Assembly. In the leadup to the new session in January, lawmakers will work through a backlog of legislation, [...]
Elections, Public Administration, and Public Policy: Policy questions at play in elections - As voters prepare to head to the polls on November 7, they will consider various policy issues in their choices. The Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University reports that Republican voters are thinking about parental rights and trans students in [...]
Elections and Public Administration: Early voting in New Jersey runs this week from October 28 to November 5. NJ residents will consider a variety of policy questions, including abortion rights, finance for NJ Transit, property taxes and cost of living, and the culture war around gender identity in public education. Implementing the Elections Transparency Act [...]
Economics: New legislation passed to support small business owners - Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way signed into law two new bills on October 18 that mandate the Department of Treasury and the NJ Business Action Center to support small businesses, with the specific aim to help women, minority, and veteran business owners. Assembly Bill 3424 establishes [...]
