December 25, 2023 – New Jersey State Policy Updates

Public Administration

Law to Allow 17-Year-Olds to Vote in Primaries Passes Both Houses – The New Voter Empowerment Act, A3690, which would allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they will turn 18 by the following general election, passed both the Assembly and Senate on Dec. 21. The bill aims to get young people involved in democracy, as people who participate at a young age tend to continue to engage. It also gives young people able to vote in a general election the chance to weigh in on who the nominee should be. There are similar laws in 19 other states and Washington, D.C. The bill would not go into effect until after presidential and gubernatorial elections in 2024 and 2025. The bill now awaits Gov. Murphy’s signature. (NJ.com)

Newark Weighs Suffrage for Minors in School Board Elections – Newark would become the first municipality in NJ to allow voting for 16- and 17-year-olds in school board elections if the City Council approves a proposed ordinance on Jan. 10, 2024. The measure aims to boost Newark’s low voter turnout rates and empower young people who already have adult concerns. Though statewide legislation has been introduced to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in district elections if the districts approve it, the American Civil Liberties Union says this type of legislation is not necessary, as there is nothing in the state constitution to prohibit minors from voting. (NJ.com)

Deadline to Apply for Property Tax Relief through ANCHOR Dec. 29 – NJ property owners must apply for tax relief through the ANCHOR program by Dec. 29, either online or by mail, postmarked by the deadline. As of Dec. 7, 1.6 million NJ residents have received nearly $2 billion in payments. (NJ.com)

NJ Enforces Credit Card Surcharge Violations – The NJ Division of Consumer Affairs cited 30 businesses for the violation of new consumer protection laws which require disclosure when businesses charge a credit card processing fee, prohibit surcharges larger than the transaction fee, and require businesses to accept cash payments. Cited businesses face penalties ranging from $500 to $4,000. (NJ.com)

Senate Passes Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights – The Senate voted on Dec. 21 to approve S723, which establishes in NJ a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights to extend rights to privacy, wages, and working conditions to domestic workers. The bill would end loopholes excluding domestic workers from minimum wage and anti-discrimination protections, prohibit non-compete agreements which bar workers from seeking similar work from a different employer for a period of time, mandate breaks and days off, increase penalties for unsafe working conditions, and prevent employers from keeping copies of workers’ documents and filming them in private spaces and situations. The Assembly approved an earlier version of the bill last October, but it is not clear whether the body will pass this bill before the end of the lame-duck session. (NJ Monitor)

 

Transportation

Bill Advances to Require 50 Practice Hours for Young Potential Drivers – A new bill would require learner’s permit holders under 21 to log 50 hours of driving practice – including 10 hours of nighttime driving – before becoming eligible for a license. The Senate Community Development and Affairs Committee unanimously supported the bill, and it passed the Senate on Dec. 21. Currently, NJ only requires 16-year-olds seeking a special learner’s permit to complete six hours of behind-the-wheel training; it does not require practice hours for any others who plan to take a road test. Forty-seven other U.S. states already have similar laws, and Partners for Practice Hours, led by the AAA Clubs of New Jersey and other organizations advocating for traffic safety, support this legislation. A3793 must now pass the Assembly and garner Gov. Murphy’s signature before the legislative session ends on Jan. 9, 2024. (NJ Monitor; NJ.com)

Housing

Critics Say Legislation to Overhaul NJ Affordable Housing System Rushed – Legislators unveiled a new plan to overhaul the NJ affordable housing system and address a 200,000-unit affordable housing shortage on Dec. 18, just two days before a committee hearing in the Assembly to discuss the bill. The legislation would eliminate the state’s Council on Affordable Housing, an agency declared “moribund” in 2015, and give further regulatory powers to the Department of Community Affairs, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, and the courts, which have held regulatory power since the 2015 declaration. New regional special masters would determine affordable housing needs in north, central, and south Jersey, and municipalities – still able to determine their own affordable housing needs – would be required to consider the special masters’ findings. The bill would also create an Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program to allow residents to challenge their municipality’s affordable housing plan if they believe it does not meet requirements. 

Some have expressed frustration with the last-minute release of the legislation, days before the committee meeting and a few weeks ahead of the end of the legislative session, which will prevent public hearings on an important issue. The release also comes just a few months before municipalities’ deadline to fulfill fourth-quarter affordable housing obligations. Other critics expressed concern that the plan might produce unintended consequences, such as a strain on existing transportation and energy infrastructure. The bill passed the Assembly housing committee on Wednesday but must still gain approval from a Senate committee and both full legislative bodies. Gov. Murphy is expected to sign the bill if it reaches his desk before Jan. 9. (NJ Monitor; NJ Monitor)

Health

Strike Concludes at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – After ratifying a new three-year contract, nurses at the Robert Wood Johnson University in New Brunswick ended their strike, which started on Aug. 4. The agreement offers nurses salary increases, a cap on insurance costs, and solutions to low nurse-to-patient ratios, including staffing standards and a collaborative process to address staffing issues. The strike cost the hospital $120 million in hiring replacement nurses and brought attention to the issue of safe staffing standards in NJ. (NJ Spotlight News)

 

Environment

New Rules to Require Disclosure of Property Flood Risks – The Department of Environmental Protection published new rules on Dec. 21 which require landlords and property owners to notify potential buyers and tenants of flood risks to their properties. The DEP also published an online tool to help NJ residents assess whether a property is in a floodplain. This rule comes out of flood-risk disclosure legislation signed by Gov. Murphy in June, which seeks to address the high levels of flood risk to many properties in the state: nearly 100,000 properties are estimated to be at substantial risk of flooding by 2030, according to a DEP report. The new disclosure forms will be effective starting March 20, 2024. (NJ Spotlight News)

Education

Advocates Push to End Neighborhood Schools Mandate – Representatives of a coalition which has sued the state of NJ over high rates of school segregation met with lawmakers in a Dec. 15 mediation session, a convening of the Joint Committee on Public Schools. The representatives asked for the end of a requirement that students attend public schools in their neighborhoods. This mandate has meant that school segregation reproduces residential segregation. Possible solutions include school choice and magnet schools across district lines, merging school districts, funding a school-funding formula, producing more mixed-income housing, universal preschool, and ending zero-tolerance disciplinary policies. (NJ Spotlight News)

Grief Education Bill Sent to Gov. Murphy – The Assembly passed S3330, already approved by the Senate in May, on Dec. 21. If signed by Gov. Murphy, the legislation would include grief instruction for students in health education in eighth grade or later, addressing a youth mental health crisis and the prevalence of young people who have lost immediate family members, particularly from the Covid-19 pandemic. The legislation also seeks to provide NJ students with a more holistic education, and sponsors believe this law would be the first of its kind in the nation. (NJ.com)

 

Final Legislative Actions

Enroll = passed by both houses, sent to the governor for signature.