NJ State Policy Updates

Public Administration New State Law Enforces Tougher Penalties for Home Invasions – On October 18th, Governor Murphy signed Bill S3006/3204, establishing stricter penalties for home invasions and burglaries. The law specifically creates two new categories for home invasion offenses, imposing harsher sentences and fines for using deadly weapons during break-ins. This legislation comes in response […]

Housing Senate Committee Advances Bill Codifying Framework to ‘Stay NJ’ Property Tax Relief Program Amid Financial Concerns – On October 7th, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to advance Bill S3693, which would codify recommendations from the Stay NJ Task Force’s report this May on the Stay NJ property tax relief program. Governor […]

Transportation Governor Murphy Signs Bill Launching Rideshare Paratransit Pilot Program – On October 4th, Governor Phil Murphy signed Bill A2607 into law (P.L.2024, c.82.), allowing taxis, limos, and rideshare companies to provide paratransit services in partnership with NJ Transit. This two-year pilot program aims to expand paratransit services for seniors and individuals with disabilities. After […]

Health Bill Establishes Reproductive Health Travel Advisory for New Jerseyans – On September 23rd, Senator John Burzichelli introduced Bill S3663, which would require the New Jersey State Department to maintain descriptions of other states’ abortion and reproductive health care services and establish a reproductive health travel registry for residents. The registry would categorize states based […]

Health Judge Dismisses Challenge to New Jersey’s Assisted Suicide Residency Requirement – On September 18th, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the residency requirement for New Jersey’s Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act, codified as P.L.2019, c.59. This law allows terminally ill, hospice-eligible, mentally capable adults to obtain self-administered, life-ending prescription medication. […]

Cannabis Gov. Murphy Signs Bill to Limit Minors’ Access to Intoxicating Hemp Products – On Sept. 12, Gov. Murphy signed into law S3235/A4461, codified as P.L.2024, c.73., which will place hemp products under the purview of the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC). The legislation aims to close a legal loophole which allows minors to purchase intoxicating […]

Education Legislator to Propose Bill to Push School District Consolidation – State Sen. Vin Gopal plans to draft legislation to promote the consolidation of school districts in order to reduce high costs, which necessitate high property taxes and significant funding aid from the state. Merging school districts – or regionalization – should reduce administrative and professional […]

Insider NJ shared a recent report published in collaboration with the New Jersey State Policy Lab and the Newark City of Learning Collaborative examining how educational institutions might engage with unenrolled students.

Health State Signs Contract with Nonprofit to Erase Medical Debt – New Jersey has signed a contract with the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt to facilitate the erasure of $100,000 in medical debt held by over 50,000 state residents. The state will provide $10.5 million in federal pandemic aid to purchase debt at a steep discount, […]

Education Court Rules Students with Disabilities Entitled to Education after Earning GED – In an August 7 decision, the NJ Supreme Court ruled that students with disabilities are entitled to a free education in schools even after earning a diploma through the General Education Development (GED) test. The ruling overturned an earlier decision in the case […]

Education NJ Eyes Reforms for School District Evaluation Metrics – The state Department of Education (DOE) has proposed changes to the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC), an evaluation of school district effectiveness administered every three years. Several superintendents testified to the brokenness of the current evaluation system at an Aug. 7 Board of Education […]

Environment Federal Court Vacates Approval of Pipeline Expansion Project – In a unanimous July 30 decision, a federal appeals court blocked a controversial natural gas infrastructure project, the Regional Energy Access Expansion. The project aimed to increase the volume of natural gas transported by the Transco pipeline by constructing a compressor station in Gloucester County and […]