Asm. Margie Donlon

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a state grant program to help fire districts create or expand resident firefighter programs. It directly affects fire districts by providing funds to build or improve housing facilities (like dormitories with kitchens) and offer amenities for firefighters who live at fire stations in exchange for their duties. Grants can cover construction, supplies, and incentives, with the state required to request at least $5 million annually for the program. The Division of Fire Safety will manage applications, ensure equitable regional distribution of funds, and monitor grant usage.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes legal protections for patients and healthcare providers accessing or providing reproductive and gender-affirming health care services in New Jersey. It creates a new crime for interfering with these services (including physical obstruction, intimidation, or damaging property), with penalties ranging from a disorderly persons offense to a fourth-degree crime. The bill also prevents New Jersey from extraditing people for legally protected health care activities, prohibits licensing boards from penalizing providers for services that are legal in New Jersey but illegal in other states, and protects patient privacy related to these services. It specifically ensures that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus has no independent legal rights under New Jersey law.

Maddy summaryThis bill revises New Jersey's film and digital media tax credit program to increase incentives for production companies. It allows 40% tax credits for post-production services performed at designated New Jersey film-lease production facilities (with a $500,000 minimum requirement) and 35% for post-production services performed by independent post-production companies, with an additional 4% available for companies including diversity plans. The bill also expands eligible expenses to include wages paid to workers not subject to New Jersey tax due to reciprocity agreements (such as with Pennsylvania), and permits tenants of designated film-lease facilities to qualify for tax credits under specific conditions.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases the monthly personal needs allowance (PNA) from $50 to $140 for low-income residents in nursing homes, state psychiatric hospitals, and state developmental centers. The allowance is intended for residents to spend on discretionary items like phone calls, meals out, clothing, or hobbies. The new amount includes an automatic annual increase tied to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment starting the year after enactment. It also ensures SSI recipients in these facilities receive the same $140 monthly allowance as Medicaid recipients, with the state covering the difference if federal supplements remain unchanged.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a specific criminal offense for financial exploitation of the elderly in New Jersey. It defines "elderly" as anyone 60 or older with age-related health conditions or mental impairments that affect their ability to make decisions about their property. The offense applies when someone in a "position of trust" (like family members, caregivers, or people with fiduciary obligations) uses fraud, false promises, extortion, or intimidation to obtain property from an elderly person. The bill upgrades penalties for this type of theft, making amounts between $200-$500 a third-degree crime (up from a fourth-degree crime) and amounts under $200 a fourth-degree crime (up from a disorderly persons offense).

Maddy summaryThis bill updates New Jersey's legal definition of "elevated blood lead level" from 5 to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, aligning with the most recent CDC recommendations. It directly affects children identified through lead screening, as the lower threshold means more children will be classified as having elevated levels requiring intervention. The key provision revises statutory language to ensure state health actions match current federal guidelines for lead exposure. This change clarifies the standard for identifying lead poisoning risks without creating new programs or mandates.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all health insurance plans, Medicaid, and state employee health benefits programs in New Jersey to cover reproductive health care services, including abortion, with no cost-sharing (no deductibles, copays, or coinsurance). It allows religious employers to request coverage exclusions based on religious beliefs, while requiring insurers to provide written notice of such exclusions to covered persons. The bill also prohibits medical malpractice insurers from taking adverse actions against providers who offer reproductive health services, even if the patient is from a state where such services are restricted. These provisions aim to remove financial barriers to reproductive health care access while protecting health care providers.

Maddy summaryThis bill would create a tax credit program allowing New Jersey taxpayers to receive a 75% credit against their state income tax for donations to approved scholarship organizations. It directly affects nonpublic school students who meet income criteria (household income ≤2.6x the federal reduced-price lunch threshold) attending schools complying with anti-discrimination and anti-bullying laws. The key mechanism requires scholarship organizations to spend 95% of donations on student aid, limit administrative costs to 5%, and adhere to strict eligibility rules. The program would have been capped at $37.5 million annually (adjusted for inflation), but the bill was withdrawn from consideration on June 13, 2024, and never became law.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A4538) caps annual tuition increases for in-state undergraduate students at New Jersey's public colleges and universities at 2% above the previous year's rate. It directly affects public institutions of higher education and resident undergraduate students by restricting how much tuition can rise each academic year. The law takes effect immediately for the first full academic year after enactment, applying to all public higher education institutions in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a $100 million grant program within New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to help municipalities cover costs for planning and designing water infrastructure projects. Municipalities can apply for grants up to $2 million per project to fund planning for drinking water, stormwater, or wastewater systems that later qualify for state/federal funding under the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Financing Program. The program prioritizes projects in "overburdened communities" (as defined by state law), requires no matching funds from applicants, and mandates annual DEP reports to the Governor and Legislature on program effectiveness. The grants specifically target the upfront planning phase, removing financial barriers to accessing larger infrastructure funding for water system upgrades.