Asm. Mitchelle Drulis

Maddy summaryThis bill requires financial guarantors (sureties) who take over incomplete transportation projects to take specific actions within strict timelines. Within 60 days of assuming responsibility, a surety must enter a contract with a contractor and then require construction to begin or resume within another 60 days. The law applies to all sureties managing such projects, including those already responsible when the bill takes effect, with exceptions for projects already underway. Violations carry a daily penalty of at least $10,000. It directly affects sureties overseeing transportation projects, aiming to prevent delays in project completion.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the New Jersey Student Teacher Scholarship Program to help reduce financial barriers for future teachers. It provides eligible students up to $7,200 per semester for full-time clinical practice in teacher preparation programs, covering a maximum of two academic semesters. To qualify, students must be New Jersey residents enrolled full-time in approved education programs and complete required steps for clinical practice. The program requires participants to maintain good academic standing, and scholarships terminate if students are dismissed or withdraw due to illness (without requiring repayment). The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority will manage applications and collect annual data on program participants.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a state-funded program to reimburse county governments for providing transportation services to disabled veterans traveling to medical appointments for service-connected conditions. It appropriates $2 million from the General Fund to the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs to support this initiative. The program directly affects disabled veterans who are honorably discharged from military service and certified by the U.S. Veterans Administration as having service-connected disabilities. Counties that provide transportation services to these veterans can receive state reimbursement, reducing out-of-pocket costs for veterans needing medical care. The bill amends existing law to create this specific reimbursement mechanism for county transportation services.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the Veterans State Government Fellowship program at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics. It creates opportunities for exactly eight eligible New Jersey veterans annually - residents not dishonorably discharged, discharged within the past 10 years, and with a military pay grade at or below E-9 (enlisted) or O-5 (officers) - to work in legislative offices or state departments. Each fellow receives a stipend and serves during the legislative session (for legislative placements) or for one year (for executive placements). The program requires an annual $600,000 state appropriation to Rutgers University for administration and fellow stipends, to be reviewed every three years.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to study and compare the efficiency, speed, and costs of online versus in-person transactions for vehicle services. Specifically, the MVC must examine productive efficiency, operational throughput (how many transactions processed per time), and marginal costs for both methods. The commission must submit a written report of its findings to the Governor and Legislature within six months of the bill's effective date. The bill expires once this report is submitted. It does not change existing laws but mandates a data-driven analysis to inform future MVC service decisions.

Maddy summaryACR 124 is a non-binding concurrent resolution urging the New Jersey State Park Service to establish a visitor center at Princeton Battlefield State Park. It highlights the site's historical significance as the location of the pivotal 1777 Battle of Princeton (during the Revolutionary War's "Ten Crucial Days"), which helped secure New Jersey from British control. The resolution emphasizes the need for an educational facility to interpret the battlefield's history - including the Mercer Oak, Clarke House, and monument - and address preservation concerns, though it does not allocate state funds or mandate action. (This is a procedural resolution, not a bill with enforceable policy changes.)

Maddy summaryThis concurrent resolution (ACR 123) urges the U.S. President, Congress, and USDA to address rising SNAP benefit fraud. It specifically requests permanent federal authorization to replace stolen SNAP benefits retroactively to October 2021 (not just 2022), and funding to transition all SNAP EBT cards from vulnerable magnetic strips to secure EMV chip technology. The resolution targets fraud where criminals install skimming devices on point-of-sale terminals to steal card data and duplicate EBT cards, leaving SNAP recipients without recourse. It directly affects low-income households nationwide who rely on SNAP benefits for food assistance. The resolution does not create new law but calls for federal action to protect this vulnerable population.

Maddy summaryThis bill provides a one-time tax credit for New Jersey organic farmers who paid higher fees to switch from state certification to an accredited certifying agent after May 30, 2022. It directly affects farmers certified by the NJ Department of Agriculture on January 11, 2022, who incurred extra costs to obtain organic certification from an accredited agent during May 30-December 31, 2022. The credit equals the difference between fees paid to the accredited agent and fees paid to the state during that period, applied against corporate business tax or gross income tax. Farmers must submit documentation from the Department of Agriculture to claim the credit when filing taxes.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill (A3783) prohibits telemarketers from intentionally manipulating caller identification services to display false or misleading information about the origin of calls, with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain value. The law applies to all telemarketing calls made within New Jersey and creates a new disorderly persons offense for violations, punishable by up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. The bill specifically targets deceptive practices where telemarketers use fake phone numbers or names to mislead consumers about who is calling. Exceptions include federal law requirements, court orders, and law enforcement activities, consistent with the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends New Jersey's Traumatic Brain Injury Fund to cover transportation costs for eligible individuals attending support group meetings. It directly affects New Jersey residents with traumatic brain injuries who rely on the fund for post-acute care when other resources are unavailable. The key change adds "transportation services to access support group meetings" to the fund's eligible uses, defining such meetings as gatherings for information, perspective, and well-being related to their injuries. The fund continues to cover medical appointments, treatment, and vocational services under existing rules, with the same $100,000 lifetime limit per person. This is a targeted expansion of existing transportation coverage, not a new program.