Asm. Roy Freiman

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey law enforcement to notify the State Parole Board when a parolee violates a domestic violence restraining order. It directly affects parolees under supervision who breach such orders, as well as law enforcement officers and the Parole Board. The key mechanism mandates officers to check the domestic violence central registry (which now includes parole status) and immediately alert the Parole Board if a parolee is charged with violating a domestic violence order. This ensures the Parole Board is informed to address potential violations of parole conditions. The bill amends existing statutes to streamline this notification process for safety and accountability.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates the hazelnut as New Jersey's official State nut. It recognizes Rutgers University's development of disease-resistant hazelnut varieties (named "Raritan," "Somerset," "Monmouth," and "Hunterdon") that enable commercial growing in New Jersey, making it the first East Coast state to produce this crop. The bill has no regulatory or funding provisions - it is a symbolic designation acknowledging the crop's emerging economic significance.

Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies that a "mortgage loan" refers specifically to loans made primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, secured by residential properties (1-6 dwelling units). It directly affects homebuyers and renters with standard mortgages by exempting these loans from prepayment penalties, meaning borrowers can pay off their loans early without extra fees. The key mechanism updates the legal definition to ensure consumer loans (not commercial ones) cannot include prepayment penalties, while allowing such fees for commercial mortgage loans. This applies to all new mortgage loans entered into after the bill's effective date.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes specific rounding rules for cash transactions in New Jersey to assist businesses as the penny production ends. It requires that prices ending in one or two cents be rounded down to the nearest ten cents, while those ending in three or four cents round up to the nearest five cents, with similar adjustments for higher cent values. These rules apply only to cash payments and do not affect transactions made with cards or other non-cash methods. Businesses that violate these rounding guidelines face escalating civil penalties for each offense, and the legislation explicitly allows voluntary programs where customers can opt in to round up their purchases as donations.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires municipal tax collectors in New Jersey to share a portion of revenue collected from "payments in lieu of taxes" with local school districts. It directly affects municipalities that collect these payments under the Long Term Tax Exemption Law and the school districts that currently receive no share of this specific revenue. The legislation amends existing state statutes to define how gross revenue and net profit are calculated for urban renewal entities, ensuring that a defined percentage of the resulting income is distributed to schools. By clarifying the financial reporting requirements for these entities, the bill establishes a new mechanism for funding education through a specific stream of municipal tax revenue.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a $4.5 million grant program to reimburse New Jersey school districts for costs incurred when expanding their procurement of locally grown food for students. It directly affects eligible school districts participating in federal meal programs (like National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs), requiring them to submit plans for new or expanded local food sourcing beyond current baseline levels. The program reimburses documented costs for minimally processed local foods (like fruits, vegetables, or grains grown in New Jersey), excluding fluid dairy milk. School districts must implement new policies to increase local food access during school meals or summer programs to qualify for reimbursement.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey's Medicaid managed care organizations to automatically include lower-cost generic and biosimilar drugs on their formularies with better cost-sharing (like lower copays) when they are cheaper than the original brand drugs. It directly affects insurers managing Medicaid plans and their enrollees, ensuring patients pay less for equivalent treatments. Key provisions mandate that if a generic drug's price is lower than its reference brand at launch, insurers must list it with favorable cost-sharing and remove barriers like prior authorization. The bill does not force insurers to stop covering brand drugs but ensures cheaper alternatives are prioritized for cost savings. It applies only when cheaper options are available and respects medical appropriateness decisions by insurers.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends New Jersey law to allow restaurants without liquor licenses to advertise that patrons can bring their own beer or wine or purchase wine from an on-site salesroom. Currently, while such restaurants can permit BYOB consumption, they are prohibited from promoting this option, a restriction the bill removes to align with a federal court ruling on free speech rights. The legislation also permits these establishments to advertise wines available for purchase in their on-premises salesrooms, which are already authorized for wine producers under existing regulations.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows specific farm-to-table restaurants to obtain a license that permits them to sell alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption. To qualify, a restaurant must be owned or operated by a commercial farm that produces at least 50 percent of the food sold there, and it must meet standard health, construction, and tourism designation requirements. The license is unique because it does not incur the usual initial or annual fees charged for such permits and cannot be transferred to another business or location. Additionally, licenses issued under this program do not count toward the municipal limit on the total number of alcohol licenses allowed in a community.

Maddy summaryThis Assembly Resolution commemorates the 37th anniversary of the sister-state relationship between New Jersey and Taiwan and the 47th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act. It reiterates support for strengthening economic, educational, and scientific partnerships among the United States, New Jersey, and Taiwan. The resolution does not create new laws or policies but serves as a formal statement recognizing existing diplomatic and economic ties. It directs copies to state and local officials and representatives of Taiwan's economic and cultural office in New York.