Asm. Nancy Muñoz

Maddy summaryThis bill requires municipalities to share certain payments in lieu of property taxes (PILOTs) with school districts when urban renewal entities receive long-term property tax exemptions. For residential projects, school districts would receive an amount calculated by multiplying the number of school-age children residing in the project by the base per pupil amount determined by the Commissioner of Education. For nonresidential or mixed-use projects, school districts would receive 5% of the PILOT amount or an equivalent in-kind contribution. The bill also mandates that municipalities provide school districts and the Department of Community Affairs with information about property tax exemptions, including posting applications and financial agreements on the DCA website.

Maddy summaryAJR 33 designates June of each year as "Cancer Survivor Month" in New Jersey. The resolution requests the Governor issue an annual proclamation encouraging public officials and residents to observe the month with awareness activities. It aims to increase public understanding of cancer survivors' ongoing physical, emotional, and financial challenges, as noted in the resolution's preamble. This is a symbolic designation with no new funding or legal requirements, focusing solely on raising awareness.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill (A974) provides tax credits to businesses for certain child care expenses. Businesses can claim a 50% credit against corporation business tax or gross income tax for costs related to building, improving, or operating child care centers primarily serving employees' children, or for providing child care information and referral services (10% credit). To qualify, facilities must be licensed by the Department of Children and Families and open to employees' children without discriminatory selection processes. Businesses must enter into an agreement with the Division of Taxation to verify eligibility and commit to using the facility as a child care center for 60 consecutive months. The bill also allows businesses to sell tax credit transfer certificates (at minimum 75% of value) to other businesses with tax liabilities.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires a criminal background check for anyone seeking to legally change their name in New Jersey. It prohibits individuals convicted of violent crimes (like assault, murder, or sexual assault) or domestic violence offenses from changing their name, unless the request is for religious reasons. The court must notify victims or their immediate family members if an applicant has such convictions. The background check, paid for by the applicant, involves fingerprinting and cross-referencing state and federal criminal records.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A1098) exempts New Jersey disabled veterans from admission fees at state parks and forests, and also removes fees for motor vehicle access to park beaches for fishing. It directly affects disabled veterans who are New Jersey residents and have been honorably discharged with a service-connected disability certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill amends existing law to add "disabled veteran" as a qualifying category for free admission (currently covering residents 62+, totally disabled individuals, and National Guard members with training completion) and specifically exempts this group from beach access fees. The policy change takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Maddy summaryThe "Transparency in Government Act" (A2617) requires New Jersey to create a free, searchable public website displaying state financial data. It mandates the State Treasurer to include annual records of state agency spending (salaries, vendor payments, local aid), revenues (taxes, fees, grants), and bonded debt (principal, interest, repayment sources) starting from fiscal year 2000. Data must be updated within 45 days after each fiscal year ends and cannot be removed, while protecting private/confidential information. The website will be maintained with oversight from a 13-member Public Finance Transparency Committee, including state officials, agency representatives, and public members. This directly affects state agencies (which must provide data), the State Treasurer's office (which develops the site), and New Jersey residents (who gain access to financial information).

Maddy summaryThis bill would shift the administration of affordable housing obligations from municipalities to the state-level Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), requiring COAH to calculate the statewide affordable housing need rather than relying on municipal or regional calculations. Municipalities would submit housing elements to COAH detailing their current housing stock and potential for affordable housing development, and COAH would grant "substantive certification" to qualifying municipalities, shielding them from exclusionary zoning lawsuits. The bill would require COAH to develop fair share plans for each municipality based on the statewide need and establish a mediation process for disputes about these plans. This change would replace the current system where municipalities determine their own affordable housing obligations with a centralized statewide approach.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey's A1718 bill modifies Megan's Law to require county prosecutors to assess a sex offender's risk of re-offending *before* the offender is released from prison, rather than after release as is currently common. This change removes the factor of the offender's residence (previously used in risk assessments) to enable timely pre-release evaluations. Prosecutors must consider specific factors like criminal history, response to treatment, and recent behavior to determine the offender's risk level, which dictates community notification requirements (low, moderate, or high). The assessment must be completed prior to release, with the prosecutor of the offender's intended residence county determining notification methods. This policy directly affects sex offenders nearing release from incarceration in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill establishes a legal presumption that joint legal and physical custody is in a child's best interest, meaning courts must assume both parents should share decision-making authority and the child should spend equal or nearly equal time with each parent. A parent seeking to avoid joint custody must provide clear and convincing evidence that it would harm the child, and the court must document its reasoning if it deviates from this presumption. The bill does not change the requirement that custody arrangements must align with the child's best interests but shifts the starting point for court decisions to joint custody. It applies to all child custody cases in New Jersey and takes effect immediately.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill strengthens child pornography laws by creating two categories: "real" pornography (involving actual children) and "virtual" pornography (images appearing to depict children). It upgrades crimes like causing a child to engage in prohibited acts with knowledge of photography to a first-degree offense, and upgrades possession of child pornography to a third-degree crime. For virtual child pornography, it makes producing, distributing, or possessing obscene images that appear to depict children a crime with strict liability, defining "obscene" as patently offensive sexual acts lacking serious value. The bill also prohibits expungement of related criminal records and requires minimum prison sentences for repeat offenders.