Asm. Dawn Fantasia

Maddy summaryThis bill allows New Jersey state agencies to extend the 60-day cure period for certain business violations by an additional 30 days, if the agency determines denial would be contrary to equity and good conscience. It applies to businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees (or equivalent) facing first-time violations that don’t endanger public safety, harm the environment, or affect employee income. The extension applies only to violations not related to criminal activity, intentional acts, labor laws, or federal program requirements. Agencies must provide written notice of the violation to trigger the cure period, and must report waived infractions annually on their public websites. The bill amends existing law (P.L.2023, c.28) to add this extension provision.

Maddy summaryThis bill would allow New Jersey counties and municipalities to use funds from their existing open space trust funds to remediate collapsed mine shafts and sinkholes on public property. Currently, these funds are used for open space, recreation, floodplain protection, farmland, and historic preservation purposes. The bill expands the authorized uses to include mine shaft and sinkhole remediation, requiring local governments to adopt an ordinance and hold a public hearing before using funds for this purpose. There's a $100,000 limit per project, and funds would be moved to a new "Mine Remediation Trust Fund" for this specific purpose.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to create rules and regulations for small modular nuclear reactors, defined as reactors with up to 300 megawatts of capacity that require U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing. It authorizes the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to use funds from the Global Warming Solutions Fund to incentivize construction and operation of these reactors. The BPU must consider whether proposed reactors will replace capacity lost from retiring coal or natural gas facilities and whether they will create job opportunities for workers displaced by those retirements. The bill also requires reactor owners to meet all federal requirements before storing spent nuclear fuel on-site.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill requires courts to inform victims and abusers about counseling services for children who were physically present during or witnessed domestic violence. It establishes a legal presumption that custody should be awarded to the domestic violence victim (the non-abusive parent) in appropriate cases. Courts can now order counseling for affected children as part of domestic violence protection orders. The bill also expands court authority to require psychological evaluations and other protective measures. These changes aim to better protect children and victims in domestic violence cases by addressing their specific needs.

Maddy summaryThe "Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act" (S 3309) requires used car dealers to check for open recalls on vehicles before sale using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website and provide prospective buyers with printed recall information if any are found. Dealers cannot sell vehicles subject to stop-sale or do-not-drive notices issued by NHTSA. The bill mandates dealers to report vehicles with unresolved recalls (for which repairs remain uncompleted six months after initial notice) to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission every 180 days, prompting the Commission to send notices directly to vehicle owners. For vehicles with unavailable parts for recalls, dealers receive monthly compensation equal to 1.75% of the vehicle's value until repairs are completed.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 862, now P.L.2025, c.11) requires New Jersey's Department of Transportation (DOT) to include significantly more detailed information in its annual report on road conditions. Specifically, the report must now list numerical rankings of roads needing repair, detail completed maintenance projects (including pothole repairs), provide cost estimates for each project, track material usage (tonnage), and include data on pothole damage claims and associated costs from the Treasury Department. The report must be made publicly available on the DOT's website. This affects the DOT directly by expanding its reporting duties and provides the public with more transparency about road maintenance spending and road conditions.

Maddy summaryThis is a procedural resolution (not a bill) establishing a special committee. It creates the "Assembly Special Committee on Staten Island Annexation" with 12 members (6 appointed by the Assembly Speaker, 6 by the Minority Leader). The committee's sole purpose is to investigate New Jersey's historical, legal, and geographic claims to Staten Island - including colonial land grants, the 1834 boundary compact, and relevant case law - and to report on lawful avenues for annexation, subject to consent from Staten Island residents, New York State, and Congress. The committee must publish a final report after completing its work.

Maddy summaryWeston's Law (A5961) amends New Jersey's human trafficking statute to explicitly include recruiting or coercing juveniles to join criminal street gangs or participate in drug trafficking schemes. The bill expands the definition of human trafficking for minors to specifically cover cases where juveniles are used in gang activities or drug distribution, which were not fully addressed under previous trafficking laws. It also allows prosecutors to seek waiver of juvenile jurisdiction for these cases, potentially sending them to adult court for prosecution. The law is named after Weston Fundner, who died at age 15 from a fentanyl overdose after being coerced into taking a fentanyl pill by someone involved in the illegal drug trade.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes New Jersey law to require that juveniles (any age) accused of distributing certain drugs (like methamphetamine or cocaine) that cause the death of someone under 18 be tried as adults, without court discretion. It also mandates a life prison sentence without parole for anyone convicted of this "strict liability" offense when the victim was under 18 and the drug quantity was one ounce or more. The bill amends two key statutes: N.J.S.2C:35-9 (defining strict liability for drug-induced deaths) and P.L.2015, c.89 (juvenile waiver procedures). It directly affects juveniles who distribute controlled substances classified in Schedules I or II, and would remove the current age threshold (15+) for automatic adult trial in these specific cases.

Maddy summaryThis bill makes it a first-degree crime to market fentanyl to minors in ways that appeal to them, such as packaging it to resemble candy, food, or popular characters, or advertising it directly to minors. It imposes a mandatory 30-year prison sentence without parole for violations, or a sentence between 30 years and life. Minors (or their guardians) can also sue those who engaged in this "predatory marketing" for damages covering medical costs, emotional harm, and other losses. The law specifically targets fentanyl manufacturers, distributors, and advertisers who use child-attractive designs or marketing tactics.