Asm. Aura Dunn

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a New Jersey Veteran Gravesite Maintenance Grant Program within the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA). It provides grants to qualified nonprofit veterans' organizations (including 501(c)(3) groups and federally chartered veterans' service organizations) to maintain veteran gravesites across the state. The DMVA must develop application guidelines, set evaluation criteria, require recipient reporting on fund usage, and submit annual effectiveness reports to the Governor and Legislature. Implementation depends on future legislative funding approval.

Maddy summaryACR 58 proposes a constitutional amendment to increase New Jersey's veterans' property tax deduction from $250 to $2,500 over four years. It would raise the annual deduction to $1,000 in 2024, $1,500 in 2025, $2,000 in 2026, and $2,500 starting in 2027, with the amount remaining at $2,500 annually thereafter. This change directly affects honorably discharged veterans and their surviving spouses, who qualify for the deduction on real and personal property taxes. The amendment requires voter approval after legislative passage to take effect.

Maddy summaryACR 67 is a New Jersey legislative resolution that formally condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects efforts to justify anti-Jewish hatred. It references rising anti-Semitic incidents, including the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack and New Jersey’s ranking as third-highest in the U.S. for such incidents that year. The resolution urges vigilance against hate crimes, supports Holocaust education, and calls for state leaders to join national efforts against anti-Semitism. As a symbolic measure, it has no binding legal effect but expresses the state legislature’s position on the issue.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey's A1808 requires hospitals to annually report drug-related attempted and completed suicides involving minors (under 18) to the New Jersey Poison Control Center. Hospitals must provide data on the minor's age, ethnicity, gender, race, and the specific drug used, while protecting all personal identifiers under privacy laws. The Poison Control Center then compiles this data into an annual report for the Governor and Legislature. The bill specifically covers suicides involving drugs and does not require disclosure of confidential health information. It takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey electric, gas, and water utilities to notify customers about service outages using automated phone calls, text messages, and email alerts - using contact information already on file with the utility. The alerts must include outage location, estimated duration, utility and emergency contact details, and how to report related issues. Outages caused by non-payment are excluded, and state/local emergency agencies may share utility-provided outage information through their own alert systems. The requirement takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases financial aid to New Jersey municipalities from the Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Fund over two years, restoring approximately $331 million in reduced aid payments that municipalities received during fiscal years 2009-2011. In fiscal year 2023, municipalities will receive 50% of the difference between their 2008 and 2012 aid distributions, with full restoration beginning in 2024. Municipalities must subtract any additional aid received from their property tax levy calculations and cannot anticipate this aid when creating annual budgets. The bill requires municipalities to amend their budgets to properly reflect the total aid amount, ensuring the aid directly reduces the amount they need to raise through property taxes.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the New Jersey Non-Profit Loan Guarantee Pilot Program through the Economic Development Authority (EDA), providing loan guarantees to eligible non-profit organizations for constructing new facilities. To qualify, non-profits must be IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations with 10+ years of operation, prior state financial assistance, and must demonstrate plans to create 10+ full-time jobs and generate sufficient revenue (e.g., through ticket sales or donations) to repay loans. The EDA will use a dedicated fund - financed by the Economic Recovery Fund, loan repayments, and other EDA funds - to guarantee loans up to $15 million per organization for up to 20 years, with participating banks providing the actual financing. The EDA must report annually on program demand, effectiveness, and recommendations for improvement.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends New Jersey's homestead property tax reimbursement program to exclude veterans' disability compensation from the income calculation used for eligibility. Specifically, it removes U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability payments (for service-connected injuries) from the income count when determining if a veteran qualifies for the program. Currently, the program has income limits (e.g., $37,174 for single applicants in 2000), but this change ensures veterans' disability compensation is not counted toward those limits. As a result, more veterans receiving VA disability benefits will become eligible for property tax reimbursements they might otherwise be disqualified from due to income thresholds.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires financial institutions to share customer account records with county adult protective services when they suspect fraud targeting vulnerable adults or seniors. It specifically applies to customers aged 60+ (seniors) or those with physical/mental conditions affecting financial decision-making (vulnerable adults). Under the bill, institutions must release records upon suspicion of fraud involving these customers, and adult protective services may then share the same records with law enforcement if necessary. This changes current law, which only permitted voluntary sharing, by making disclosure mandatory for these specific cases.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to operate a real-time call center within the state, available weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., to help people navigate the MVC’s online website and complete transactions. It mandates that all assistance be provided in both English and Spanish, and allows the MVC to reduce staffing needs by adding web tutorials or recorded help messages. The MVC must also publish quarterly performance reports online detailing call volume, wait times, call purposes, and call durations. This directly affects MVC customers using online services, aiming to improve access to vehicle-related transactions.