Asm. Cleopatra Tucker

Maddy summaryThis bill (A4878) ensures service members and their dependents (spouses or children) enrolled at New Jersey public colleges can choose specific grade options if unexpected military duty prevents course completion. It raises the required course completion threshold from 8 weeks to 55% of the course duration before certain options apply, and adds "temporary grade" and "transfer to equivalent online course" (if available) as choices. Dependents are now explicitly included under the same protections previously only for service members themselves. The bill clarifies that faculty must determine if sufficient work was completed to justify grades like pass/fail or letter grades, with options like incomplete grades remaining valid for one year.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank to provide up to $2.4 billion in loans for environmental infrastructure projects during fiscal year 2026. The loans would be available to local governments and public water utilities to fund projects that improve water quality, treatment systems, and drinking water infrastructure. The bill specifies eligibility for 151 clean water projects (totaling $1.28 billion in estimated loan amounts) and 59 drinking water projects (totaling $488.8 million in estimated loan amounts). Loan terms would require repayment within 30-45 years, with the bank authorized to adjust loan amounts based on actual project costs.

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates June 23 of each year as "International Widows' Day" to raise awareness about the challenges faced by widows. It requires the governor to issue an annual proclamation encouraging public officials and citizens to observe the day through activities that highlight widows' experiences. The bill does not create new policies, funding, or legal changes - it serves solely as a symbolic recognition of widows' issues, citing statistics like 260 million widows globally and 1 million U.S. widows annually. It passed unanimously in the New Jersey Assembly and became law (P.L.2025, JR-10).

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey's Department of Human Services to disregard VA Aid and Attendance pension benefits when determining Medicaid eligibility for veterans aged 65 or older who require in-home or nursing home care due to illness or disability, and their surviving spouses. The bill directly affects veterans who receive these VA benefits, which are designed to help cover care costs but can otherwise make them ineligible for Medicaid due to income calculations. By excluding these pension benefits from income calculations, the bill ensures veterans won't be disqualified from Medicaid assistance simply because they receive VA Aid and Attendance benefits. This change aligns New Jersey's Medicaid eligibility determination process with the intent of VA benefits, which help cover the high costs of care for qualifying veterans.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) to create a free Bereavement Counseling Program for family members and volunteer caregivers of veterans who died by suicide. Family members include spouses, parents, children, or household residents, while volunteer caregivers must be 18+ members of a qualified veterans' organization who provided non-paid counseling care for at least three months before the veteran's death. The program will allow applications up to five years after the veteran's death, with approved participants receiving up to 24 months of counseling (max 30 hours per year) through DMVA-matched clinicians. DMVA will provide application information via Veteran Service Officers and funeral directors when a veteran's suicide death is known, and clinicians must donate their time with no cost to participants.

Maddy summaryAJR 45 designates June 23 of each year as "International Widows' Day" in New Jersey. It requires the Governor to issue an annual proclamation encouraging public officials and residents to observe the day through appropriate activities. The resolution highlights that nearly one million U.S. women become widowed annually, with 70% of married women experiencing widowhood in their lifetime, and many facing ongoing financial, legal, and health challenges. This is a symbolic designation without new legal requirements or funding.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A1825) establishes guidelines for health insurance plans regarding "step therapy" protocols, which require patients to try lower-cost medications before coverage is provided for a preferred medication selected by their doctor. It requires insurers to base these protocols on clinical guidelines developed by expert panels with conflict-of-interest safeguards, and creates a clear process for patients to request exceptions when step therapy would be harmful or ineffective. Insurers must grant or deny exception requests within 72 hours (24 hours in emergencies), and must report on exception requests and outcomes to the state insurance commissioner. This affects all health insurance carriers in New Jersey, including those offering SHBP, SEHBP, and Medicaid plans, as well as the patients and healthcare providers who use these plans.

Maddy summaryThis joint resolution designates May 18 of each year as "Six Triple Eight Day" in New Jersey to honor the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-African American, all-female U.S. Army unit that served during World War II. The resolution commemorates their historic achievement in delivering over 14 million pieces of backlogged mail to U.S. personnel in Europe under difficult conditions. It requests the Governor issue an annual proclamation encouraging public observance of the day. The resolution specifically recognizes that 28 New Jersey women served in the unit, including those from Allentown, where one member was born on May 18.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes the title of New Jersey's "Chief Diversity Officer" to "Chief Equity Officer" and creates the "New Jersey Office of Supplier Diversity and Business Opportunities" within the Department of the Treasury. The new Office will support the Chief Equity Officer in monitoring state contracts awarded to "small and diverse business enterprises" (including minority-owned, women-owned, economically disadvantaged, socially disadvantaged, and disabled veterans' businesses), processing business certifications, and developing outreach programs. State agencies must submit annual procurement plans and data to the Office, which will analyze these plans and provide feedback to improve contracting with diverse businesses. The Chief Equity Officer will report directly to the State Treasurer and oversee all efforts to increase transparency and participation of diverse businesses in state procurement.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the "Minority and Women-Owned Businesses State Contractor Remedies Act" requiring New Jersey State agencies to set specific contract utilization goals for minority and women-owned businesses based on a 2024 disparity study. It sets detailed percentages for contracts across different categories, including 24.26% of construction contracts for women-owned businesses and 10.14% for Hispanic American-owned businesses. State agencies must develop annual plans to achieve these goals and make a "good faith effort" to meet them, with remedial actions required if they fail to do so. Prime contractors are also required to make good faith efforts to meet subcontractor goals for minority and women-owned businesses. The bill amends previous set-aside laws by removing goals for minority and women-owned businesses and shifting oversight to the Department of the Treasury's Office of Diversity and Inclusion.