Asm. Cleopatra Tucker

Maddy summaryThis bill allows students receiving opportunity grants through New Jersey's Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program to use a portion of their award for summer courses that count toward graduation or their academic major. Students must notify the Secretary of Higher Education before the academic year begins, resulting in a proportional reduction of their grant funds during the regular academic year. The bill also requires annual reporting by institutions on summer grant usage and graduation rates, implementing a 2016 College Affordability Study Commission recommendation.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a sexual assault prevention and response program and coordinator within New Jersey's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA). It directly affects service members (including National Guard members) and veterans who experience sexual assault or harassment, allowing victims to file confidential complaints regardless of whether the assault occurred on or off duty. Key provisions include appointing a coordinator to provide victim advocacy, refer cases to the Attorney General for investigation, assist with protective orders (state and military), and enable participation in the federal "Catch a Serial Offender Program." The program requires annual reports to the Governor and Legislature detailing prevention efforts, investigation statistics, and improvements needed in training and response.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill makes several changes to address sexual assault and child abuse involving military personnel. It allows military protective orders to be enforced throughout the state, creates a central registry for all protective orders (including military ones), and enables service members to seek protective orders in New Jersey courts. The bill provides financial assistance to National Guard members for travel expenses related to military justice proceedings involving sexual assault, and expands eligibility for victim compensation for military sexual assault victims. Additionally, it establishes procedures for sharing information between civilian child welfare authorities and military family advocacy programs.

Maddy summaryThe bill would broaden veterans' benefits eligibility by removing specific war or conflict service requirements. Instead of needing to have served during designated wars (like World War II or Vietnam), veterans would only need at least 90 days of active duty service (excluding basic training), or Reserve members would need to serve the full period called to active duty. Veterans discharged due to service-connected disabilities would qualify regardless of service duration. This change would expand access to benefits including civil service hiring preference, retirement allowances, and the ability to purchase military service credit for retirement.

Maddy summaryThis bill revises eligibility for Medicaid-covered adult medical day care services in New Jersey. It directly affects Medicaid enrollees with functional or cognitive impairments who need assistance with daily tasks. The key change simplifies requirements: individuals now only need to show they require help with at least one "activity of daily living" (like dressing, bathing, or eating), have a physician's recommendation, and provide updated medical history and a physical exam report. The bill defines "adult medical day care" as community-based daytime programs offering health and support services, aiming to make this community-based care more accessible instead of institutionalization.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey nursing homes to create detailed outbreak response plans within 180 days of the law taking effect. These plans must include protocols for isolating infected residents, notifying families and staff, monitoring for illness, reporting to health officials, and securing additional staff during outbreaks. Nursing homes must also establish an infection prevention committee with a dedicated infection preventionist (trained in infection control and qualified with five years' experience or certification). The Department of Health will verify compliance, enforce penalties for non-compliance, and require annual training exercises to test the plans.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes New Jersey's Office of Clean Energy Equity within the Board of Public Utilities to ensure clean energy programs specifically benefit overburdened communities. It requires the board to implement solar programs reaching 250,000 low-income households (or 35% of all low-income households, whichever is larger) by 2030, aiming to reduce their energy costs to below 6% of household income. The bill also mandates 1,600 megawatt-hours of energy storage in overburdened communities by 2030, prioritizing community resilience hubs and job training. At least $50 million annually must be allocated to this office, with funding supplementing existing low-income energy programs and requiring public reporting on progress.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey Assembly Resolution (AR 108) urges the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to establish an inpatient hospital facility at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. It directly addresses veterans in southern New Jersey, where 119,200 residents live across eight counties and currently lack local inpatient VA care - forcing many to travel hours to facilities like the outdated East Orange Veterans Medical Center. The resolution highlights that establishing the facility at the base would reduce travel times (currently multiple hours for some veterans) and leverage existing veteran services at the location. As a non-binding request, it formally asks the VA to consider this action and will be sent to the VA Secretary and New Jersey’s congressional delegation.

Maddy summaryThe "John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New Jersey" establishes a state-level voting rights law to protect racial, color, and language-minority groups' voting rights. It requires election policies to be narrowly tailored to compelling justifications and prohibits methods that impair protected class members' ability to elect their preferred candidates. The bill creates a preclearance process for political subdivisions with prior voting rights violations before implementing election policies, mandates language assistance for language-minority groups meeting census thresholds, and provides remedies including alternative election processes and redistricting changes.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends New Jersey law to require public bodies (like state agencies, municipalities, and authorities) to set aside 0.5% of funds from construction projects over $1 million for outreach and training programs. The funds must support programs preparing minority group members and women for careers in construction trades, engineering, management, and related occupations through apprenticeships and supportive services. Eligible programs can be run by community groups, labor organizations, schools, or other entities through grants from the Department of Labor. Annual reports will track fund usage, program participation, and employment outcomes for participants. The bill updates existing requirements from 2009 to expand covered occupations and ensure consistent fund allocation across all public construction projects.