Asm. Mike Venezia

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the New Jersey Out-of-School Time Advisory Commission to review before-school, after-school, and summer programs statewide. The 22-member commission - including state agency heads, legislative appointees, and representatives from child care organizations, schools, and advocacy groups - will assess current programs, develop statewide standards, examine funding sources, and evaluate program quality across urban, suburban, and rural districts. It must issue an interim report within one year and a final report within two years of forming, including recommendations for improving accountability and quality. The commission expires 30 days after submitting its final report, with no immediate funding or program changes enacted by this bill.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a 17-member "Student Mental Health Task Force" in New Jersey to address mental health support for public school students. The task force, composed of education and health officials plus appointed community experts, will study existing mental health resources in schools and communities across all counties and regions. It must develop recommendations on improving access to services, identifying student mental health needs, expanding counseling programs, and funding requirements, while examining successful models from other states. The task force must submit a final report to the Governor and Legislature within one year of its formation, with copies sent to all school districts.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey state employees (including those at Rutgers and public universities) to be granted one additional paid leave day per year for observing Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, beyond their standard administrative leave. It also mandates that public school districts record absences for these holidays as excused, ensuring students aren’t penalized for missing class due to religious observance. The policy prevents such absences from appearing on transcripts or affecting eligibility for awards, tests, or graduation requirements when a parent’s written excuse is provided. It explicitly adds Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the list of religious holidays for which student absences must be excused. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A1685) reinstates automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for retirement benefits paid to members of New Jersey's state-administered retirement systems, including teachers' pensions. It directly affects current and future retirees in these systems by ensuring their benefits automatically increase each year to match inflation, rather than requiring separate legislative action for each adjustment. The key mechanism is amending existing law to restore the automatic COLA provision that was previously removed, linking benefit increases directly to the Consumer Price Index. This change simplifies the process and provides predictable income growth for retirees without requiring new votes for each adjustment. The bill is sponsored by Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson and Speight and co-sponsored by multiple legislators.

Maddy summaryThe Safe Communities Act requires New Jersey's Attorney General to develop model policies ensuring safety and accessibility at key community locations like schools, hospitals, places of worship, shelters, and courthouses. These policies must be adopted by relevant state agencies (including education, health, and corrections departments) within 180 days of the law's enactment, with institutions required to post them visibly. The law aims to prevent residents from avoiding essential services or gatherings due to safety concerns, focusing on maintaining open access to public services and religious spaces. It applies directly to all covered facilities and their visitors across New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill codifies New Jersey's existing Attorney General directive to prevent state and local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration laws. It prohibits police from stopping, questioning, or detaining people solely based on immigration status, asking about immigration status unless relevant to a crime investigation, or sharing personal information (like addresses or social security numbers) with federal immigration authorities. Exceptions apply only for serious crimes (e.g., violent offenses or recent convictions) or when required by law for criminal investigations. The law directly affects all New Jersey state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies and officers, aiming to build trust between police and immigrant communities by clarifying that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a pilot program to help hospitals maintain essential services in underserved communities when relocating. It targets hospitals moving from municipalities with specific medical underservice designations (population >30,000, single hospital, and documented healthcare access gaps), requiring them to operate a "community access location" at their original site with services like emergency care, psychiatric services, and surgical capabilities. The program provides up to $3 million in state funding to cover costs for developing/maintaining these services or community health programs. Eligible hospitals must apply to the Department of Health with financial and service plans, and the program operates under specific regulatory waivers to support integration with the new hospital location.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires contractors building large data centers in New Jersey to pay workers the local prevailing wage rate. It applies specifically to projects with electrical capacity of 250 kilowatts or greater, or designed for 500 kilowatt-hours average usage. Contractors must meet strict registration, insurance, safety, and training requirements - including OSHA-compliant worker training and detailed payroll reporting - to ensure compliance. The law directly affects construction companies working on qualifying data centers, aiming to standardize labor costs for these large-scale projects.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations act to redirect $250,000 in state aid originally designated for a community center at Newark's Ivy Hill Park toward general park improvements instead. The funds remain allocated to the City of Newark for Ivy Hill Park, not transferred to Essex County as the title suggests. The change modifies the authorized use of existing appropriations without increasing funding. This is a technical adjustment to how the city may spend the allocated state aid. The bill does not create new funding or alter the total appropriation amount.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A4860) allows seasonal retail consumption alcohol license holders in New Jersey to exchange their limited-season licenses for full-year licenses. Currently, seasonal licenses permit alcohol sales only during summer (May 1-November 14) or winter (November 15-April 30) seasons, but this bill would enable businesses to sell alcohol year-round on the same terms as full-year license holders. The conversion requires paying a fee based on the average price of full-year licenses in the municipality, with a maximum of $250,000, plus the regular annual license fee. The bill does not create new licenses but allows existing seasonal license holders to convert to full-year status without changing municipal license limits.