Asm. Shavonda Sumter

Maddy summaryThis bill extends New Jersey's existing telemedicine pay parity law, requiring health insurance plans to pay providers the same rate for telehealth services as in-person visits for covered services. It applies to all health benefits plans in New Jersey (including Medicaid and private insurers) and affects providers delivering telehealth care. The extension, now ending December 31, 2025 (previously 2024), maintains the requirement that telehealth reimbursement equals in-person rates for covered services, excluding audio-only visits (which receive 50% of in-person rates) and behavioral health services (which receive full in-person rates). This is a procedural extension of an existing policy, not a new mandate.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates $18.5 million from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax (CBT) revenues to fund historic preservation projects in New Jersey. It allocates $15 million for restoration and preservation work on 43 specific historic sites (like the Atlantic City Fire Station and USS New Jersey), $1.47 million for site management projects (including heritage tourism planning), and $100,000 for historic preservation easements. All projects must be listed or eligible for state/national historic registers and require recipient matching funds. Additionally, $1.92 million covers administrative costs for the New Jersey Historic Trust under the Preserve New Jersey Act.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the lists of environmental infrastructure projects eligible for loans from New Jersey's Infrastructure Bank for fiscal year 2025. It modifies the project eligibility lists by adding new projects, removing some projects, and adjusting the priority rankings and loan amounts for certain projects. The bill reduces the total funding authorization from $2.73 billion to $2.47 billion and changes the total number of eligible projects from 240 to 227, including 152 clean water projects and 67 drinking water projects. These changes affect local governments, public water utilities, and other project sponsors seeking funding for environmental infrastructure improvements.

Maddy summaryThis bill adds three new projects to New Jersey's FY2025 Community Hazard Assistance Mitigation Program (CHAMP), which provides low-interest loans for hazard mitigation and resilience projects. It increases the total funding authorization from $7,198,045 to $13,813,000, allowing the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank to fund nine projects instead of six. The new projects include flood mitigation infrastructure in Brick Township, elevation improvements in Rochelle Park Township, and flood mitigation with green infrastructure in Highlands Borough. These projects will receive funding to help communities better withstand natural disasters through specific infrastructure improvements. The bill amends existing law to expand the list of approved projects eligible for CHAMP funding.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the lists of environmental infrastructure projects approved for long-term funding under New Jersey's FY2025 environmental infrastructure funding program. It creates two specific eligibility lists: one for clean water projects (including 152 projects totaling $1.4 billion) and one for drinking water projects (including 67 projects totaling $536 million), detailing each project sponsor, project number, and estimated loan amounts. The bill authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to make zero-interest and principal-forgiveness loans for these projects, with varying levels of principal forgiveness based on project type, community size, and affordability criteria. The loans are intended to finance infrastructure improvements for water quality and drinking water systems across the state, with specific repayment terms and priority rankings established for different project categories.

Maddy summaryThis bill redirects a portion of worker contributions from the unemployment compensation trust fund to the unemployment compensation administration fund. Currently, workers contribute 0.3825% of wages to the trust fund, which funds unemployment benefits. The bill would reduce this to 0.3625% for the trust fund while directing 0.0200% of wages to the administration fund instead. This reallocation aims to address chronic underfunding in the administration fund, which handles system operations but lacks sufficient resources. The change would take effect for wages paid on or after January 1, 2024.

Maddy summaryThe Freedom to Read Act establishes requirements for library materials in New Jersey public school libraries and public libraries, requiring school boards and library governing bodies to adopt policies that ensure access to diverse and inclusive materials. The bill defines "diverse and inclusive material" as content reflecting protected classes under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, materials produced by authors regardless of their protected class status, and materials containing authors' views on contemporary issues, while excluding age-inappropriate content. It creates procedures for challenging library materials, including review committees and requiring that challenged materials remain available until a final decision is made. The bill also provides legal protections for school library media specialists and librarians, granting them immunity from liability for good-faith actions and a civil cause of action against those who harass them for complying with the law.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands New Jersey's Family Leave Act and Temporary Disability Benefits Law to provide protected bereavement leave for employees experiencing the death of a child, miscarriage, stillbirth, unsuccessful adoption, or failed fertility treatments. It allows up to 21 days of leave for circumstances where employees wouldn't otherwise qualify for leave or benefits, or up to 7 days for circumstances where they would qualify for other leave. The leave is available to employees who are biological parents, adoptive parents, or parents through a gestational carrier agreement, as well as to their spouses, domestic partners, or civil union partners. Employers with 30 or more employees must provide this leave under the amended laws, which applies to all eligible employees in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey's S 2652 revises laws to better protect children from sexual exploitation. It creates a civil right for victims (or their guardians/advocacy groups) to sue perpetrators for three times the profits gained from distributing child sexual abuse material, holding both individuals and corporate employees personally liable. The bill also expands sex offender registration requirements to include anyone working with children in schools or jobs for over 14 consecutive days, clarifies which offenses trigger registration (like creating or sharing exploitative material), and adds a limited exception for juvenile-created nude photos under strict conditions. These changes directly affect victims of child exploitation, perpetrators, and institutions that facilitate such abuse. The law passed unanimously in 2024 (P.L.2024, c.92).

Maddy summaryThis bill allocates $3 million from the General Fund to provide one-time bonus awards to State workers in Local 195 of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers who provided essential frontline service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will be distributed by State agencies in consultation with the union president, with each eligible employee receiving a direct bonus payment. It specifically targets workers who maintained critical state operations amid pandemic challenges. The appropriation is supplemental to existing 2024-2025 funding and takes effect immediately.