Asm. Clinton Calabrese

Maddy summaryThis bill requires businesses with New Jersey alcoholic beverage licenses (Classes A through E) to carry specific liability insurance covering alcohol-related incidents. It applies directly to bars, restaurants, and other licensed establishments serving alcohol. The key provision mandates either dedicated alcoholic beverage liability insurance or a commercial general liability policy that explicitly covers alcohol liability. This replaces any existing requirement that might have allowed broader policies without specific alcohol coverage. The law takes effect 90 days after enactment.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey Assembly Resolution urges Congress to require VA hospitals to provide all routine medical screenings for women veterans on-site at each facility. Currently, women veterans often must travel to external providers for screenings like mammograms or Pap tests, adding time and cost to their care. The resolution requests federal action to eliminate this burden by ensuring VA hospitals can offer all necessary screenings internally through adequate funding. It does not create new law but advocates for a policy change in VA care access.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A2895) increases penalties for criminal street gang recruitment in New Jersey by imposing mandatory minimum prison sentences of 5-15 years for people who recruit minors (7 years for those under 18, 10 years for those under 14) and for those who cause or encourage minors to join gangs. It establishes new restrictions requiring convicted recruiters to live at least 500 feet from schools and playgrounds, and bans them from jobs involving 80% or more child contact. The bill creates accomplice liability for those who recruit gang members, making them responsible for crimes committed by recruited minors. It applies to anyone convicted of recruiting minors or doing so on school property.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill (A974) provides tax credits to businesses for certain child care expenses. Businesses can claim a 50% credit against corporation business tax or gross income tax for costs related to building, improving, or operating child care centers primarily serving employees' children, or for providing child care information and referral services (10% credit). To qualify, facilities must be licensed by the Department of Children and Families and open to employees' children without discriminatory selection processes. Businesses must enter into an agreement with the Division of Taxation to verify eligibility and commit to using the facility as a child care center for 60 consecutive months. The bill also allows businesses to sell tax credit transfer certificates (at minimum 75% of value) to other businesses with tax liabilities.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits New Jersey state agencies from granting new economic development subsidies to businesses that have a previously awarded state loan or loan guarantee with principal and interest payments overdue for more than 24 months. It directly affects businesses that received prior state economic development loans or guarantees but are significantly behind on repayments. The key change updates current law by setting a specific 24-month overdue threshold instead of relying on a general "default" definition. The policy applies to all state public bodies (like agencies or authorities) awarding subsidies exceeding $25,000 for economic development purposes.

Maddy summaryThe New Jersey Disability Savings Act (A115) creates a state tax deduction for contributions to New Jersey ABLE accounts (disability savings accounts) and offers a one-time $750 matching grant for new accounts opened by residents with gross income of $150,000 or less. It directly affects New Jersey residents with disabilities or their families who use these accounts for qualifying disability-related expenses like housing, education, or medical costs. The bill allows a full state tax deduction on contributions (similar to NJ’s 529 education savings plan) and provides the matching grant as an incentive to save, though funding for the grant depends on annual state appropriations. The deduction and grant apply only to New Jersey ABLE accounts, not accounts from other states.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A2952) creates a nine-member "New Jersey Transit ADA Task Force" to ensure NJ Transit facilities meet federal accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The task force, including a disability advocate representative, will study all NJ Transit terminals, stations, stops, and equipment to identify needed upgrades, estimate costs for each, and evaluate ramp installation where elevators are unavailable or non-compliant. It must submit a final report with findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature within two years of the bill's effective date. The task force expires after submitting this report. This directly affects people with disabilities who rely on NJ Transit services by addressing accessibility barriers in public transportation infrastructure.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A572) requires New Jersey's Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Children and Families (DCF) to create online systems for schools and child care centers to submit lead testing results for drinking water. It directly affects all schools (required to test since 2016) and child care centers (required to test since 2017) statewide. Schools and centers must submit or resubmit existing test results via these systems within 90 days of their launch, and both departments must publish all compiled results on public websites in searchable formats. Additionally, DOE and DCF must jointly produce a two-year report analyzing lead contamination levels, remediation needs, and state assistance recommendations.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A1416) requires New Jersey's Department of the Treasury to conduct a comprehensive stress test analysis every three years. It examines the state's ability to maintain essential services and assist residents during economic shifts, directly affecting all state-funded programs and residents. The analysis must project tax and federal revenue trends, compare them to historical data, assess changing spending needs, account for state reserves (including the Surplus Revenue Fund), and identify recession-response strategies. The results must be published online and included in the Governor's annual budget message for public transparency.

Maddy summaryThis bill would create a new license allowing wineries that produce more than 250,000 gallons of wine annually to directly ship wine to consumers. Currently, wineries exceeding this production threshold are prohibited from direct shipping, while smaller wineries (250,000 gallons or less) can ship directly to consumers. The new license would permit these larger wineries to ship up to 12 cases of wine per year (with each case not exceeding nine liters) to consumers aged 21 or older for personal consumption only, not for resale. Wineries would need to collect and pay applicable taxes, and maintain records of shipments for inspection by enforcement officers for three years. This change would expand direct shipping options for larger wineries that currently cannot ship directly to consumers.