Asm. Ellen Park

Maddy summaryThis bill requires school bus personnel transporting students with disabilities to call 911 in potential life-threatening emergencies and report these calls to the Office of Special Education. It mandates that school buses carrying students with disabilities be equipped with interior video cameras, real-time GPS tracking, and two-way communication devices. The bill expands training requirements for school bus personnel to include recognizing and responding to potential life-threatening emergencies involving students with disabilities. School bus contractors and school districts that fail to comply face civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, and video footage and GPS data must be retained for at least 180 days.

Maddy summaryThis resolution (AR 170) expresses New Jersey's opposition to New York's congestion pricing plan, which would charge drivers $9 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street starting January 5, 2025 (rising to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031). It directly affects New Jersey commuters who drive into Manhattan, as they would pay these tolls without having input in the plan's design. The resolution states New Jersey officials believe the plan undermines longstanding regional transportation collaboration and fails to benefit New Jersey transit services like NJ Transit or PATH. As a symbolic resolution, it has no legal effect but will be sent to federal and state officials to formally record New Jersey's position.

Maddy summaryS 3611 allocates $1 million to the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute to study and map mental health care access for children. The bill requires creating a visual journey map of the steps families take to access services, identifying eligibility rules, financial barriers, and disparities by race/ethnicity. It mandates stakeholder input from providers, administrators, and families across northern, central, and southern NJ regions. The institute must submit two reports within 13 months: one mapping the care journey and another summarizing barriers, disparities, and policy recommendations for improving pediatric mental health services. This study directly affects children and families seeking mental health care in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill delays New Jersey's implementation of Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulations until January 1, 2027 - pushing back the current 2025 deadline. It directly affects vehicle manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, requiring them to sell increasing percentages of zero-emission vehicles (capping at 40-75% of annual sales by 2035). The bill modifies New Jersey’s adoption of California’s 2021 ACT regulations, which mandate phased EV sales targets, by prohibiting the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from enforcing these rules before 2027. The delay gives manufacturers more time to adapt to the requirements while maintaining the state’s alignment with California’s emissions program.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A4176) upgrades simple assaults against youth sports officials to aggravated assault under New Jersey law. It directly affects individuals who assault referees, umpires, coaches, or other officials at school- or community-sponsored youth sports events while they are clearly performing their duties. Currently, such assaults are treated as disorderly persons offenses (up to 6 months in jail), but this bill would make them aggravated assault: a fourth-degree crime (up to 18 months) without injury, or a third-degree crime (3-5 years) with injury. The change raises penalties significantly while specifying that the official must be identifiable in their role during the incident.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill A5095 establishes mandatory fire safety standards for short-term farm labor housing used by seasonal workers. The bill requires such housing - defined as accommodations for seasonal farm workers staying no longer than three months - to include fire extinguishers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and proper exit routes. If these measures are installed, the housing automatically complies with the state’s Uniform Construction Code, eliminating the need for separate inspections. The law applies to all farm labor camps operating under New Jersey’s existing seasonal worker housing definitions.

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 amends New Jersey's invasion of privacy law to clarify that consent to being photographed, filmed, or recorded in a sexual manner does not automatically cover consent for disclosing the image. It requires that any consent for sharing such images must be explicit, specific to the purpose given, and not implied by prior consent for taking the image. The law treats the act of capturing the image and the act of disclosing it as separate offenses, each needing distinct permission. This directly affects individuals whose intimate images are taken without consent and then shared without their explicit agreement for that sharing.

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).