Asm. Shama Haider

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all health insurance plans and Medicaid in New Jersey to cover medically necessary speech therapy for stuttering, including both habilitative (helping develop speech skills) and rehabilitative (helping regain lost skills) therapy. It applies to all health insurance policies sold in New Jersey, including individual, group, and hospital service contracts, and mandates coverage whether therapy is provided in-person or via telehealth. Insurers must cover these services at the same level as other medical treatments, without additional restrictions. The law directly affects residents with stuttering who rely on insurance for speech therapy, ensuring they receive consistent coverage for this specific treatment.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the New Jersey Immigrant Trust Act (A-1400), prohibits state and local government agencies - including law enforcement, schools, and hospitals - from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on immigration detainer requests that lack judicial warrants. It directly affects immigrants and their families by ensuring they can access public services like healthcare and education without fear of deportation. Key provisions ban agencies from holding individuals beyond their release date based on federal immigration detainers (like I-247 forms) and require them to prioritize local safety over federal immigration enforcement. The law aims to prevent unconstitutional detentions and maintain community trust in public services, as federal detainers have been found to violate constitutional rights in multiple courts.

Maddy summaryThis bill exempts volunteer first responders (like firefighters and EMTs who serve without pay) from coverage under New Jersey's unemployment compensation law. It also excludes payments they receive for volunteer emergency services from their taxable gross income. The legislation amends New Jersey Statutes §43:21-19 (defining unemployment benefits terms) and adds provisions to clarify these exemptions. These changes directly affect volunteer emergency service workers by removing them from unemployment benefit calculations and making their service payments non-taxable.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill (A 994) establishes governance and financial standards for developmental disability service providers receiving $250,000+ in state-funded billable services annually. It requires these "covered provider agencies" to create independent boards (majority non-affiliated members), hold quarterly meetings, publicly share board details, and appoint recipient advocates as non-voting observers. Key financial provisions include limiting administrative costs to 15% of program revenue, setting salary caps for executives based on agency size, banning loans to staff/board members, and mandating annual audited financial reports. These rules directly affect agencies serving individuals enrolled in state disability waiver programs, aiming to ensure funds primarily benefit recipients rather than administrative costs.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A 993) creates a legal process for New Jersey's Department of Human Services to request a court-appointed receiver (temporary manager) for a provider of services to individuals with developmental disabilities. It applies when a provider fails to correct serious health, safety, or care violations at a service site after being notified, as documented by the Department. The receiver would take control of the provider's assets, manage operations to fix violations, and ensure continuity of care for recipients, while being protected from certain creditor actions for 90 days. The bill also allows providers to propose a remediation plan instead of receiver appointment if they can demonstrate timely correction under court supervision.

Maddy summaryThis bill revises New Jersey's law governing employment programs for people with disabilities, renaming it the "Extended Employment Act" and updating terminology (e.g., replacing "sheltered workshop" with "extended employment"). It directly affects individuals with significant disabilities who choose these programs, as well as nonprofit providers offering vocational services. Key provisions include defining "extended employment" as community-based work opportunities with flexible service models (like retail or restaurants), requiring nonprofit providers to be nationally accredited, and tying state funding to inflation (CPI-W) rather than fixed amounts. The law also expands program goals to include competitive integrated employment and requires providers to submit annual expense analyses for funding adjustments.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill creates a 17-member Military Suicide Prevention Task Force within the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Department of Human Services. The task force includes military leaders, veterans, mental health experts, and representatives from state agencies, with specific requirements for veteran representation and expertise in areas like PTSD and military sexual trauma. Its key duties are to review military suicide issues, identify evidence-based prevention strategies, recommend state actions (including legislation), and submit biannual reports to the Governor and Legislature. The task force directly affects active-duty service members, veterans, and state agencies responsible for military and veteran services in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases funding for New Jersey's Work First New Jersey Child Care program by $28 million in the FY2026 budget, raising its appropriation from $565.8 million to $593.8 million. It directly affects lower-income families who rely on child care subsidies to cover expenses, reversing actions taken in August 2025 that paused new applications and raised family copayments from 1-5% to 2-6% of income. The bill requires the state to resume accepting new applications and return to pre-August 2025 copayment rates (no higher than those in place on June 30, 2025). This funding adjustment addresses a projected shortfall identified by the Department of Human Services to ensure the program operates fully without suspending enrollment.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill replaces all references to "alien" and "illegal alien" in state laws with "foreign national" and "undocumented foreign national," respectively. It directly affects state statutes covering inheritance, estates, and lottery prize distributions, as seen in amended sections like N.J.S.3B:5-12 and the lottery assignment rules. The key mechanism is a simple terminology update across all state laws and a prohibition on executive branch agencies using the outdated terms. The bill makes no new policy changes - it only updates language to align with current terminology. It is currently pending in the Assembly State and Local Government Committee.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A 1371) allows parents or legal custodians separated from their children due to federal immigration actions - such as detention, arrest, or removal - to formally appoint a standby guardian for their minor child. It expands existing standby guardianship law to specifically include "administrative separation" caused by immigration enforcement. Parents can designate a guardian through written consent (without needing medical proof for immigration-related cases), and the guardian assumes care upon the parent's separation, without terminating parental rights. The bill directly affects immigrant parents facing immigration enforcement actions who wish to secure childcare arrangements in advance.