Asm. Shama Haider

Maddy summaryThis bill requires nonpublic schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide free lunches to all students, including those from middle-income families. It expands eligibility for free school lunches to students from households with annual incomes up to 249% of the federal poverty level during the 2024-2025 school year. The State would provide funding to reimburse participating schools for the costs of serving these free meals. This applies to both public and nonpublic schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all New Jersey government entities - including municipalities, counties, school districts, and state agencies - to conduct an internal review of their cybersecurity systems. Each entity must evaluate current system security, identify high-risk issues, propose modernization strategies for networks and software, and suggest policy changes. The head of each entity must submit findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature within 45 days of the bill's effective date. It does not create new cybersecurity standards but mandates systematic reviews across all government levels.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A2149) establishes the Office of Sustainability within New Jersey's Department of the Treasury to oversee environmental practices in state buildings. The office will develop and implement measures to improve energy efficiency, increase water conservation, reduce carbon footprints, and adopt green building standards across all state-owned and leased properties. Key mechanisms include requiring energy audits every three years for all state buildings and coordinating with agencies to procure sustainable products like energy-efficient equipment and recycled materials. The bill directly affects all New Jersey state agencies and buildings, mandating concrete sustainability actions for their operations.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits medical students, residents, and trainees from performing certain examinations on female patients who are anesthetized or unconscious without the patient's informed consent. It requires a supervising health care practitioner to first obtain the patient's consent or confirm the exam is medically necessary. Female patients must be allowed to choose whether to undergo such examinations before or after anesthesia if the exam relates to their procedure or is deemed necessary beforehand. The law applies to all clinical settings where these examinations occur and takes effect 180 days after enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows New Jersey public school students experiencing specific menstrual disorders - such as severe cramps (dysmenorrhea), endometriosis, heavy bleeding (menorrhagia), or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) - to attend school remotely when symptoms interfere with in-person learning. Parents or guardians must submit a written request by the start of the school day and provide medical documentation as required by the school principal. Remote attendance will count as a full day of school for graduation requirements and course credit. The state education commissioner, in consultation with health officials, will establish guidelines for schools to define eligible remote days.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey state agencies that collect demographic data to create specific categories for Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian/Indian Diaspora communities. It mandates breaking down data by detailed subgroups (e.g., Chinese, Lebanese, Guyanese) and separately tracking primary language spoken at home, replacing current broad categories. Agencies must include this detailed data in public reports and post it online, excluding personal information. The change aims to improve data accuracy for communities currently undercounted or misclassified, such as MENA residents (often grouped as "White") and South Asian diaspora groups. This affects all state agencies collecting demographic information, including departments, boards, and public universities.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey's A1918 requires state government agencies (like departments and bureaus providing public services) to translate vital documents and provide interpretation services in the 15 most common non-English languages spoken by limited-English proficiency residents, based on U.S. Census data. Agencies must complete translations for the 10 most common languages within 365 days of the law's effective date and the additional 5 within 730 days, with immediate translation for applications, rights notices, and privacy documents. Each agency must create a language access plan within 90 days detailing how they'll provide services, train staff, document usage, and assign a language access coordinator to monitor compliance and produce annual reports. Funding for implementation comes from American Rescue Plan Act funds and state General Fund, with no requirement to remove existing translation obligations (like Spanish services).

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill A1393 allows county election boards to begin canvassing early votes and mail-in ballots before election day under specific conditions. County boards may start processing early votes 24 hours after the early voting period ends and mail-in ballots 10 days before the election, following security guidelines set by the Secretary of State. All canvassing results must remain confidential and cannot be disclosed until after polls close on election day. Violating this confidentiality would be punishable as a third-degree crime, consistent with current mail-in ballot rules. This bill modifies existing election laws to permit earlier processing while maintaining security and secrecy requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires packaging product producers in New Jersey (including manufacturers, brand owners, sellers, and importers) to develop and implement stewardship plans for managing packaging waste. The plans must include specific targets like 75% post-consumer content in single-use packaging by 2027, making all single-use packaging recyclable or compostable by 2030, and reducing single-use plastic packaging by 25% by 2030. Producers must cover all costs for collection, transportation, reuse, and recycling of packaging waste through their stewardship plans, which must be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection. The bill prohibits producers from selling packaging products without an approved plan, with penalties including fines and sales restrictions for non-compliance.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A1427) requires New Jersey Transit (NJT) to create guidelines for on-demand micro transit pilot programs operating across the state. The guidelines must ensure affordability for residents in "transit deserts" (areas with limited public transportation access), encourage union hiring for drivers, and specify vehicle requirements (including commercial driver license rules). NJT must prioritize expanding these services to Bergen, Mercer, and Middlesex counties, focusing on connecting transit-dependent communities to regional rail networks. The programs would provide app-based shared rides where users select pickup/drop-off locations in real time.