Asm. Lisa Swain

Maddy summaryBill A 3035 requires New Jersey long-term care facilities (including nursing homes and assisted living residences) to meet annually with each resident and their family to review emergency contact information on file. It also mandates that facilities offer residents the chance to update their emergency contact details - defined as primary and secondary contacts - twice each year. The bill emphasizes compliance with privacy laws and clarifies that facilities may still share resident information with non-emergency contacts. This policy directly affects residents, their families, and the facilities managing their care, aiming to ensure contact information remains current for emergencies.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases the maximum age for residents in New Jersey's pediatric long-term care facilities from 19 to 26 years old. It directly affects facilities licensed under P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) and young adults aged 19-26 who currently must transition to adult care at age 19. The key provision modifies licensing rules to permit these facilities to admit and serve residents up to age 26. The Commissioner of Health must adopt implementing rules under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires businesses bidding on New Jersey state contracts exceeding $50,000 to disclose all labor or employment law violations (including wage, safety, or workers' compensation breaches) from the past two years. State agencies evaluating bids must assess the seriousness of disclosed violations and may disqualify bidders whose violations pose a significant health/safety risk or show disregard for the law. It directly affects contractors seeking state work by adding a transparency requirement tied to their labor compliance record. The policy change focuses on ensuring contractors have a clean labor record before securing public contracts.

Maddy summaryThis bill standardizes pension benefits for New Jersey teachers by moving all current non-retired members of the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF) into a single benefit tier (previously called "Tier 1"), granting them the same retirement benefits as members who joined before July 1, 2007. It requires public employers to enroll teachers earning above minimum salary but not meeting work-hour requirements into TAPF within 60 days of enactment. Teachers in the separate Defined Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP) can automatically transfer their service credit to TAPF for retirement eligibility (but not pension amount calculations), with contributions staying in DCRP; they may opt out within six months of notification. The bill also allows TAPF members with long-term disability insurance to apply for disability retirement within two years of enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the "Lead Education, Accountability, and Disclosure Act," requires New Jersey public community water systems (serving 15+ connections or 25+ year-round residents) to provide specific lead-related information to customers. Water systems must include details on lead sources, health risks, and reduction steps in annual Consumer Confidence Reports and send written notices to new customers within 90 days of service. Before any lead pipe work, systems must notify affected customers about temporary water quality risks and provide exposure-reduction measures. The law takes effect immediately, focusing on transparency rather than mandating pipe replacement.

Maddy summaryACR 97 proposes a constitutional amendment requiring New Jersey's Legislature to create a $200 property tax credit for the primary residence of volunteer firefighters or first aid/rescue squad members. It directly affects volunteer emergency responders who serve as active members of qualifying fire companies or squads incorporated under state law. The key mechanism mandates that any statute enacted under this amendment must require the state to annually reimburse municipalities for the full cost of these tax credits. This policy change would provide a fixed tax benefit to eligible homeowners without increasing local tax burdens.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey bill A2365 extends in-state tuition eligibility to spouses and dependents of military service members who move due to a service member's transfer. It allows these individuals to maintain in-state tuition rates at public colleges in New Jersey if they were already enrolled before the transfer and maintain continuous enrollment. The bill specifically applies to spouses and dependents who were attending school in New Jersey prior to the military relocation, ensuring they don't lose tuition benefits during temporary moves. This change directly affects military families facing frequent relocations, removing a barrier to educational affordability during service-related transfers. The policy update amends existing law (P.L.1985, c.231) to include these scenarios without requiring new funding.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes New Jersey's tax code to exclude certain retirement savings contributions from taxable gross income. It directly affects New Jersey residents who contribute to qualifying retirement plans, such as 401(k)s or IRAs, by reducing their taxable income for state tax purposes. The key provision amends the definition of "gross income" to specify that contributions to these plans are not counted toward taxable earnings. As a result, taxpayers would pay less state income tax on the amounts they save for retirement through these qualified plans. The bill is currently in the introduction stage (2026-01-13) and has not yet been voted on.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill expands the crime of bias intimidation to cover more protected characteristics like gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability, and increases penalties for such offenses. It raises the severity of bias intimidation to one degree higher than the underlying crime (e.g., making a fourth-degree offense a third-degree crime), adds mandatory sentencing for first-degree cases, and requires courts to impose separate sentences for bias intimidation and the underlying offense. Perpetrators convicted of bias intimidation must also complete sensitivity training, counseling, or pay compensation to victim support programs. Victims of bias-motivated crimes benefit from new financial penalties ($250-$2,000 per offense) collected by the state and directed to community services. The law applies to anyone committing crimes like assault or harassment with bias motivation, directly affecting both offenders and victims in hate crime cases.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates $10 million from the General Fund to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) for installing highway guard rail along Route 208 in specific areas of Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, Hawthorne, Glen Rock, Fair Lawn, and Oakland. It directly affects motorists and residents whose properties border Route 208 in sections lacking guard rail, aiming to improve safety. The key provision is the targeted funding for guard rail installation where needed, with the DOT exempt from standard design manual guidelines for this project. The bill creates a concrete policy change by allocating dedicated funds for this specific infrastructure safety upgrade.