Asm. John Azzariti

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the New Jersey State Police to maintain a 24-hour, toll-free hotline for anonymous tips about school safety threats, accessible via phone or text. It allows students, parents, school staff, and the public to report incidents like violence, assaults, suicide threats, or bullying without revealing their identity. The State Police must share reported information with local law enforcement and school officials to enable prompt investigation and intervention. Additionally, the State Police, in collaboration with the Department of Education, will distribute hotline details to all schools for sharing with students and families.

Maddy summaryThis bill adds Bergen County to the list of counties eligible to participate in New Jersey's "Common Sense Shared Services Pilot Program." It directly affects Bergen County municipalities and tenured employees in specific roles like municipal clerks, chief financial officers, assessors, tax collectors, and treasurers. Under the program, participating municipalities can form shared services agreements for these roles without being blocked by tenure rights, allowing dismissal of unselected employees while guaranteeing rehiring and salary restoration if the agreement ends within two years. The change expands the pilot program from seven to eight counties (adding Bergen) to test cost-saving service-sharing models.

Maddy summaryThis non-binding New Jersey Assembly Resolution (AR 116) urges the federal government to repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions for federal income tax filers. The resolution argues that New Jersey residents, who pay some of the highest property taxes in the country (averaging $9,112 in 2020), are disproportionately affected by the cap, which was enacted in 2017 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It states that the cap has contributed to outmigration from New Jersey, particularly among middle-class residents, and notes that New Jersey is a "donor state" (paying more in federal taxes than it receives in federal funding). The resolution does not create new law but formally requests federal action to restore the pre-2018 SALT deduction rules.

Maddy summaryThis bill strengthens New Jersey's Crime Victim's Bill of Rights by explicitly prohibiting defendants from entering a crime victim's home at any point during the criminal justice process - including during investigations or discovery. It allows only a defendant's attorney (or a court-appointed representative) to inspect the victim's home as a crime scene, but only if a court determines the inspection is necessary for relevant evidence and imposes strict privacy protections. The law directly affects crime victims whose homes are involved in criminal cases, ensuring they are protected from potential intimidation or harassment by the accused. The key change clarifies that victims must be free from defendant access to their homes, aligning with existing rights to be free from intimidation and to minimize inconvenience.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to create a public online database tracking all affordable housing settlement agreements and related court actions since 2015. The database will include specific details such as the number of affordable housing units each municipality must provide, the ratio of rental to ownership units, and payments made to housing advocacy groups like the Fair Share Housing Center. Municipalities and courts must provide necessary data to DCA to maintain the database, which will be accessible to the public on the DCA's website. This aims to increase transparency around how municipalities meet their affordable housing obligations under state law.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a program through the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing (NJCCN) to support veterans' memorial homes in creating or improving nursing residency programs for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered nurses (RNs). Veterans' memorial homes in New Jersey can apply for financial, material, and technical assistance to develop these programs, with applications approved on a first-come, first-served basis. The bill appropriates $500,000 from the state General Fund to fund this initiative and requires participating homes to track residency completion and job retention data, which must be reported annually to the Governor and Legislature.

Maddy summaryThis bill provides $31.6 million in supplemental funding to New Jersey school districts for transportation costs during the 2023-2024 school year. It directly affects all public school districts receiving state aid by calculating each district's share based on two student categories: $40 per regular education student requiring standard transportation, and $275 per special education student needing specialized transportation. The funding is added to existing state school aid, with amounts determined by student counts as of October 16, 2022. The appropriation comes from the Property Tax Relief Fund and takes effect immediately.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a rebuttable presumption of pretrial detention for defendants charged with aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. Under this law, such defendants would typically remain jailed before trial unless they can prove by a preponderance of evidence that release conditions (like bail or supervision) would ensure their court appearance and public safety. The bill adds this offense to the existing list of crimes triggering this presumption, which currently includes murder and crimes punishable by life imprisonment. This change shifts the burden to the defendant to overcome the presumption, while the prosecution must still establish probable cause for the underlying crime.

Maddy summaryThis bill regulates residential mental health treatment facilities in New Jersey. It requires these facilities to provide 24/7 care meeting Level 3.5 clinical standards (per American Society of Addiction Medicine), limit treatment duration to prepare patients for community care, and eliminate post-care medical necessity reviews. Facilities must obtain a license from the Commissioner of Health, prove compliance with minimum standards, and cannot operate at the same location as substance use disorder facilities. The bill also exempts these facilities from New Jersey's certificate of need requirement for facility construction or expansion. Rules establishing specific licensing standards will be adopted by the Commissioner within 90 days of the bill's effective date.

Maddy summaryThis resolution directs New Jersey's Attorney General to repeal most of Attorney General Directive 2018-6, which previously restricted local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities (ICE). It specifically urges the AG to remove barriers preventing police from sharing immigration status information with federal officials when investigating crimes. The resolution preserves provisions related to T-Visa and U-Visa certifications for victims of trafficking and crime, while modifying the directive to explicitly allow law enforcement to ask questions needed for these certifications and share immigration status details. This change would affect all New Jersey state, county, and local law enforcement agencies in their interactions with federal immigration authorities.