Asm. Cody Miller

Maddy summaryThis bill allows winery license holders who produce up to 250,000 gallons of wine annually to sell their wine to other wineries in New Jersey for sale on the buyer's premises, or to sell wine to wineries outside New Jersey in accordance with those states' laws. It establishes a new "supplemental wine production facility sublicense" that permits winery license holders to produce wine at a separate facility they own or lease, with wine sold to other wineries counting toward the buyer's production volume but not the seller's. The bill requires that at least 50% of a winery's annual wine sales must be produced on its own premises. Winery license holders with this sublicense pay a $750 fee and cannot sell wine directly to consumers at the supplemental facility. This change provides wineries with more flexibility in production and distribution while maintaining certain local production requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A4589) allows organizations licensed to operate bingo, raffles, and penny auctions in New Jersey to accept credit cards, debit cards, or other electronic payments for ticket or share purchases. It directly affects licensed venues (like community centers or nonprofits) that host these games and their participants. The bill requires the Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission to create new regulations enabling electronic payments, updating current law which only permitted cash transactions. The change takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a program offering conditional admission to New Jersey's public colleges and universities for eligible high school seniors. To qualify, students must be NJ residents for at least one year, attend public high school, and meet academic merit standards based on GPA, coursework rigor (like AP/IB classes), test scores, and state assessments. Public institutions must offer admission to qualifying students within their available capacity, though it does not guarantee specific majors or programs. The program requires annual reporting on participation demographics and impact, particularly for low-income students and underserved groups, to assess effectiveness.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands eligibility for New Jersey's Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF) to include certain substitute teachers who were previously excluded. It amends the law to allow eligible substitutes - defined by specific criteria in the bill - to enroll in the retirement system, directly affecting their access to pension benefits. The key change modifies the definition of "member" in the pension law to include these substitute educators. This policy shift provides a concrete pathway for qualifying substitutes to build retirement savings through TPAF.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires colleges and universities with over 2,000 full-time equivalent students to pay annual contributions to their host municipalities. Payments are calculated using a formula based on on-campus and commuter student counts ($100 per student annually, adjusted for inflation), with institutions eligible for up to 50% credit if they provide direct community services like fire/EMS staffing or local scholarships. Funds must be deposited into a dedicated "University Host Services Fund" for municipal costs related to public safety, emergency services, traffic control, and campus events. The bill applies specifically to institutions with a primary campus in a municipality, aiming to offset costs from student populations and campus growth.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey Assembly Bill A5862 appropriates $34 million from constitutionally dedicated corporation business tax (CBT) revenues to fund farmland preservation. The funds will provide planning incentive grants to eligible counties - specifically five counties receiving base grants of $500,000-$1 million, plus 10 additional counties eligible for competitive grants - to cover up to 80% of costs for permanent land protections (development easements) on farmland. The grants are administered through the State Agriculture Development Committee under the Preserve New Jersey Farmland Preservation Fund, with a county’s maximum total award capped at $8.5 million. This bill directly affects participating counties in agricultural areas by enabling local governments to preserve farmland through permanent land protections.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes standardized credit transfer rules for New Jersey public colleges and universities, replacing previous "collective agreements" with requirements set by the Secretary of Higher Education. It creates a New Jersey Transfer Ombudsman within the Secretary's office to resolve disputes between students and institutions about credit transfers, conduct compliance reviews every three years, and publish annual reports on transfer outcomes. Public institutions must now provide transfer students with data on program completion rates and ensure associate degrees earned at community colleges are fully transferable toward bachelor's degrees. The changes directly affect students transferring between NJ public colleges and universities, as well as the institutions themselves, by standardizing credit recognition and adding oversight.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates Dementia-Specific Advance Directives (DSADs), allowing New Jersey residents with dementia to formally document their healthcare preferences - such as refusing artificial feeding or hospitalization - while they still have decision-making capacity. It establishes a secure electronic registry for DSADs, requires healthcare facilities to honor these directives, and defines "comfort feeding only" (hand-fed meals for comfort, without tubes or IVs). The law mandates training for healthcare staff on DSADs and requires facilities to provide comfort feeding options aligned with a patient’s DSAD. It directly affects individuals with dementia, their families, and all hospitals, nursing homes, and care facilities in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases payments to New Jersey municipalities for lands owned by the State or qualifying nonprofit organizations for recreation and conservation purposes. It updates a 13-year payment schedule: starting at 100% of prior tax value, then decreasing annually (to 4% in year 13), followed by new per-acre rates after year 13. The rates are $3/acre for municipalities with <20% conservation land, $7.50/acre for 20-40%, $15/acre for 40-60%, and $40/acre for ≥60% conservation land. These payments, funded from the General Fund, replace lost property tax revenue and must be used for the same municipal purposes as regular property taxes. The bill directly affects municipalities with significant conservation land holdings.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey automobile insurers to include a specific appraisal process in all insurance policies. It directly affects policyholders and insurers when they disagree on the value of a damaged car (including repair costs or total loss value) or the settlement offer for a third-party injury claim. The process mandates that if a dispute arises, the policyholder or insurer can request a neutral appraiser to assess the value, with a backup umpire or judge resolving disagreements if appraisers cannot agree. The law applies to claims filed 90 days after enactment and aims to provide a structured method for resolving valuation disputes without litigation.