Asm. Chris DePhillips

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a 18-member Special Education Transportation Task Force to study and recommend best practices for transporting students with special education needs. The task force will focus on improving responses to medical and behavioral emergencies during transportation, safety protocols, access to necessary equipment, and communication with families. Composed of education officials, disability advocates, school staff, and parents, the group must submit its recommendations to the Governor and Legislature within 12 months of forming. The bill does not create new laws but sets a process for evaluating and improving existing transportation practices.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits candidates and elected officials in New Jersey from using campaign contributions to pay for legal defense costs related to criminal charges. It amends campaign finance law to explicitly ban using funds raised for election campaigns to cover expenses from defending against violations of Title 2C (e.g., bribery, official misconduct) or other criminal statutes. The law applies to all candidates and elected officials, clarifying that campaign funds were never intended for personal legal expenses. This change ensures campaign contributions can only be used for election-related purposes, not personal criminal defense.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A 1088) establishes the Overdose Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board in New Jersey to analyze cases involving overdose deaths or serious medical conditions caused by controlled substances. The board, composed of 13 members including state health and law enforcement officials plus public representatives, will confidentially review each case to identify causes, patterns, risk factors, and gaps in prevention services. It will maintain a secure master file with basic case details (like age and circumstances) while protecting victim identities, and issue reports with recommendations to improve responses across government agencies. The board’s work aims to inform policies targeting substance use disorder and reduce future overdose incidents.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes how energy tax payments are handled in New Jersey. It requires energy companies (like gas, electric, and utility providers) to pay their taxes directly to local municipalities instead of the state, ensuring the full $740 million annual property tax relief aid is distributed directly to towns and cities. The State Treasurer will determine each municipality's share based on historical payments and direct energy taxpayers to make payments to specific local governments. This replaces the previous system where the state collected taxes and redistributed funds, aiming to streamline relief for municipalities.

Maddy summaryThis bill provides a temporary sales tax deduction for qualifying food and beverage businesses in New Jersey. It allows restaurants (excluding fast-food), mobile food vendors (like food trucks), and alcohol establishments to deduct up to $70,000 in collected sales tax per business location per month during a four-month relief period. Businesses can claim this deduction for up to five locations or vehicles, but the deduction cannot exceed taxes actually collected that month. The relief period begins two months after the bill's effective date and ends five months after enactment.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill increases tax credits for corporations conducting research. It raises the credit rate from 10% to 15% for businesses primarily operating in targeted industries like clean energy, life sciences, and advanced technology. It also increases the basic research payment credit rate to 15% and allows the total credit to be refundable (meaning businesses can receive cash payments even if they owe no tax). The law applies to corporations in industries identified by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, including innovation-focused sectors such as autonomous vehicles, hemp processing, and digital media.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates an 11-member Open Public Records Act (OPRA) Study Commission to examine how New Jersey's public records law operates in practice. The commission will review OPRA's real-world implementation, assess impacts of technology and court rulings, balance public access with privacy concerns, and analyze commercial use of records, while comparing New Jersey's system to other states. It directly affects government records custodians, citizens requesting records, and public officials responsible for OPRA compliance. The commission must submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature and Governor within one year of its first meeting, after which it will expire.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows New Jersey municipalities to earn extra credit toward their affordable housing requirements by reserving units for low- or moderate-income teachers. Specifically, each housing unit reserved for a teacher household earns one full credit plus half a bonus credit. The bill defines "teacher" broadly as anyone employed to teach pre-K through 12th grade in public or private schools. It takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill revises New Jersey's tax brackets for married couples filing jointly (and similar taxpayers like heads of household), raising the threshold for the lowest tax rate from $20,000 to $40,000 for 2020+ tax years. It directly affects married couples filing jointly by reducing their tax burden on income between $20,000-$40,000 annually, eliminating a previously higher tax rate that disproportionately impacted these filers. The key change updates Section 54A:2-1, subsection (a)(7), shifting the first tax bracket to apply to income under $40,000 (previously $20,000) and adjusting subsequent rates accordingly. This policy change specifically targets the "marriage penalty" where joint filers paid more tax than separate filers at certain income levels.

Maddy summaryThis bill adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism as an educational resource for New Jersey state agencies, schools, and law enforcement. It defines antisemitism as hatred toward Jews, including specific examples like Holocaust denial, harmful stereotypes (e.g., conspiracy theories about Jewish control), and double standards applied to Israel. The definition is explicitly non-binding and must be used while protecting constitutional rights like free speech. New Jersey lawmakers cite the state's high rate of antisemitic incidents - including ranking third nationally in 2023 - as the basis for this measure.