Asm. Chris DePhillips

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes two programs to support startup businesses in New Jersey. It creates a "Startup Businesses in Business Incubators Development Program" that provides financial assistance to business accelerators and incubators that support startups in specific technology fields like clean energy, life sciences, and advanced materials. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority will match 20% of funding provided by research institutions, up to $200,000 per accelerator or incubator, to help these businesses with operating expenses. The bill also provides tax credits (15% of operating expenses for seven years) for qualifying startups participating in these programs, with annual reporting requirements for the authority.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey's Economic Development Authority (EDA) to create a program offering one-time grants of up to $10,000 to veterans who purchase business franchises in the state. It directly affects veterans who are approved by the EDA for participation and become franchisees operating within New Jersey. Key provisions include requiring veterans to apply for approval, prioritizing those applying within six months of the bill's effective date, and mandating annual reporting to verify the funds were used for franchise purchases within the state. The EDA will administer the program using a dedicated fund supported by state appropriations and eligible private donations.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits New Jersey employers from refusing to hire or firing employees based on their legal use of cannabis outside of work hours. It allows drug testing only under specific circumstances like reasonable suspicion of impairment during work, observable intoxication, or after work-related accidents. Employers may not conduct pre-employment cannabis testing except for certain safety-sensitive positions involving critical infrastructure, public utilities, transportation safety, or law enforcement where firearms are required. The bill also establishes a certification program for workplace impairment recognition experts to help determine if an employee is impaired by cannabis while on the job. These protections do not apply to employees in jobs where impairment could pose a high risk to safety or public health.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill (A1320) prohibits public entities (like state/local governments) and public employees from entering into confidential settlements for claims against them, except for national security matters. All such settlements must be made public records under New Jersey's open records laws. The bill specifically preserves existing protections that keep victim identities confidential in cases involving child abuse or sex crimes against minors under age 18. It does not affect current requirements for protecting victim privacy in those specific cases.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires a court to mandate a psychological examination for a parent who lost custody of their child due to being deemed unfit, neglectful, or grossly immoral (but without termination of parental rights), when the child is in a grandparent's care and the parent seeks to regain custody. It specifically applies when a grandparent has custody under existing law and the parent requests a custody change. The bill amends New Jersey law to require this examination before the court can modify the custody arrangement. It does not change custody standards but adds a psychological evaluation step in these specific circumstances.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all health insurance plans in New Jersey to cover annual mental health screenings under the same terms as other medical services. It applies to individual and group health insurance policies, health maintenance organizations, and state health benefit programs. Insurers must provide this coverage without applying more restrictive limitations than those for other medical services. The law mandates coverage for mental health conditions as defined by current medical standards. The bill will take effect 90 days after enactment for all plans issued or renewed on or after that date.

Maddy summaryThis bill limits the duration of certain emergency orders, rules, or regulations issued by New Jersey's Governor under the Civil Defense Act to a maximum of 14 days. It requires the Legislature to approve any extension beyond this 14-day period through a concurrent resolution. The Governor cannot issue identical or substantially similar orders for the same emergency after one expires under this rule. Exceptions include orders rescinding prior emergency measures, federal compliance requirements, internal state government operations, military orders, or orders issued under other laws with longer terms.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires healthcare providers in federally qualified health centers and community health centers to screen for high-risk pregnancies using guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. If a pregnancy is identified as high-risk, providers must refer the patient to a specialist in high-risk pregnancies (a perinatologist). It also mandates reporting fetal deaths occurring at 20 weeks or more of gestation to a state electronic database. These requirements aim to improve birth outcomes and protect the health of low-income expectant mothers at risk for complications.

Maddy summaryThe "Vegetation Management Response Act" authorizes New Jersey's electric public utilities to manage vegetation near power lines to prevent outages. It defines "dangerous vegetation" as trees or plants that could interfere with power infrastructure and permits utilities to clear, cut, or remove such vegetation using ANSI A300 tree care standards. Utilities must notify affected customers and property owners at least seven days in advance of vegetation management activities and conduct annual public education programs about vegetation management. The bill ensures that local shade tree commissions cannot block utility vegetation management, though utilities must still follow environmental rules and may be held liable for damage caused by non-compliance with commission regulations.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A1313, "Madison Holleran Proper Reporting Act") requires New Jersey colleges and universities to publicly post on their websites the total number of enrolled students who died by suicide or attempted suicide in the previous academic year. Starting with the 2019-2020 school year, institutions must update this data annually. The law applies directly to all institutions of higher education in New Jersey and mandates transparency about student mental health outcomes. It does not require detailed personal information or specify how data is collected, only the annual public posting of aggregate totals.