Asm. Bill Spearman

Maddy summaryThis bill increases the credit given to individuals incarcerated for failing to pay court-imposed financial obligations (like fines, fees, or motor vehicle penalties) from $50 to $90 per day of confinement. It directly affects people who default on such payments and are jailed, allowing them to apply more of their time served toward reducing their outstanding debt. The change modifies two sections of New Jersey law (N.J.S.2C:46-2 and R.S.39:5-36) to raise the minimum daily credit amount. Incarceration remains a penalty for willful default but now provides greater relief toward the original debt. The policy change aims to provide more meaningful credit for time served while maintaining that the full debt amount must still be paid.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey public school districts to provide written informational materials to all students in grades K-12 about the U.S. citizenship process. The materials must cover applying for citizenship, preparing for tests, and local citizenship workshops, and must be available in English, Spanish, and any other language significant to the district's student population. School districts must also host two annual parent sessions (in-person or virtual) explaining citizenship steps. The New Jersey Department of Education will develop guidelines to help districts identify resources. The law applies to all public school districts starting the first full school year after enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all teacher certification candidates who complete an approved educator preparation program to complete an anti-racism training course beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. It also mandates that candidates entering teaching through alternate certification routes complete the training within one year of employment. The training must cover diversity in teaching, developing racial literacy, examining personal biases, and understanding how race affects classroom decisions like grading and discipline. Educator preparation programs must update their curricula to include this requirement and share syllabi and required texts online, though the state does not approve course content. The bill directly affects all new teacher certification applicants in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits the disclosure of personal information, including home addresses and telephone numbers, for probation officers in New Jersey. It expands the existing Daniel's Law protections - which previously covered judicial officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers - to include probation officers specifically defined in the bill. The law creates a process through the Office of Information Privacy for requesting redaction of personal information and establishes civil liability and criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure. This applies to all probation officer titles covered under contracts between the New Jersey State Judiciary and the Probation Association of New Jersey, including roles like Probation Officer, Senior Probation Officer, and Court Service Supervisor.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends New Jersey's existing law to rename the "New Jersey Black Cultural and Heritage Initiative Foundation" to the "New Jersey Black Heritage Foundation." It reduces the foundation's board of trustees from 25 to 12 members, adds the Governor or designee as a board member, and increases public board members' terms from three to five years. Crucially, the bill mandates an annual $500,000 state appropriation for the foundation's operations starting in fiscal year 2023, requiring the executive director to submit an annual budget request to the Governor and Treasury. The foundation directly affects Black cultural organizations, arts groups, and tourism initiatives across New Jersey that receive its support for programming, education, and heritage preservation.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a Community Crisis Response Advisory Council within the Department of Health to develop recommendations for community crisis response programs. It creates a pilot program in Camden, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, and Passaic Counties to fund community-based crisis response teams that provide non-law enforcement intervention for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises, including mental health and substance use issues. The program appropriates $10 million, with grants up to $2 million per municipality for eligible community-based organizations that partner with harm reduction centers and meet specific community engagement criteria. The pilot requires annual reporting on program status and a final report after three years with recommendations for potential statewide expansion. The bill directly affects municipalities in the five counties, community-based organizations, and individuals experiencing behavioral health crises who would receive alternative crisis response services instead of law enforcement involvement.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows courts to include in domestic violence restraining orders a provision that automatically applies to a victim's child upon birth, if the victim is pregnant and requests this protection. It directly affects pregnant victims of domestic violence and their unborn children by extending legal protections without requiring the victim to return to court after childbirth. The key mechanism is that courts can now add this provision to restraining orders at the victim's request, rather than requiring the victim to seek a new order after the child is born. This change implements a court ruling that found it unreasonable to require victims to return to court immediately after giving birth to extend protections to their newborns.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A2815) establishes a program where groups of nonpublic schools (consortia) take over transportation responsibilities for students who are legally required to receive school bus service from public school districts. Under the program, participating school districts would pay consortia the current aid-in-lieu transportation rate ($1,022 per student) for mandated transportation, and the consortia would assume all transportation duties for those students. Consortia may also offer optional transportation for other students at parental cost (capped at $1,022), and must refund unused funds to districts based on actual student usage. The program requires annual audits, an oversight committee, and takes effect immediately for the 2023-2024 school year.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A1940) requires law enforcement officers to provide domestic violence victims with information about their rights in English, Spanish, and up to 10 additional high-demand languages spoken in New Jersey, as identified in the Supreme Court-approved Language Access Plan. It also mandates the Administrative Office of the Courts to create standard templates for temporary and final restraining orders in these languages for use by law enforcement, municipal courts, and Superior Court judges. These templates would be provided to both victims and defendants when restraining orders are issued. The bill aims to improve language access for non-English speaking domestic violence victims seeking legal protections across New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill (A2384) creates the "New Jersey Grid Modernization Task Force" within the Governor's Office. The task force will develop a master plan to modernize the state's electric grid, addressing rising demand from electric vehicles, residential solar installations, and electric heating systems. It will also examine how increased EV adoption affects funding for the Transportation Trust Fund. The 15-member task force - including state agency leaders, utility representatives, industry experts, and public appointees - must submit its plan to the Governor and Legislature within one year of formation. The task force expires 30 days after submitting its report.