Sen. Vin Gopal

Maddy summaryNew Jersey's S 2582 establishes the Grow Your Own Teacher Loan Redemption Program through the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. It repays up to $10,000 annually in student loan principal and interest for teachers who work full-time for five years in school districts designated as having a teacher shortage, specifically in the district where they graduated high school or where they resided for over five years. Participants must have graduated from or lived in a shortage district, hold a teaching position there, and maintain student loan debt. The program limits annual state spending to $500,000 and caps total repayment at $50,000 per participant over five years.

Maddy summaryS 2599 requires companies, research facilities, and institutions using cats, dogs, or ferrets for product testing, research, or educational purposes in New Jersey to assess each animal for adoption suitability after testing ends and offer it to rescue organizations or private individuals if suitable. These entities must register with the state health department, report animal details (like type, number, and adoption status), and document efforts to place animals for adoption. Noncompliance results in civil penalties of up to $50,000 for repeated violations, with a third offense potentially leading to a court-ordered ban on animal testing. The bill establishes clear reporting procedures and enforcement mechanisms to ensure animals used in testing have adoption opportunities.

Maddy summaryThis bill legalizes personal cultivation and possession of marijuana plants for adults aged 21 or older in New Jersey. It allows individuals to grow and possess up to six marijuana plants for recreational use (with a maximum of 12 plants per household), and qualifying medical patients or their designated caregivers to grow and possess up to 10 plants for medical use (also capped at 12 plants per household). The bill amends criminal law to remove penalties for these specific amounts, making such activity not a crime, offense, or civil violation. It applies only to personal use and does not authorize commercial sales or cultivation beyond these limits.

Maddy summaryS 1210 protects tenants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking from housing discrimination by prohibiting landlords from terminating tenancies, refusing lease renewals, or denying rentals based on their victim status. Landlords must accept documentation like restraining orders, medical records, or certifications from domestic violence specialists to verify a tenant’s status. Victims can sue landlords who violate this law for damages, attorney fees, and court costs. The law applies broadly to residential rentals but does not prevent evictions for other valid reasons, such as unpaid rent or property damage.

Maddy summaryThis bill extends New Jersey's survivor pension program to cover the families of volunteer emergency workers (firefighters, EMTs, first aid/rescue volunteers) who died from COVID-19 during the 2020 public health emergency. It deems such deaths as "in course of duty" if the volunteer: (1) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the emergency period, (2) died from COVID-19, and (3) had duties requiring public interaction during the emergency. Eligible survivors (widows/widowers, children, or dependent parents) can now receive the existing pension benefit - $15,000 annually for spouses, less for others - retroactive to the year after the volunteer's death. The bill applies specifically to those whose roles involved public contact during the Governor's declared emergency.

Maddy summaryS 2602, the New Jersey Disclosure and Accountability Transparency Act (NJ DaTA), would require businesses collecting personal data from New Jersey residents to obtain explicit opt-in consent before processing it. The law sets strict rules limiting data collection to specific purposes, mandating security measures, and requiring transparency about how data is used. It creates a new Office of Data Protection within the Division of Consumer Affairs to enforce these requirements. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Commerce Committee as of its January 2026 introduction.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) in New Jersey's Office of Administrative Law to enroll in the Workers Compensation Judges Part of the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), removing them from an existing exclusion. Currently, ALJs are excluded from this retirement system under state law, but the bill amends Section 2(a)(2) of P.L. 2007, c.92 to include them. The change directly affects ALJs who serve in the Office of Administrative Law within the Department of State. It does not alter retirement benefits or create new provisions - only updates their mandatory enrollment status in the existing PERS framework.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits anyone developing or deploying an AI system in New Jersey from advertising or claiming the system can act as a licensed mental health professional. It directly affects AI developers and companies that deploy mental health-related AI tools in the state. The law defines "licensed mental health professional" broadly to include all state-licensed practitioners (like therapists, counselors, and psychologists) and specifies that AI systems cannot be marketed as providing such services. Violations would be treated as consumer fraud under state law, potentially resulting in fines up to $20,000 per offense. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Commerce Committee.

Maddy summaryS 2891 prohibits drug manufacturers, pharmacies, wholesalers, and healthcare providers from using devices, kiosks, or systems to steer patients to specific pharmacies or restrict their pharmacy choice when dispensing prescription drugs or samples. It requires explicit patient consent before transmitting personal health information to a particular pharmacy, with full disclosure of the patient’s right to choose their pharmacy or decline sharing information. Violations carry significant penalties: $100,000+ for companies per violation and $250+ for healthcare providers. The bill directly affects patients (by protecting their pharmacy choice), healthcare practitioners, and pharmaceutical entities. It aims to prevent restrictive marketing practices without altering existing authority for prescribing drugs.

Maddy summaryS 1982, the "Fentanyl and Xylazine Poisoning Awareness Act," requires New Jersey public school districts to include age-appropriate instruction on the dangers of fentanyl and xylazine in health and physical education curricula for students in grades 6-12. The bill mandates teaching about prevention, symptoms of poisoning, emergency response, and legal protections for seeking help, using resources from federal agencies like the CDC and DEA. School districts must provide this instruction as part of existing health standards, and the state education department must post related materials online for staff, students, and parents. The bill was withdrawn on January 13, 2026, after being approved as P.L.2025, c.278, and is no longer active.