Sen. Linda Greenstein

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in New Jersey hospitals, ambulatory surgery facilities, developmental centers, and psychiatric hospitals. It requires facilities to maintain specific ratios (such as 1:4 for medical/surgical units and 1:2 for critical care) and implement an acuity-based staffing system to adjust for patient needs. Facilities that violate these requirements face civil penalties, with fines deposited into a dedicated fund for nursing recruitment, retention programs, and student loan forgiveness. The bill directly affects healthcare facilities and their nursing staff, aiming to improve patient safety through mandated staffing standards.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires healthcare providers to order bilateral ultrasounds at the same time as mammograms when medically necessary, and mandates insurers to cover both tests together. It directly affects women receiving breast cancer screenings (especially those with dense breast tissue, abnormal results, or risk factors), healthcare providers who order the tests, and health insurers. Key provisions amend existing law to require concurrent coverage for ultrasounds and mammograms, rather than separate approvals, when a provider deems it appropriate based on medical guidelines. The bill does not change screening recommendations but ensures insurers pay for both tests when ordered together. It applies to all health insurance contracts in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the New Jersey Alzheimer's Disease Master Plan Study Commission within the Department of Human Services. The 15-member commission - comprising state health officials, bipartisan legislators, and appointed experts including caregivers, healthcare providers, and legal specialists - will develop a comprehensive master plan within two years. The plan must address critical areas including caregiver support, community-based care alternatives to institutions, dementia awareness, prevention of abuse, and affordable housing. It will also set measurable benchmarks to improve care quality, funding, and the well-being of individuals with Alzheimer's and their families across the state.

Maddy summaryS 991 creates a permanent unit within New Jersey's State Office of Emergency Management to specifically support residents with access and functional needs during disasters. This unit directly affects people with disabilities, older adults, those with limited English proficiency, transportation barriers, or financial constraints - representing about 24.6% of New Jersey adults. The unit will coordinate regional planning to identify needs before, during, and after emergencies; assess resource availability; address access barriers; and collaborate with local emergency offices. It will operate with one full-time supervisor and three full-time planners across the state's northern, central, and southern regions.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends New Jersey's Crime Victims' Bill of Rights to clarify and expand protections for individuals affected by crime. Key changes include requiring prosecutors to consult victims before plea negotiations (subsections o and m), ensuring victims can submit written impact statements before charging decisions, and creating a court procedure to verify victims were properly consulted about plea agreements (new section 4). It directly affects crime victims, witnesses, and their representatives in criminal cases involving prosecution, court proceedings, or sentencing. The bill updates existing rights without altering prosecutors' discretion or adding new financial obligations.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new program to reimburse counties for providing transportation to disabled veterans traveling to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical appointments in New Jersey or neighboring states. It removes previous restrictions that limited veterans to only specific transportation methods, allowing counties to use public transit, private vehicles, or county-owned services for reimbursement. The program directly affects disabled veterans with service-connected disabilities and participating county governments. It appropriates $2 million from the state General Fund to fund this transportation assistance, effective six months after enactment. The law amends existing provisions to expand access for veterans who cannot use existing state or federal travel programs.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a pilot program to incentivize energy storage system installations in New Jersey. It provides two types of financial support: one-time upfront payments to cover installation costs (based on storage capacity) and recurring performance payments for systems benefiting the grid. The program targets both customer-sited systems (on the customer side of the meter) and utility-owned front-of-the-meter systems, with at least one-third of upfront incentives reserved for low-income customers and overburdened communities. The Board of Public Utilities must establish the program within 90 days of the bill's effective date, using data from similar programs in other states.

Maddy summaryS 1392 creates an Office of Clean Energy Equity within New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to ensure clean energy programs benefit overburdened communities - areas facing environmental and economic challenges. The bill requires the BPU to establish solar programs reaching 250,000 low-income households by 2030 (reducing their energy costs to under 6% of income) and deploy 1,600 megawatt-hours of energy storage in these communities by 2030. It mandates at least $50 million annually for the office to fund workforce training, community outreach, and program evaluation, with strict requirements for community input and resiliency-focused energy storage. The law directly affects low-income households and overburdened communities through targeted energy cost reductions, job opportunities, and improved disaster resilience.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires health insurers in New Jersey to cover mammograms for women starting at age 18, rather than the current requirement of age 40. It also mandates coverage for additional imaging tests like ultrasounds, MRIs, and 3D mammograms when medically necessary due to breast density, abnormal results, or risk factors such as family history or genetic testing. The law applies to all health insurance plans, including individual, group, and state health benefit programs. Coverage must be provided at the same level as for other medical conditions. This represents a significant expansion of breast cancer screening requirements for women in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill provides a tax credit for businesses that retrofit existing warehouses (100,000+ square feet) with designated solar-ready zones, but only after solar panels are installed. The credit covers up to 50% of retrofit costs or $250,000 per warehouse, with a total limit of $25 million across all claims. To qualify, warehouses must meet size requirements, have a solar-ready zone (defined as at least 40% of roof area designated for solar panels), and have panels installed. Businesses must prove panel installation to claim the credit, which applies to up to eight warehouses per tax period.