Sen. Shirley Turner

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency to provide reimbursements to qualified counselors for offering pre-purchase homebuyer counseling services. By expanding the existing Foreclosure Mediation Assistance Program, the legislation aims to help potential homebuyers avoid future financial difficulties before they occur. The funding mechanism involves a dedicated state account that reimburses counselors for their work, which also continues to support pre-foreclosure and disaster-related assistance. This change applies to homeowners and renters who receive guidance from trained professionals to prevent mortgage delinquency and foreclosure.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill requires a jury, instead of a judge, to decide if certain defendants qualify as "persistent offenders" who deserve harsher prison sentences. The law applies specifically to individuals accused of repeated crimes involving stolen vehicles and shoplifting, provided they have prior convictions within a ten-year window. Under the new rules, a jury must determine whether the defendant meets the legal criteria for an extended term of imprisonment before the court can impose it. This change shifts the responsibility of establishing the grounds for enhanced sentencing from the judge to a jury trial for these specific categories of repeat offenders.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes New Jersey's Department of Health (DOH) to seek participation in the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), a global network for disease outbreak coordination. It directly affects the DOH and New Jersey's public health response system by enabling collaboration on outbreak detection, information-sharing, and emergency preparedness. Key provisions allow the DOH to communicate with GOARN, submit applications, designate contact points, and participate in trainings without creating new legal obligations or requiring additional funding beyond existing appropriations. The bill specifically clarifies it does not establish New Jersey's membership in the WHO or override federal law.

Maddy summaryNew Jersey's A796 requires electric utilities to create special rate structures for large data centers (defined as facilities with at least 100 megawatts of monthly demand) to prevent these centers from raising costs for regular residential and business customers. Utilities must file these rate plans with the Board of Public Utilities within 180 days, ensuring non-data-center customers are protected from cost increases caused by data centers' high energy use while also encouraging energy efficiency through incentives like heat-capture technology. The Board of Public Utilities will review and approve these plans, and utilities must apply them to qualifying data centers one year after the law takes effect. The bill also mandates financial safeguards, such as requiring new data centers to commit to using at least 85% of their requested service for 10 years, to further shield ratepayers from unexpected cost spikes.

Maddy summaryThis bill, titled the "John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey," is a commemorative resolution naming a state initiative after civil rights leader John Lewis. It appropriates $2.5 million but does not establish new voting procedures or protections. The bill primarily includes recognition language affirming New Jersey’s commitment to voting rights for protected classes and defines terms like "covered entity" for future reference, though no specific implementation mechanisms are detailed. As it is pending technical review and lacks concrete policy changes, it functions as a symbolic gesture rather than a substantive legislative action.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the School Employees' Health Benefits Program Act to allow the Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits to initiate temporary transfers of funds under specific circumstances. The legislation primarily affects school employers and employees by clarifying how health benefit premiums are paid and managed within a dedicated fund. It also establishes strict rules for a third-party medical claims reviewer, requiring the collection and secure storage of detailed claims data to assist in program governance and cost analysis. Additionally, the bill restricts the use of funds in a dedicated subaccount to paying claims and administrative costs for covered employees and their dependents.

Maddy summaryThis bill reduces the fees required to file various corporate documents with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. It directly affects businesses, including corporations and foreign entities, that register, amend, or dissolve their legal status within the state. The key provision lowers the cost for filing original certificates of incorporation from $125 to $100 and reduces the fee for foreign corporations seeking authority to do business in New Jersey from $125 to $100. Additionally, the bill adjusts fees for other filings such as amendments, mergers, dissolutions, and annual reports, while maintaining specific higher charges for bulk changes to registered agent addresses.

Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill temporarily increases the state child tax credit for residents with incomes up to $80,000 during the tax years 2026, 2027, and 2028. The legislation raises the credit amount by $250 for each income bracket, providing an additional $250 to families earning $30,000 or less and reducing the credit by $250 for those earning between $60,000 and $80,000. After these three years, the credit amounts will revert to their previous levels. The bill does not affect taxpayers with incomes above $80,000 or children over the age of six.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the School Employees' Health Benefits Program Act to allow the Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits to initiate temporary transfers of funds under specific circumstances. The legislation directly affects school employers and their employees by modifying how health benefit premiums are paid and managed within the state's dedicated fund. Key provisions include establishing rules for employer payment obligations, creating a subaccount for claims and health services, and defining the data collection responsibilities of a third-party medical claims reviewer. The bill also clarifies that the program's assets must be used solely for providing benefits and covering administrative costs for covered employees and their dependents.

Maddy summaryThis bill reduces filing fees for businesses in New Jersey, directly affecting corporations and foreign entities seeking to form, amend, or dissolve their legal status. It lowers the cost for filing original certificates of incorporation from $125 to $100 and reduces the fee for restated certificates from $75 to $50. Additionally, the legislation adjusts charges for various administrative actions, such as mergers, amendments, and annual reports, while introducing a tiered fee structure for bulk changes to registered agent addresses based on the number of corporations involved.