Sen. Angela McKnight

Maddy summaryS 4438 allows juveniles of any age to be tried in adult court for terrorism, human trafficking, and other serious crimes like murder, robbery, and assault, if a court determines the circumstances and severity of the offense warrant it. Currently, only juveniles aged 15 or older could be waived for some serious crimes, but this bill removes the age restriction for terrorism, human trafficking, and the listed offenses. The bill also requires the state to collect and report data on waiver decisions, including demographics and case details, to monitor how the policy is applied. This directly affects young people under 18 charged with these specific offenses.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits electric power suppliers and gas suppliers from charging residential customers more for standard electricity or gas service than the established "basic service" rates. It directly affects residential utility customers in New Jersey by capping their monthly charges for electricity and gas supply at the existing basic service price points. The key provision requires suppliers to maintain rates at or below the baseline rates set under existing law (P.L.1999, c.23), preventing increases that would exceed these levels. This policy change aims to limit rate hikes for households without altering the underlying basic service rates themselves. The bill applies specifically to residential customers, not businesses or industrial users.

Maddy summaryS 4478 requires New Jersey's electric and gas public utilities to create or maintain warranty programs covering the full cost to repair or replace specific household appliances. Covered appliances include furnaces, water heaters, HVAC systems, refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, and similar items. Utilities must notify all customers about the program via bill inserts every billing cycle for one year after the law takes effect, explaining their rights and how to switch from existing programs. The bill also prohibits utilities from passing on the cost of these programs to customers through higher rates. This law directly affects residential utility customers and the state's electric and gas utility providers.

Maddy summaryThis bill reinstates automatic annual cost-ofiving adjustments (COLAs) for retirement benefits of certain retired police and firefighters in New Jersey's Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS). It applies to members who have received retirement benefits for at least 10 years, excluding those who retired with 20-24 years of service, are in deferred retirement, or were hired more than 30 days after the bill's effective date. COLAs will be calculated based on the Consumer Price Index, with a $75,000 annual benefit threshold for the first year (adjusted annually thereafter), and capped at a 1% increase for benefits exceeding this amount. The bill requires the Legislature to appropriate funds from the General Fund to cover these adjustments, with the State Treasurer taking over implementation if the Board of Trustees fails to comply within six months. The adjustments apply only to future benefit payments, not retroactively.

Maddy summaryS 4487 creates a new State Board of Midwifery to regulate midwifery practice in New Jersey, replacing the current system where midwifery was overseen by the State Board of Medical Examiners. The bill establishes licensing requirements for three types of midwives (certified midwives, certified nurse midwives, and certified professional midwives) and requires the new board to approve licensure applications, recognize midwifery certification programs, and set continuing education standards including bias training. The legislation also authorizes midwives to prescribe medications under certain conditions and requires health insurance providers to cover midwifery services and home births. This bill directly affects midwives seeking licensure, their patients, and healthcare insurers across New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey public school districts to teach age-appropriate financial literacy to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, shifting the requirement from the current standard for grades six through eight. It mandates instruction on practical topics like budgeting, saving, banking, and consumer skills, tailored to young students' developmental levels. The State Board of Education must develop this requirement, and the Commissioner of Education will provide sample lesson materials to support implementation. The law takes effect immediately for the first full school year after enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a 10 percent price preference for minority-owned and women-owned businesses competing for New Jersey state contracts that are publicly advertised for bids. State agencies must award the contract to the lowest qualifying bidder after applying the 10 percent preference, or to the business with the lowest actual bid if multiple qualifying businesses bid the lowest. The bill also ensures that surviving spouses who take over a minority or women-owned business remain eligible for the preference during the contract term.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits New Jersey public utilities from charging three specific fees to customers: (1) surcharges for payment processing, (2) fees for choosing one-time payments instead of automatic payments, and (3) fees for requesting paper statements instead of paperless billing. It directly affects residential utility customers who pay bills manually or opt for paper statements. The bill defines "surcharge" as an extra fee added to cover third-party payment processing costs. The law takes effect immediately upon passage.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 4319) requires that convictions for human trafficking (N.J.S.2C:13-8), assisting human trafficking (N.J.S.2C:13-9), and commercial sexual abuse of a minor (N.J.S.2C:13-10) be subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA) sentencing rules. Currently, these crimes were not covered by NERA, which mandates that offenders serve 85% of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Under this bill, individuals convicted of these trafficking-related offenses must serve 85% of their prison sentence before parole eligibility, aligning them with other serious crimes like murder and aggravated assault. This change directly affects people convicted of these specific trafficking crimes in New Jersey.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes the quorum requirement for New Jersey's Commission on Human Trafficking. Currently, the commission needs 9 members (a majority of its 17-member authorized membership) present to conduct business, which has made it difficult to function due to vacancies. The bill would allow the commission to operate with a majority of its current members present, rather than requiring a fixed number of 9 members. This change aims to help the commission more effectively evaluate human trafficking laws, review victim assistance programs, and make recommendations to the state legislature. The commission, created in 2013, is responsible for analyzing human trafficking policies and promoting awareness of victim services.