Maddy summaryThe Liberty State Park Protection Act establishes a Liberty State Park Advisory Committee to advise the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on park management. It prohibits the DEP from considering proposals to commercialize, develop, or privatize Liberty State Park, except for small-scale commercial activities that enhance visitor experience, such as bike rentals or food concessions. The bill specifically protects the 235-acre natural restoration area and the 21.5-acre Caven Point Peninsula from property transfers. It requires the DEP to develop a management plan within five years, consult the committee before approving agreements, and implement public input processes including two public hearings and a 30-day comment period for any proposed changes. The bill aims to preserve Liberty State Park as a public green space while allowing limited, visitor-enhancing commercial activities.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill, S 3631, creates enrollment flexibility for military-connected students in New Jersey public schools. It directly affects students who are dependents of active-duty military personnel, veterans, National Guard members, military retirees, or civilian military employees (including school staff working near military installations). Key provisions require school districts to waive residency requirements for enrollment, grant enrollment preference to military-connected students, protect them from discrimination in admissions, and guarantee admission to any school under district agreements if military orders document a temporary transfer over 30 days. Parents or guardians can choose to keep children in their original district during relocation or enroll them in new districts, with special provisions for 11th graders and schools with low performance ratings.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs to create and maintain an online open data portal on its website. The portal must provide public access to specific non-confidential datasets, including licensing application volumes, processing times, active license counts by county, exam pass rates, and consumer complaint statistics. Data must be sortable by profession/occupation and include year-by-year comparisons, while complying with privacy and public records laws. The portal will be updated annually, directly affecting professionals seeking licenses and consumers filing complaints with the division.
Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a $0.40 monthly fee per mobile line on New Jersey residents using commercial mobile or IP-enabled voice services, excluding Lifeline program users. Telecom companies collect the fee from customers and remit it quarterly to a new "9-8-8 Suicide Prevention and Behavioral Health Crisis Hotline Trust Fund Account" in the state treasury. Funds in this account will be used to support the 9-8-8 crisis system, including routing calls/texts, providing mobile crisis response teams and stabilization services, and funding public awareness campaigns. The fee applies to all standard mobile subscribers but does not affect federal Lifeline participants.
Maddy summaryThis New Jersey bill (S 1151) requires all general and special hospitals to create and implement evidence-based protocols for early sepsis recognition and treatment. The protocols must cover both adult and pediatric patients, include screening processes, specific treatment guidelines with timeframes, infection source identification, and procedures for excluding inappropriate cases (like patients in palliative care). Hospitals must train relevant staff, submit protocols to the Department of Health for approval within 120 days of enactment, and annually report sepsis-related data for quality improvement and mortality rate tracking. The law aims to standardize care for sepsis - a leading cause of death in New Jersey - by ensuring hospitals follow current medical standards.
Maddy summaryThis bill imposes two taxes on sightseeing helicopter and seaplane tours in New Jersey. Passengers pay $50 per seat or $200 per flight (whichever is greater), while operators pay a 3% assessment on gross receipts from these tours. The tax applies to flights operating in areas like the Hudson River, Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island, but excludes emergency medical flights, military operations, news agencies, and research flights. All revenue collected will fund New Jersey Transit (NJT) operating expenses.
Maddy summaryThe SLUMLORD Act strengthens habitability protections for residential tenants in New Jersey by requiring landlords to designate a principal agent who is personally liable for severe habitability violations. The bill creates a new Habitability Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Program within the Department of Community Affairs, funded with $5 million, to provide tenant advocacy and initiate lawsuits on behalf of tenants for habitability violations. Tenants can now seek $1,000 for standard habitability violations and $2,000 for severe violations, plus attorney's fees, and the bill establishes a database to track habitability violations across the state. This legislation directly affects residential tenants, landlords, and the Department of Community Affairs, with key provisions including mandatory principal agent designation and codified tenant remedies.
Maddy summaryNew Jersey's S 3663 requires the Department of State to create a public "Reproductive Health Travel Advisory" for residents. The advisory will inform pregnant New Jersey residents about state laws restricting reproductive healthcare access in other U.S. states, using a color-coded system: Blue (full access), Yellow (restricted access), and Red (extreme restrictions risking health or legal consequences). The advisory must be published online and updated whenever other states change their reproductive healthcare laws. This bill directly affects pregnant New Jersey residents planning travel who may need emergency reproductive care.
Maddy summaryThis bill expands New Jersey's child care assistance program to include full-time graduate and post-graduate students who meet income, asset, and residency requirements and are enrolled full-time in good academic standing at a public or private college or university. Currently, the program covers only full-time undergraduate students pursuing associate's or bachelor's degrees. The state must update its eligibility rules and seek federal funding through the Child Care and Development Block Grant to cover the costs of this expansion. This change directly affects graduate and post-graduate students who are parents and rely on the program for child care support.
Maddy summaryThis bill creates a "Summer Termination Program" that prevents utility companies (including local authorities, municipal utilities, rural electric cooperatives, and public utilities) from disconnecting electricity, water, or sewer service to eligible residential customers during extreme heat. It triggers when a 72-hour forecast predicts temperatures reaching or exceeding 85°F for at least 24 hours. Eligible customers include those receiving assistance under the existing Winter Termination Program or those unable to pay bills due to hardships like unemployment, illness, or family emergencies. The program requires the Department of Community Affairs and the Board of Public Utilities to establish self-certification processes for customers to claim financial hardship.