Sen. Holly Schepisi

Maddy summaryS 1179 allocates $12 million from New Jersey's General Fund to the Village of Ridgewood for drinking water infrastructure upgrades addressing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) pollution. This directly affects Ridgewood Water, a public water system serving over 60,000 residents across Ridgewood, Midland Park, Glen Rock, and Wyckoff. The bill provides supplemental funding to cover costs of PFAS-related infrastructure improvements, avoiding the need for the water department to impose significant rate increases on its customers. The funding is added to the state's 2024 annual appropriations act and takes effect immediately.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands the definition of "child" under New Jersey's Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) and State Police Retirement System (SPRS). It adds two specific scenarios: children aged 18+ enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester at a college or university, and children of any age with a documented disability preventing substantial gainful work for 12+ months. These changes directly affect the children of retired or deceased police officers and firefighters who previously might not have qualified for benefits under the old definition. The bill modifies eligibility criteria for retirement benefits but does not change benefit amounts or other system mechanics.

Maddy summaryS 1970 changes New Jersey's rear seat belt law by making failure to wear a seatbelt a primary offense (allowing police to stop vehicles solely for this violation), repealing the current secondary offense rule. It directly affects all rear seat passengers in vehicles and requires law enforcement agencies to report traffic stop data related to rear seat belt violations to the Attorney General one year after the law takes effect. The Attorney General must analyze this data against prior years to assess impacts on enforcement practices and submit findings to the legislature within six months. Additionally, the bill mandates that implementation data be included in New Jersey's annual Highway Safety Plan submitted to federal agencies, focusing on crash injury and fatality trends.

Maddy summaryS 1935 updates New Jersey's telehealth laws to clarify emergency care referral standards for telemedicine providers. It requires telehealth providers to make a "good faith effort" to directly contact emergency services during telehealth visits when a patient needs urgent care, including sharing the patient's location, provider contact details, and documenting emergencies. This applies to all telehealth providers licensed in New Jersey who use telemedicine for patient care. The bill ensures telehealth services meet the same emergency coordination standards as in-person care, requiring providers to refer patients to appropriate in-person or emergency services when needed. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Health Committee.

Maddy summaryThis bill, S 2332, amends New Jersey's affordable housing law to exclude certain environmentally protected or flood-prone lands from counting toward a municipality's obligation to provide affordable housing. Specifically, it removes lands where development is already prohibited or heavily restricted by environmental laws (like flood zones or conservation areas), agricultural preservation covenants, historic sites, or small private parcels under five housing units. Municipalities will no longer need to count these excluded lands when calculating their "fair share" of affordable housing requirements under state law. The change clarifies that lands already legally off-limits for development cannot be forced into housing projects.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the New Jersey Legislature to approve in writing any settlement of $10 million or more for claims against the State. It applies to settlements after claimants file under the Tort Claims Act, whether for one claimant or multiple related claims arising from the same event. The State must submit the proposed settlement amount to lawmakers at least 30 days before finalizing it, and both legislative chambers must vote to approve it by majority. This process ensures legislative oversight for large settlements before they are finalized. The bill does not change existing claim procedures but adds a legislative approval step for significant financial commitments.

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.

Maddy summaryThe "Energy Security and Affordability Act" (S 1900) requires New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to prioritize energy security, diversity, and affordability when updating the state's Energy Master Plan. It mandates the BPU to conduct detailed economic and ratepayer impact analyses for all energy generation projects and the Master Plan itself, including cost breakdowns, infrastructure expenses, and public comment periods. These analyses must be published online for 10 years using open-source modeling tools. The bill directly affects ratepayers (utility customers) and energy developers by ensuring decisions consider financial impacts and public input before project approvals.

Maddy summarySCR 30 proposes a constitutional amendment to limit most emergency orders, rules, or regulations issued by New Jersey's Governor to a 14-day period (ending on the 15th day after issuance), unless the Legislature approves a longer duration through a concurrent resolution. This would directly affect the Governor's emergency authority during declared states of emergency, requiring legislative review for extensions beyond 14 days. Key exceptions include orders rescinding prior emergency actions under disaster laws, federal compliance orders, executive branch-only directives, National Guard-related orders, and orders issued under other statutes with longer terms. The amendment does not change current practice for these exempted orders but would establish a fixed time limit for all other emergency measures.

Maddy summaryS 1967 proposes creating a 13-member "COVID-19 Learning Loss Study Commission" to examine how the pandemic impacted student learning in New Jersey. The commission, including education leaders, school associations, and public members, will analyze academic data from school closures in March 2020 through the bill's effective date, focusing on learning gaps by school type, grade level, and subject. It must submit a final report with findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature within six months of forming. This bill does not change education policy but establishes a study to inform future decisions about student learning recovery.