Trenton NJ, A bill that would codify into law existing regulations that protect the rights of workers against misclassification so the regulations can’t be ignored or discarded by future administrations will be amended to ensure the ability of independent contractors to continue to pursue their work under existing rules, Senate President Steve Sweeney said today.
Clark NJ, In March of 2018 the NJ Attorney General released the “Immigrant Trust Directive” which became effective in March of 2019. Designed to strengthen the trust between law enforcement officers and the state’s immigrant community by ensuring that crime victims and witnesses feel safe reporting crimes. The Directive limits the types of voluntary assistance that law enforcement officers of all types in NJ can give to federal immigration officers.” Having read the directive myself” commented Dist. 22 GOP candidate Patricia Quattrocchi. ” I can say that it amounts to making NJ a Sanctuary State by protecting illegal immigrants from capture by Federal ICE officers who are doing their job by enforcing the law.”
Trenton NJ, New Jersey Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson today announced that New Jersey as of Tuesday resumed its role as the State Refugee Coordinator of the Refugee Resettlement Program.
The move restores the state’s oversight of this critical program that serves refugees and asylees resettling in New Jersey and provides assistance such as medical support, employment services and other social services to refugee families.
The announcement comes on the heels of Trump Administration plans to cut refugee admissions for the new federal fiscal year to 18,000 – an all-time low and down from the 111,000 ceiling just two years ago – and after it issued an executive order that would prohibit localities from resettling refugees without written consent from their state government.
TRENTON NJ, Assemblyman Hal Wirths is seeking the help of the U.S. Attorney General and the Department of Justice to end the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive.
“The Murphy administration’s Immigrant Trust Directive is preventing the federal government from enforcing immigration laws and puts out a welcome mat for illegal immigrants who want to commit crimes,” said Wirths (R-Sussex). “These sanctuary state directives are tying the hands of local law enforcement officers, putting the lives of our children and residents at risk and violating federal laws.”
ROSELAND NJ, The greatest issue impacting the operation of a business in New Jersey over the next 12 months is the state’s fiscal problems, according to nearly 30 percent of the 347 respondents in a survey conducted by the New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) earlier this month. State and local taxes ranked second at nearly 27 percent.
On a broader scale, respondents cited high taxes, pension and health benefits funding for public employees, and regulatory burdens as the top issues that are likely to hinder the state’s future economic growth. Rising health care costs and decaying infrastructure also rounded out their main concerns.
Ridgewood NJ, Monmouth University Poll came out with a 41% approval rating on Governor Phil Murphy. Public opinions are unhappy with issues like property tax, middle class, and dealing with Newark’s lead crisis. Just 10% approve of Murphy’s handling of the lead contamination issue in the state’s largest city while 28% disapprove. However, 41% have no opinion of how he has handled this problem and 21% have not heard anything about this issue.
Ridgewood NJ, A petition being submitted by hundreds of independent climate scientists and professionals from numerous countries to heads of the European Council, Commission and Parliament declares “There is No Climate Emergency.”
Briefly summarized, the request for consideration conveys five urgent messages:
Climate change is real and has been occurring with nature-driven cold and warm cycles for as long as the planet has existed.
There should be no surprise that the Earth has been warming through natural causes since the last Little Ice Age ended around 1870. Actual temperature increases, however, are far less than predicted by theoretical climate models.
There is no real evidence that anthropogenic (human-caused) CO2 emissions are a major or dangerous warming influence. They instead offer great benefits to agriculture, forestry and photosynthesis that is the basis for life.
There is also no scientific evidence that increasing CO2 levels are causing more natural disasters. However, CO2-reduction measures do have devastating impacts on wildlife (e.g. wind turbines), land use (e.g. forest clearance), and vital energy systems.
Energy policies must be based on scientific and economic realities — not upon a harmful and unrealistic “2050-carbon-neutral policy” driven by unfounded climate alarm.
Ridgewood NJ, The New Jersey Department of Health today sent a statewide health alert to health care providers and local health departments following recent reports of severe lung disease in people who have used vaping products.
At this time, the New Jersey Department of Health is investigating nine reports from healthcare facilities of severe lung illness in people who report vaping. Cases in New Jersey have been primarily reported among persons between the ages of 17 to 35 with no significant past medical history.
Sparta NJ, College students without legal status are receiving nearly $4 million in student aid to attend two-year and four-year schools, according to 2019 data released by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
Assemblyman Hal Wirths said that is
outrageous, and taxpayers should be wholly benefitting from the fruits of their
own labor.
Trenton NJ, Senator Steven Oroho said that a lawsuit announced today by Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir Grewal against the Internal Revenue Service amounts to window dressing and won’t provide meaningful, long-term property tax relief to New Jersey families.
“New Jersey homeowners are the most overtaxed residents in the United States,” Oroho said. “The lawsuit announced today does very little to address that. The better approach would be to fix the state’s underlying tax problems that make the SALT limitation an issue. Governor Murphy can help make the Garden State more competitive and accomplish real savings for taxpayers by getting behind the Path to Progress reforms that have bipartisan support in the Legislature.”
July Poll by Saint Anselm College Survey Center Shows Democratic Presidential Primary Field Taking Shape:
Founded in 1889, Saint Anselm College is a nationally-ranked four-year liberal arts college providing a 21st century education in the Catholic, Benedictine tradition. Located in the greater Boston region in southern New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College is well-known for its strong liberal arts curriculum, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, commitment to inclusiveness, a highly successful nursing program, and a legacy of community service.
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey has an extension for REAL ID enforcement, allowing Federal agencies to accept driver’s licenses and identification cards from New Jersey at Federal facilities, nuclear power plants and federally regulated commercial aircraft until October 10, 2019.
Secure driver’s licenses and identification documents are a vital component of a holistic national security strategy. Law enforcement must be able to rely on government-issued identification documents and know that the bearer of such a document is who he or she claims to be. REAL ID is a coordinated effort by the states and the Federal Government to improve the reliability and accuracy of state-issued identification documents, which should inhibit terrorists’ ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification.
Is it just us or how is this “driver Licenses for illegal aliens” going to work with REAL ID enforcement?
Trenton NJ, This week, Governor Phil Murphy doubled down on his Administration’s decision to direct local elected officials to impede federal immigration officials in their sworn duty to enforce federal immigration laws. Murphy’s Attorney General issued a strongly worded warning to two county Sheriffs, just weeks after a similarly stern-worded missive sought to prevent Sussex County voters from expressing their views on the State’s immigration and Sanctuary policies.
Trenton NJ, New Jersey’s minimum wage law takes effect on July 1, 2019, lifting the earnings of more than one million workers. The goal of the law is to achieve a $15 hourly minimum wage without adversely affecting small and seasonal businesses, so incremental rates were set to give certain employers additional time to comply.
TRENTON NJ, The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) today unanimously granted the state’s first award for offshore wind to Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 1,100 MW project, giving the company the opportunity to build 1,100 MW of offshore wind in federal waters. The 1,100 MW of offshore wind is expected to power roughly 500,000 New Jersey homes and generate $1.17 billion in economic benefits, in addition to creating an estimated 15,000 jobs over the project life.
