The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Ridgewood NJ, Governor Murphy today signed Senator Kip Bateman’s legislation launching the Jersey Native Plants Program to promote the sale of native vegetation at local garden centers.
Continue reading New Bill Puts the “Garden” Back in Garden State
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Upper Saddle River NJ, with the Governor’s signing today of legislation sponsored by Senator Kip Bateman and Senator Kristin Corrado, important environmental infrastructure projects across the state will move forward as planned this year.
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Trenton NJ, Senator Michael Doherty (R-23) issued the following statement in response to Governor Phil Murphy’s continuing mask mandates:
Continue reading Time to Follow the Science and Unmask the Garden State
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Trenton NJ, Senator Kip Bateman expressed his frustration with Governor Phil Murphy’s unilateral decision to keep indoor restaurants closed indefinitely. Indoor dining was originally scheduled to reopen on July 2:
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Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey is the only state that prohibits the sale of fresh baked goods made in private kitchens, but Senator Kip Bateman has been working to change that for more than 10 years.
Bateman’s legislation that would bring the state more in line with the rest of the country advanced today when the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee passed S-73.
Toll Hike Vote Called “Unconscionable”
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Trenton NJ, New Jersey Turnpike Authority voted to increase tolls on the Garden State Parkway and the New jersey Turn Pike .The Parkway and Turnpike increases were both approved by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which manages the highways, in a 7-0 vote during a remotely-held Wednesday meeting. It followed three hours of public comment from many who oppose the increase.
Continue reading Coronavirus Pandemic No Excuse Not to Raise Tolls
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Palisades Park NJ, The police chief in Palisades Park is retiring after a scathing review of the operation of his department, but only after he cashes more than $115,000 in checks for unused sick time. It’s just the latest example of a long string of abuses suffered by property taxpayers in the state, Senator Kip Bateman bristled.
“Sick time was never intended to be a personal retirement account for a select group of public employees, but here we go again,” said Bateman (R-16). “Another police chief retiring, and another six-figure invoice for the property taxpayers to deal with.”
Continue reading Six-Figure Sick Time Parachute for Police Chief in Palisades Park
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Ridgewood NJ, On Tuesday, November 1st, just two weeks from today, every fill-up at the gas pump will cost drivers and commuters 23 cents/gallon more in gas taxes.
A family with two cars will pay about $300 more per year. Commuters with long drives may pay hundreds more.
I announced yesterday that I’m joining with Senator Kip Bateman to sponsor a bill to repeal this unaffordable gas tax increase.
We’re introducing the legislation, but we can’t repeal the gas tax by ourselves. We’ll need your help. Will you join the repeal effort too?
If you want to help stop this tax increase, please take a few seconds to sign our repeal petition:
https://www.senatenj.com/gastaxrepeal
Every person who signs and shares helps to build the momentum we’ll need for the repeal effort to succeed.