Murphy budget would spend more on N.J. unemployment upgrades after 11 months of problems. Is it enough?
Updated Feb 24, 2021;
Badly needed upgrades could be coming to New Jersey’s aging unemployment infrastructure, Gov. Phil Murphy vowed Tuesday as he proposed his latest state budget.
Under the $44.8 billion spending plan, $7.75 million would go toward modernizing the unemployment system run by the state Department of Labor, which has received more than 2 million initial filings and distributed billions of dollars in jobless benefits and pandemic-relief funds, said Labor spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi. The current budget allocated $3.875 million
“We’re investing in modernizing critical operations and technologies in the Motor Vehicle Commission and in our unemployment systems in the Department of Labor two areas, in particular, where the pandemic exposed shortcomings,” Murphy said during his pre-recorded budget address. “Too many people across New Jersey paid the pr
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Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women (NJ Spotlight)
New Jersey needs a new public advocate to help protect inmates and people in other state-run facilities, three lawmakers said, arguing more oversight is needed after last month’s assault on inmates at the women’s prison and the apparent failure of the state to reach a settlement with federal authorities over problems at the facility.
The state had a public advocate , but the office fell victim to politics and was last active more than a decade ago. The three top Democratic state senators, all critical of the leadership of New Jersey’s prisons, plan to create a new advocate. The position would be more limited in its scope of authority but also independent of the whims of governors who may not like the work the office undertakes.
N.J. needs a public advocate in light of attack at women’s prison, deaths at veterans homes, lawmakers say
Updated Feb 13, 2021;
A trio of Democratic state senators announced Thursday that they will introduce legislation to create an independent public advocate office that would have investigative and legal powers to help protect vulnerable populations of New Jersey residents.
The mission of the office would be to “protect the safety and rights of vulnerable populations in state and county correctional facilities, veterans homes, psychiatric hospitals, developmental centers, community-based programs and under state guardianship,” Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, and Sens. Linda Greenstein, D-Middlesex, and Nellie Pou, D-Passaic said in the announcement.
Credit: Sister72 via Creative Commons CC BY 2.0
Flood warning along the coast.
New Jersey’s towns and cities must now plan for climate change after Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law that requires municipalities to include effects like flooding and higher seas in updates of their master plans.
The law (A-2785/S-2607) puts new demands on local governments to plan for coastal storms, shoreline erosion, bigger storms, flooding, and how they will affect a town’s current and future infrastructure.
Municipalities must now identify critical facilities such as roads and utilities that might be affected by hurricanes or sea-level rise; make plans to sustain normal life in the face of anticipated natural hazards, and integrate climate vulnerability with existing plans such as emergency management or flood-hazard strategies.
Senate advances bill exempting forgiven PPP loans from New Jersey’s gross income tax by Todd DeFeo, The Center Square | January 29, 2021 03:00 PM Print this article
The state Senate has approved a bill to exempt Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans forgiven by the federal government from New Jersey’s gross income tax.
The Senate voted 33-0 to pass the bill, S-3234. The state Assembly will consider the measure next.
Congress created loans as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help small businesses keep employees on their payroll during the pandemic. The federal government may forgive some or all of the loans for recipients that meet certain conditions.