by Todd DeFeo, The Center Square | May 14, 2021 01:00 PM Print this article
Gov. Phil Murphy has signed into a law a measure exempting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans forgiven by the federal government from New Jersey’s gross income tax.
Under S-3234, businesses may also deduct expenses paid for by such a loan.
Congress created the PPP loans as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government may forgive the loans for recipients that meet certain conditions.
“As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the small business community in New Jersey,” state Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Boonton, said in a news release.
Credit: (NJ Spotlight News)
Edna Mahan Correctional Facility
Threats from a possible federal takeover of New Jersey’s only women’s prison and inmate lawsuits are driving New Jersey’s efforts at reforming a culture that has allowed sexual assaults and harassment to continue unchecked for decades.
The coming reforms include body cameras for corrections officers, a system for monitoring officers’ behavior and an overhaul of policies, staffing and training as recommended by a consultant. But how effective they will be remains to be seen. Past efforts that included a zero-tolerance policy for sexual contact and officers’ training did not stop sexual assaults, which are just one glaring problem at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.
Credit: (Screengrab from Zoom)
Department of Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks, bottom right, defended himself and his administration.
New Jersey’s prisons, where a federal investigation found a “pattern” of sexual abuse, now have an early warning system to monitor staff behavior and a $1.3 million contract with a consultant to recommend reforms, the corrections commissioner told lawmakers Monday.
And starting next Monday, there will be a new assistant commissioner of women’s services to oversee reforms at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, where a January incident left two inmates seriously injured and now 10 corrections officers facing criminal charges.
Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks mostly declined to specifically discuss the January assaults during a hearing before the Assembly Budget Committee. But Hicks did provide a few details not previously made public about that incident. He said that 30 Department of Corrections staff were suspended, with pay, f
Credit: (Michael Mancuso, NJ.com; AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Gov. Phil Murphy, left, and former Gov. Jim McGreevey
New Jersey must come up with new funding out of the state budget to keep from defaulting on a long-term debt obligation that dates to the tenure of former Gov. Jim McGreevey.
Legislation introduced in the Senate last week seeks approval for a supplemental appropriation of up to $30 million to cover the debt payment on a controversial state bond issue that was used to sustain the annual budget nearly two decades ago. The payment is due July 1.
Surcharges levied for certain driving offenses that are collected through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission are supposed to be the main source of funding for the debt service, but that revenue is coming up short during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.