Black heritage bill advances through legislature

Presented by NextEra Energy Transmission: Your afternoon must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Jerseyans.

Jun 17, 2022 View in browser   By Jonathan Custodio Presented by NextEra Energy Transmission As Black history receives the spotlight as the Juneteenth weekend begins, state lawmakers advanced legislation that could help it get more of the attention it deserves year-round. A bill that would require the New Jersey Historical Commission to establish a Black heritage trail is headed for the desk of Gov. Phil Murphy after advancing through the Senate with 38 votes on Thursday. The Assembly unanimously passed the measure in March. Under the legislation, the New Jersey Department of State's Division of Travel and Tourism would identify heritage sites spanning locations that feature Black leaders in the arts, education, sciences and more, who have helped propel New Jersey, the United States or the Black diaspora. The sites would be laid out through historical markers and a trail-like path that line up stories of Black life and resiliency in the state. "This highlights Black abolitionists, veterans, artists, entertainers, and other leaders who have made their indelible marks on New Jersey's history and deserve to be recognized and celebrated," Assemblymember Antwan McClellan (R-Cape May), the bill's primary sponsor, said when the bill advanced through the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee. "It ensures that New Jersey's Black history and culture will be properly documented and appreciated for future generations." Approximately $1 million will be appropriated for the heritage trail, and WHYY's Tennyson Donyéa notes that Cape May County's Harriet Tubman museum, Paterson's Hinchliffe stadium that hosted Negro League baseball games in the early 1900s and Burlington County's Underground Railroad Museum are among the locations lawmakers are weighing.   A message from NextEra Energy Transmission: NextEra Energy is the world's largest generator of clean, renewable energy from the wind and sun.  We have unrivaled experience completing complex, large-scale energy projects, doing them on time and on budget while putting customers first, prioritizing the environment, and working with local communities to create jobs and limit disruptions. It's what we do and what we'll do for New Jersey.  That's because NextEra Energy Transmission is committed to empowering a greener New Jersey.    HAPPY FRIDAY AFTERNOON — Hi there, I'm Jonathan Custodio, your Playbook PM author. We're adding New Jersey political trivia to this newsletter and will shout out one person who correctly answers the question in the following day's edition. Shout out to Steven Seland for correctly answering that Lt. Gov Sheila Oliver has an honorary doctorate from Essex County College. Today's question: Who was the State Assembly's first Black Speaker Pro-Tempore? Send answers and tips to jcustodio@politico.com. We're here with the latest from Trenton and elsewhere as New Jersey moves ahead in the budget process and the Legislature conducts hearings on Murphy's spending plan. PROGRAMMING NOTE: New Jersey Playbook PM will not publish Monday, June 20 in observance of Juneteenth. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY GUN CONTROL — Lawmakers will deliberate over most of the governor's gun control package during an Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing next Wednesday. Among the proposals planned to be heard include: Raising the age to purchase long guns from 18 to 21. Requiring residents to register firearms bought outside of New Jersey and obtain a firearm purchaser identification card. Setting certain mandates for firearms storage.  Developing a system for electronic reporting of firearm information.  Allowing the Attorney General to take legal action against gun industry members "who knowingly or recklessly endanger the public health and safety." Read more from New Jersey Monitor's Nikita Biryukov. Several measures from Murphy's overall package are excluded from the committee's agenda. Those measures include "microstamping" all semi-automatic handguns sold in the state and banning future sales of .50 caliber weapons. In a tweet, POLITICO's Daniel Han notes that four of the five bills posted cleared the Assembly committee in the last legislative session. While the planned discussion is encouraging for supporters of the slate of bills, it's not clear when state senators will begin to evaluate them. COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 2,914 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and eight deaths from the virus on Friday. The state's seven-day average was down 20 percent from a week ago and 43 percent from a month ago. ON THE BEATS VOTING — The state Assembly is seeking to get more young people involved in the voting process. On Thursday, the lower house passed legislation , A1969, that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work at polling places between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., as well as a bill, A3733, that would direct the secretary of Higher Education to create guidelines for colleges and universities to award a single credit for each full day a student works the polls. Those were two of eight bills related to elections the Assembly passed on Thursday. Several of the other bills shorten the deadlines for accepting and curing mail-in ballots, which has some advocates concerned. "With these reforms, here's the message we are sending to New Jerseyans: Your elections are fair, your elections are open, and both parties are still able to work together to protect your rights to vote," Speaker Craig Coughlin said on the Assembly floor. Most of the bills passed with little or no opposition. The bills need to pass the Senate before reaching Gov. Phil Murphy's desk. — Matt Friedman   A message from NextEra Energy Transmission:   Around New Jersey Liquor licenses about to expire in N.J. city. Mayor blames council, but they call him an alarmist. — NJ.Com's Kevin Shea: "Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora says the city's liquor licenses are set to expire on June 30, due to inaction by the City Council on renewals, stemming from ongoing issues in the city clerk's office. The council is responsible for liquor licenses, which follow state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC, and the council acts as the city's local ABC board. "'Council's inaction is going to bring us back to the Prohibition era,' Gusciora said in a statement. 'But the fact remains this hurts bar or restaurants and the business owner's bottom line and is completely irresponsible. Many hospitality workers will suffer in uncertainties due to Council's indifference to the economic vitality of the city.' "Kathy McBride, president of the City Council , said Gusciora is only trying to deflect attention from his "epic failures," including votes of no confidence from the council and ongoing investigations in the city — including one by federal authorities." Ex-Senate candidate headed to the bench — New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "Laurie Poppe, who came within 574 votes of winning a State Senate seat in 2017, is now headed to the Superior Court. Gov. Phil Murphy filed a notice of intent to nominate Poppe, a family law expert who specializes in collaborative divorces, last week. The Senate filed her nomination yesterday. "In 2017, Poppe nearly upset Republican State Sen. Christopher Bateman (R-Branchburg), losing by a narrow 50.5% to 49.6% margin in the 16th legislative district. In that same election, Democrat Roy Freiman (D-Hillsborough) flipped an Assembly seat vacated by Jack Ciattarelli (R-Hillsborough), who was running for governor." Odds and ends — NJ Transit canceled more than 30 trains Friday morning due to a shortage of engineers. — And they took that personally: New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission rejected over 1,300 personalized license plates. — A former athletic director was appointed assistant principal of a Wall Township school after being placed on leave following a football team abuse scandal.   A message from NextEra Energy Transmission: NextEra Energy didn't become the world's largest generator of wind and solar power overnight. We've been building and operating large-scale energy projects across North America for decades and powering New Jersey for nearly a quarter-century. Our first solar farm in the Garden State was built in West Deptford. Yet, our contributions have gone far deeper—from counseling local businesses on how to reach clean energy goals and operating battery storage facilities to providing dozens of solar sites on buildings from Cape May to High Point and working to help New Jersey reach its offshore wind goals. We know how to get big, complex projects done on time and on budget. We power homes, neighborhoods, and entire cities, all while putting customers first, prioritizing the environment, and working with local communities to create jobs and limit disruptions. NextEra Energy Transmission is committed to empowering a greener New Jersey.     Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  California Playbook PM  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  New York Playbook PM View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.