| | | | |  | | By Jonathan Custodio | Presented by NextEra Energy Transmission | NJ Transit's Paratransit workers are pushing for higher wages to address pay disparities when working during emergencies. The United Service Workers Union (USWU) Local 455 is lobbying state lawmakers on a bill that would ensure that paratransit drivers are paid time and a half during declared states of emergency that include commercial vehicle restrictions. Subcontracted under the NJ Transit Corporation, Access Link paratransit drivers provide accessible transport under the Americans with Disabilities Act and are expected to continue to work when hazardous conditions arise. "It provides a really important service to some of New Jersey's most vulnerable citizens," the union's political director, Connor Shaw, said, noting that heading to health-care appointments or retail stores are among the ways commuters use the service. "[These are] folks that rely on our public transportation that have accessibility issues that can't use the standard New Jersey Transit options." While the bill would aid some 300 paratransit drivers, Shaw said he'd also like to see mechanics and road supervisors included as eligible personnel. "We've had buses break down during a snowstorm and mechanics have actually had to be on the side of the road during the storm and fixing it," Shaw noted. Sponsored by Assemblymember Daniel Benson (D-Mercer), the bill advanced out of the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee earlier this month and is awaiting movement in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. | | | | 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 TUESDAY 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.
Today's shout out goes to Noah Tighe for correctly answering that 48,110 abortions were provided in New Jersey in 2017. Today's question: Who is the first woman to be elected majority leader in the State Senate? 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 Gov. Phil Murphy's spending plan.
|  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | | NJ TRANSIT DEDICATED FUND LEFT OUT — Transit advocates have for years called for a dedicated source of revenue that would spare NJ Transit from economic and political unpredictability. And once again, despite a huge surge in state revenues, the budget set for a vote in the Legislature on Wednesday includes no new dedicated funding source for the agency. Now advocates are wondering: If not now, when? "Sadly, this is a moment of waiting until the crisis is upon Trenton," said Doug O'Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. "I don't see hope in the immediate future, and that doesn't portend well for NJ Transit for the hundreds of thousands of commuters that depend upon it, as well as the myriad of people who just use NJ Transit for family visits, entertainment or whatever else," said former state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), who was the Legislature's biggest advocate for NJ Transit funding before her retirement in January. So far, no lawmakers have taken up the agency's cause like Weinberg had. Unlike most major transit agencies, save for the fares it collects, NJ Transit goes without a dedicated funding source year after year. It has had to use funds from its capital budget — intended for long-term projects — to pay for operating expenses and rely on hundreds of millions of dollars in transfers from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and Clean Energy Fund, as well as billions in pandemic-era federal funding. — Matt Friedman COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 2,500 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and 16 deaths from the virus today. The state's seven-day average was down 5 percent from a week ago and 40 percent from a month ago. | | ON THE BEATS | | CAMPAIGN FINANCE — A bill that would dramatically overhaul New Jersey's campaign finance system continues to make fast progress in the Legislature. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday voted 11-0, with one abstention, to approve the bill, NJ S2866 (22R) , dubbed the "Elections Transparency Act." It was introduced last week and almost immediately approved by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee. The Assembly Budget Committee advanced the measure late Monday evening. Two activists testified before the Senate committee to urge lawmakers to stop rushing the bill through the legislative process. "We don't think you fix the problem of too much money in politics by adding more money to politics," said Phil Hensley, democracy policy analyst for the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. The bill makes the biggest change to New Jersey's campaign finance law in decades, doubling donation limits, which currently range from $2,600 for individual candidates for most offices to $37,000 for political parties. The bill would also repeal most of New Jersey's "pay-to-play" restrictions, which prohibit major contributions from companies with public contracts to candidates and political parties that could have a role in selecting them for work. In addition, it would automatically sunset all local government pay-to-play ordinances that are often more restrictive than the current state law. — Matt Friedman | | | | A message from NextEra Energy Transmission:   | | |
| | Around New Jersey | |
WIDENING PROJECT FOR PARKWAY SERVICE AREAS — NJ Advance Media's Larry Higgs: "A nearly $28 million widening project was approved by New Jersey Turnpike Authority commissioners on Tuesday.
No, it's not that widening project, although a group of speakers reiterated their opposition to a different $4.7 billion proposal to widen the Turnpike extension through Hudson Countyto the Holland Tunnel. The project approved Tuesday morning would widen and improve 23 ramps to and from nine service areas on the Garden State Parkway. Commissioners voted unanimously to award a $27.9 million contact to D'Annunzio & Sons Inc., of South Plainfield to do the work. It was the lowest of five bids on the project." TEANECK COUNCIL TO VOTE AGAIN ON HOLY NAME EXPANSION — NorthJersey.com's Marsha A. Stoltz: "The Teaneck Township Council will vote again Tuesday on whether to approve the expansion of Holy Name hospital, the latest chapter in the plan's saga, which led to a lawsuit by disgruntled residents. The council is also scheduled to vote again on vacating a part of residential Chadwick Road to Holy Name, creating a dead-end street from one previously used as an access point to the hospital. The council previously approved the project and the vacating of Chadwick Road on March 15. However, 12 residents sued the township in April, accusing township officials of a variety of irregularities, including conflicts of interest by the mayor, both deputy mayors, a councilwoman and a Planning Board member." DIVERSITY NOT SPREAD EVENLY, STUDY FINDS — NJ.com's Bill DuHart: "New Jersey's population has become more diverse over the past two decades, but the trend is not spread evenly among its 21 counties, according to a study published this month by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. The report used the 2020 Census and created a rating system to measure diversity. The index was based on the percentages of the county populations for each racial or ethnic group. 'This story paints a demographic portrait of who we are as a state, in terms of our ethnic and racial makeup,' said John Froonjian, executive director of the Hughes Center. 'It's important that we understand our identity as a state, region or county. Changes in our population makeup may affect our culture, affect our government and the marketplace. People need to be aware of what's happening in their backyards.'" | | Odds and ends | |
— The mayor and a former mayor of Wildwood are among three people charged with taking state health benefits for which they were not eligible.
— Hundreds of charter school students are uncertain where they will attend school in the fall. — New Jersey City University is losing its president and is declaring a financial emergency. | | | | 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 | | | | |
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