| | | | |  | | By Jonathan Custodio | Presented by AARP New Jersey | A bill that would penalize discriminatory appraisals based on race or national origin advanced in the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee today. Under the legislation , sponsored by Sens. Nellie Pou (D-Passaic) and Troy Singleton (D-Burlington), appraisers could have their licenses, certifications or registrations revoked or suspended, and would be liable to fines if it is determined that they have discriminated against a property buyer or seller on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. All committee members voted in favor of advancing the legislation except for Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen), who abstained, citing the removal of amendments saying that appraisers subject to penalties must have knowingly discriminated. "It feels, as an attorney, the remedies are pretty draconian to revoke or suspend. And if somebody is knowingly doing that, I agree with that," Schepisi said, noting concerns of due process. Singleton, who chairs the committee, explained that the process remains unchanged. "I think the only change, at least in my mind, is the sort of inherent understanding of whether or not the person made an affirmative action to do that or whether or not they still did it, and it still occurred, but it still has to go through a process to make a determination whether or not that appraisal was done in a discriminatory fashion," he said. According to a report released by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice last month, 38.4 percent of Black New Jersey households own homes compared to 75.9 percent of white households. The institute's law and policy director Andrea McChristen testified that homes in Black majority municipalities in New Jersey have "less than half the median value of the state overall," adding the bill serves as a mechanism to hold appraisers and appraising institutions accountable. The bill now advances for a second reading in the Senate and an identical bill in the Assembly, introduced in January, awaits movement in the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee. | | | | A message from AARP New Jersey: Americans are struggling to afford rising prices on everything from groceries to gas. On top of this, we're paying the highest drug prices in the world. Your elected lawmakers have the power to reduce this burden by enacting S329/A1747 and establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This board is responsible for investigating high drug prices and recommending action to lower costs for consumers. It's time for real action. Tell Governor Murphy: Stand up to Pharma! | | |
HAPPY THURSDAY 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 Paul Penna for correctly answering that Bergen County is New Jersey's largest county by population. Today's question: How many years must a candidate spend living in New Jersey to be eligible to become governor before the election? 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 | |
MENTHOL CIGARETTE BAN INCHES CLOSER — The Assembly Health Committee advanced legislation today to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes in New Jersey as state lawmakers look to beat the federal government to a ban. The bill, NJ A1989 (22R) , which advanced along party lines, could have significant impacts on public health, with menthol cigarettes accounting for about a third of all cigarette sales as of 2018, according to a Federal Trade Commission report.
The renewed push to ban menthol cigarettes comes as the Biden administration has proposed rules to prohibit them. But it could take years for a federal prohibition to go into effect, a process that could be prolonged as Big Tobacco companies appear poised to fight a federal ban in the courts. "It would probably take five years to get through the regulatory process [for a federal menthol ban]," Health Committee Chair Herb Conaway (D-Burlington), a physician and the bill's prime sponsor, said during today's hearing. " … In the meantime, we're going to see more and more people get addicted. About half of 17- to 21-year-olds now get started on menthol. For them, sadly, that will lead to a lifelong addiction." — Daniel Han COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 3,242 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and 15 deaths from the virus today. As the state hit its highest number of hospitalizations in more than three months, its seven-day case average is down 21 percent from a week ago and up 40 percent from a month ago. | | ON THE BEATS | |
EDUCATION — Senate Education Chair Vin Gopal said today that he is "working on legislation" that would address issues with reporting instances of restraint and seclusion in New Jersey's public schools.
"We've reached out to [the Department of Education] already so we're going to look to see how we can create accountability," Gopal said in response to a POLITICO report that revealed the state Department of Education does not collect or report statewide data on school districts' use of restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities. Gopal said the article was "extremely alarming," and tweeted early this morning that "our special needs families deserve much better." New Jersey's 2018 restraint and seclusion law says physical or mechanical restraints, and seclusion tactics such as confining students in a closed room alone, can only be used with students with disabilities who present an immediate danger to themselves or others. Though state Department of Education guidance accompanying the statute requires that schools notify parents every time their child is restrained or secluded, families and advocates say that doesn't always happen. — Carly Sitrin | | | | A message from AARP New Jersey:   | | |
| | Around New Jersey | | MIDDLETOWN TO PLACE RETIRED COPS IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS — NJ.com's Jeff Goldman: "A large New Jersey school district will place armed retired police officers in its buildings through at least the end of the 2022-23 academic year. The board of education in Middletown unanimously approved the measure earlier this week in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 students and two teachers. The largest kindergarten through 12th-grade district in Monmouth County with more than 9,200 students, Middletown will have a Class III special officer in each of its 16 schools." BILL WOULD HAVE UTILITIES REIMBURSE CONSUMERS AFTER LONG OUTAGES — New Jersey Monitor's Sophie Nieto-Munoz: "As catastrophic storms become more common in the Garden State, lawmakers are scheduled to discuss two measures Thursday that would require public utility companies to reimburse customers for goods spoiled during extensive power outages. The two measures — A1896 and A3313— would both require public utilities to reimburse customers who lose power for more than 72 hours, including for food and prescription medicine. When a tropical storm rocked the state in August 2020, some people were kept in the dark for a week. At the time, PSE&G voluntarily reimbursed customers for up to $250 worth of spoiled food. During Hurricane Ida, electricity went out in 63,000 homes in New Jersey for days." DEADLINE NEARS FOR TRANSFERRING NURSING HOME RESIDENTS — Spotlight NJ's Lilo H. Stainton: "The clock is ticking for residents at Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center, a beleaguered Sussex County facility home to 347 New Jerseyans, most of them poor and living with dementia, mental health issues or other disabilities. Federal regulators said last week they would no longer pay for Medicaid recipients to live at Woodland after June 25 and state officials believe the facility is unsustainable without this critical funding, which makes up 92% of its revenue. On Friday the state suspended Woodland's nursing home license, just hours before a Superior Court judge appointed a team of restructuring experts to take control of the operation. All these steps are extremely rare. 'The judge's decision recognizes the unprecedented gravity of this situation,' said state Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman, whose department runs the Medicaid program in New Jersey." | | Odds and ends | | — The United States Golf Association, based in Far Hills, is caught in the middle of a conflict between the PGA Tour and a rival startup. — A 32-year-old Asbury Park resident was arrested after telling his mother that he was going to "shoot up a school like in Texas." — Mike Trout, one of the best players in Major League Baseball, reminisced about his childhood in Millville while in the Bronx to play the Yankees. Trout plays for the Los Angeles Angels. — Parsippany-based Howard Johnson, once a mainstay of the nation's highways, closed its last remaining restaurant. | | | | A message from AARP New Jersey: New Jerseyans are struggling to afford rising prices on everything from groceries to gas. On top of this, Americans are paying the highest drug prices in the world. It's time to enact S329/A1747, which establishes a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This board is responsible for investigating high drug prices and recommending action to lower costs for consumers. Governor Murphy has introduced legislation that addresses prescription drug costs, but it simply does not go far enough. It fails to address the root cause of the problem – the high prices set by drug manufacturers. Tell Governor Murphy: Stand up to Big Pharma! | | | | | | | 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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