| | | | |  | | By Jonathan Custodio | Presented by the NJ Board of Public Utilities | The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee unanimously advanced a bill that would expand eligible transactions for people registered with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children. Under the legislation, sponsored by Sens. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) and Nellie Pou (D-Passaic), an Electronic Benefits Transfer system would be established for participants, with corresponding EBT cards, that allows online purchasing of eligible foods — including infant formula — and unused funds to carry over into the following month. The committee removed an amendment that would have had the Department of Health implement the EBT system because it is already in the process of doing so, and will be finished by July, according to amendments read aloud in the committee hearing. Infant formula already is a part of the eligible foods under WIC benefits. However, permission through the form of permanent waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service would be needed to uphold the bill, which allows infant formula to be purchased online. "It will take permission from USDA Food Nutrition Service to do that, so we will need some waivers," Adele LaTourette, senior director of policy and advocacy for Community Food Bank of New Jersey, told POLITICO. The bill moves amid a national shortage of infant formula that has left parents struggling to nourish their babies and sparked a political firestorm. "What this bill seeks to do is to allow WIC recipients to purchase things like formula online," LaTourette said. "And, at this point in time with the formula shortage, that would be huge because one place that you seem to be able to get some formula — depending again on where you are and when you hit the site — you may be able to get it online." The legislation now advances to the Senate for a second reading. | | | | A message from the NJ Board of Public Utilities: New Jersey is on its way toward its goal of 100% clean energy by 2050. And you can help. Find out how New Jersey's Clean Energy Program can help businesses save energy and money with commercial clean energy incentives. High-value incentives and rebates on energy efficient improvements and appliances are also available from your utility company. You'll be saving more than money—you'll be helping to make the Garden State the Greenest State. Visit njcleanenergy.com. | | |
HAPPY MONDAY 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.
No answers to Friday's trivia question — a first — so I'm re-upping it. Today's question: The first passenger flight in American history was flown from New York to which city in New Jersey? 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 | | MURPHY'S POLICY CHIEF HEADED FOR CONSULTING — Zakiya Smith Ellis, Gov. Phil Murphy's chief policy adviser, will be leaving the administration next month, POLITICO has learned. Smith Ellis will depart the front office on July 1 and take over as a principal at EducationCounsel, a national education consulting firm, in August, according to an administration source. Smith Ellis started with the administration as secretary of Higher Education in March, 2018, before joining the front office as chief policy adviser in July, 2020. Smith Ellis is one of several top Murphy aides who have departed the administration in recent months:
- Dan Bryan, formerly Murphy's senior adviser for strategic communications, left in February to become executive director of a political action committee and a nonprofit 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, both called Stronger Fairer Forward.
- Michael Zhadanovsky, formerly Murphy's deputy press secretary, left in March to become communications director for Rob Menendez's congressional campaign.
- Mahen Gunaratna, formerly the governor's top spokesperson, left in May to join Everytown for Gun Safety.
- Deborah Cornavaca, formerly deputy chief of staff for outreach in Murphy's office, left in May to rejoin the New Jersey Education Association. — Carly Sitrin
COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 2,040 confirmed positive Covid-19 tests and two deaths from the virus on Monday. The state's seven-day case average was down 24 percent from a week ago and up 13 percent from a month ago.
| | ON THE BEATS | |
FIRST RESPONDERS — Officers in the Elizabeth and Linden police departments will soon be accompanied by mental health professionals when responding to calls involving a people in crisis, part of a program that's already in place in Cumberland County, Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin announced today. The "ARRIVE Together" initiative, which is designed to prevent police use of force incidents, is being implemented in the two Union County cities with the long-term goal of expanding it statewide, Platkin said.
Launched in December in Cumberland County, the program is designed to reduce police use of force incidents by directly addressing mental health crises — calls which Platkin said disproportionately lead to use of force. Platkin said the effort in Cumberland County has been a "great success," with no use-of-force incidents reported when police and a mental health professional respond to calls involving people in crisis. "Over the last several decades, we've asked law enforcement, frankly, to do too much," Platkin said during a press conference at the John H. Stamler Police Academy in Scotch Plains. "We've asked them to be mental health professionals and behavioral health counselors and addiction specialists, and it's not realistic to ask one person to be all of those things." — Daniel O'Connor PARK ADVOCATES ASK NJ TO "FIX OUR PARKS" — A group of public land advocates launched a campaign to "fix" New Jersey's parks today. The Pinelands Preservation Alliance, along with other open space groups, also released a report that found that state park staff has been reduced by nearly 30 percent over the past 15 years, even as there is more public land to look after. By several measures, according to the report, the state's public lands are woefully understaffed and underfunded compared to other states. During a Zoom press conference, the advocates offered an example of their main gripe: parks that are closed because of state staffing issues. During the video call, Jason Howell, an advocate for the alliance, was standing at a closed entrance to Menantico Preserve in South Jersey when a resident drove in and asked why the park was closed. "I drove 25 minutes on my day off to come fishing," the angler, who identified herself as Alexa, said. When Howell told Alexa the park was closed because of staffing issues, she called that "crazy" because the park was also closed last summer. "We need them to fix our parks, we don't need them to close them down," Howell said. — Ry Rivard | | | | A message from the NJ Board of Public Utilities:   | | |
| | Around New Jersey | |
ALBIN'S IMMINENT DEPARTURE WORRIES SOME COURT OBSERVERS — New Jersey Monitor's Dana DiFilippo: "The imminent retirement of Justice Barry Albin from the New Jersey Supreme Court has some criminal justice reformers anxious about the future.
Reformers say Albin, one of the court's staunchest liberals, brought a unique perspective to the court as the only sitting justice with a background in public defense and civil rights. He will hit the mandatory retirement age of 70 next month after serving on the court since 2002. 'Justice Albin is irreplaceable,' said Jenny-Brooke Condon, a professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. 'They're very big shoes to fill. Justice Albin's work as a criminal defense attorney mattered immensely in the perspective he brought to the court.'" STATE'S HOUSING MARKET SHOWING SIGNS OF COOLING — NorthJersey.com's Mary Chao: "Higher mortgage rates and the pain of inflation are slowing the rise in home prices in North Jersey, as increased costs prompt buyers to tighten their budgets. Local real estate agents said they've seen prices stabilize since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in May by the most in 22 years. While current sales data won't be available for weeks, there were already signs in April that the market was easing after a two-year boom. In the latest report from the New Jersey Association of Realtors, the median home sales price in Bergen County rose 7.4% in April, compared with a year earlier; in February, before the Fed's first rate hike of the year, the increase was almost 12%." NEW FUND WILL HELP SCREEN STUDENTS FOR DEPRESSION — NJ Spotlight's Lilo H. Stainton: "Communities in New Jersey and nationwide are again focusing on the need to protect students, avert violence and help kids and families heal from the trauma of incidents like the recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas. New Jersey — which has among the nation's strongest gun laws — had already taken steps to beef up school security, identify students who may pose a threat and ensure districts provide comprehensive mental health services. The state also created a $1 million grant fund to help schools develop depression-screening programs, starting this fall. 'We've always had children that experienced mental health issues, but not at the level and frequency that's going on now. We have to treat it like we treat reading,' said Millville schools superintendent Tony Trongone, pointing to strategies such as intervention, ongoing support and parental engagement." | | Odds and ends | | — Police in Long Branch and Point Pleasant are preparing for another possible pop-up party in the coming days. — Netflix officially placed its bid to turn a parcel in Fort Monmouth into a production studio. — More than a quarter of vote-by-mail ballots for Tuesday's primaries have been returned. — Bergen County's Republican line is facing a big test of strength on Primary Day. — It's that time of year: A great white shark was spotted less than a mile off the coast of Sea Isle City. | | | | A message from the NJ Board of Public Utilities: New Jersey is at the forefront of the clean energy revolution. Thanks to the enthusiastic participation of businesses, residents, local government, and many others across the state, New Jersey is well on its way toward reaching Governor Phil Murphy's ambitious goal of 100% clean energy by 2050. But there is still more to be done. Find out how New Jersey's Clean Energy Program can help you save energy and money. Visit njcleanenergy.com to learn about the available commercial and residential clean energy incentives, local government energy audits, and ways to save with high-value incentives and rebates from your local utility company on energy efficient improvements and appliances. You'll be doing a lot more than saving money on your energy bills—you'll be helping to make New Jersey the greenest state on the planet. Start saving right away—visit njcleanenergy.com today! | | | | | | | 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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