No Pensions for Sexual Harassers, PANYNJ Reform, No Nepotism in Schools, Banning Youth Marriage, Ransomware Training & Encouraging Electric Vehicle Use Throughout N.J.

Testimony Also Set on East Asian Tick Concerns

(TRENTON) – Ethics reforms – including forcing sexual harassers to lose their taxpayer-funded pensions, reforming the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and banning nepotism in schools – and bills to encourage electric vehicle use throughout New Jersey, ban people under 18 from getting married and require ransomware training for state employees highlight Thursday’s Assembly committee hearings.

The meetings are slated to begin at 10 a.m. and will be streamed live at:

            http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp

            HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• A-3766 (Armato/Murphy/Jones) – Requires public officer or employee to forfeit pension upon conviction of harassment, sexual contact, lewdness, or sexual assault when offense involves or touches upon public office or employment. 1 p.m. State and Local Government.
• A-3840 (Armato/Mazzeo) – Forbids members of the State Investment Council from voting on transactions concerning investment with which a member has certain financial or familial conflicts and requires removal for violations thereof. 1 p.m. State and Local Government.
• A-1708 (Vainieri Huttle) – Provides transparency and accountability reforms at PANYNJ; modifies governance structure; provides legislative oversight of PANYNJ; and regulates capital planning process. 10 a.m. Transportation.
• A-3922 (Vainieri Huttle) – Requires state employees to complete ransomware training. 1 p.m. Homeland Security and State Preparedness
• The Homeland Security panel will take testimony from Michael Geraghty, New Jersey Chief Information Officer, to discuss state cyber security. The committee also has invited Dr. David Weiss, founding director of the Institute for Dispute Resolution, and Kenneth N. Rashbaum, partner at Barton, LLP to discuss data privacy and General Data Protection Regulation.
• The Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee at 1 p.m. will take testimony concerning the threat to human and animal health from East Asian ticks, due to the discovery of a large number of these ticks infesting a sheep in Hunterdon County and their survival through the winter.  East Asian ticks were previously considered nonexistent in the United States but have also been found in Union County, New Jersey.
• A-557 (Moriarty/Caputo/Lagana/Downey) – Requires the adoption of nepotism policies by school districts and charter schools. 10 a.m. Education.
• A-865 (Gusciora/Lagana/Lampitt/Mukherji/Sumter) – Bars persons under age 18 from marrying or entering into a civil union. 10 a.m. Judiciary.
• A-1223 (McKeon/Benson/Kennedy/Johnson) – Concerns low emission and zero emission vehicles; establishes Clean Vehicle Task Force; A-2718 (McKeon) – Establishes public-private alternative fueling station pilot program and requires DOT to conduct study; A-2719  (McKeon) – Establishes public-private pilot program for level 3 electric vehicle charging stations; A-3830  (Pinkin) – Directs BPU to develop and implement electric school bus pilot program; and A-3688  (Benson/Pinkin/Zwicker) – Establishes State goals for adoption of plug-in electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure; directs DEP and various other State agencies to develop programs to achieve those goals.2 p.m. Environment and Solid Waste.
• A-1094 (Downey/Lampitt/Schaer/Houghtaling/Benson/Muoio/DeAngelo) – Concerns employer inquiries about worker’s wage and salary experience. 10 a.m. Labor.
• A-3501 (Lampitt) – Directs Department of Agriculture in consultation with DOE to establish online applications for National School Lunch Program and school breakfast programs. 10 a.m. Education.
• A-2773 (Greenwald/McKnight) – Requires State Board of Education high school graduation requirements include instruction on tuition assistance programs and student loan debt; requires high school students to meet with guidance counselor to discuss tuition assistance and dual enrollment. 10 a.m. Education.
• A-3250 (Taliaferro) – “Linnette Lebron’s Law” modifies procedures for marriage or civil union where a party is terminally ill. 10 a.m. Judiciary.
• A-1130 (Wimberly/Benson/Caputo/Quijano/Jimenez/Giblin) – Requires Commissioner of Transportation to publish notice of certain transportation-related infrastructure projects and activities on Internet website, and directs State Comptroller to monitor publication of those notifications. 10 a.m. Transportation.
• A-3654 (Lopez/Benson/Jones) – Requires NJT to establish office of real estate economic development and transit-oriented development; requires annual report of certain real property information. 10 a.m. Transportation.
• A-2504 (Pinkin/Murphy) – Requires lactation rooms be made available at certain PANYNJ airports. 10 a.m.Women and Children.
• A-3754 (McKnight/Speight/Barclay) – Exempts persons providing hair braiding services from licensure requirement, requires registration of hair braiding establishments. 10 a.m. Women and Children.
• The Assembly Human Services Committee at 2 p.m. will take testimony on the status of, and issues affecting, the state-contracted non-emergency medical transportation system in the state.
• A-2365  (Vainieri Huttle/Mukherji) – Requires hospital patient’s medical record to include notation if patient is at increased risk of confusion, agitation, behavioral problems, and wandering due to dementia related disorder. 2 p.m.Human Services.
• A-3566 (Vainieri Huttle) – Establishes NJ Task Force on Coordination Among Nonprofit Social Service Organizations. 2 p.m. Human Services.
• A-3645 (Quijano/Downey) – Establishes one New Jersey Suicide Prevention Advisory Council in DOH. 2 p.m.Human Services.