Trenton – Senate President Steve Sweeney announced today, after consulting with Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, that the Senate committee meetings previously scheduled for Monday and Thursday of next week, and the Senate session set for March 26, will all be rescheduled for Monday, March 23.

The health and safety of the public will be better protected by holding the Senate’s meetings on a separate date than other activities in the Statehouse, Senator Sweeney said, and holding the committee meetings and Senate session on the same day will allow all the work to be conducted in one day.

“There are a lot of unknowns about the coronavirus pandemic but we do know that minimizing the number of people gathering in one place is one of the best steps we can take to protect the public’s health,” said Senator Sweeney. “This schedule will allow Senate committees and the full Senate to conduct important legislative business in one day in a way that better protects the safety of the public and legislators.”

The Senate committees previously scheduled for Monday, March 16 and Thursday, March 19 will be held the morning of Monday, March 23, and the Senate session set for Thursday, March 26 will be held the afternoon of March 23.

The committee meetings and Senate session will be accessible to the public via the live audio/video services of the Office of Legislative Services’ website however, members of the public won’t be allowed to attend in person. The committee meetings and Senate session will be open to the press corps.

Anyone who wants to submit written testimony can do so ahead of the committee meeting so that it may be considered by the committee and included in the committee’s record. The new schedule will also allow more time for testimony to be submitted to the separate committees, Senator Sweeney said.