By State House Bureau Chief Briana Vannozzi
Both chambers will meet under the gold dome tomorrow with nearly 90 bills slated for a vote.
In the Assembly, lawmakers will consider legislation to grant subpoena power to investigate the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It comes on the heels of an auditor’s report reviewing the agency’s management, employee benefits and pay scale. If it passes, the Assembly Transportation Committee would hold legal power to compel the agency to testify. The measure has sparked a political standoff between the bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), and the Christie administration which has called the bill a political maneuver. The resolution will need only the majority vote of the Democratic-controlled Assembly to pass.
Other measures heading to the floor: 1. requiring voter approval for charter schools, 2. subsidies for schools to enact the state’s anti-bullying law, and 3. bonus awards to businesses hiring employees who have been unemployed for more than 13 weeks.
A four-bill package to bridge the gender pay equality gap is up for a vote and is expected to pass. Among other things, the measures would require employers to inform workers of all of their rights under state and federal law pertaining to pay equity and gender discrimination. The bills will also lengthen the statute of limitations for employees to take action against unlawful compensation practices and require state contractors to file information on the employees they hire.
On the Senate side, legislation sponsored by Democratic Senators Nia Gill (D-Essex) and Joe Vitale (D-MIddlesex) to implement New Jersey’s health insurance exchange will take center stage. The bill is considered the first major step toward implementing “Obama Care” in the state. The bill creates an online marketplace for small businesses and individuals to purchase health coverage and compare costs. Gov. Christie has not yet said if he plans to support or veto the bill.
Also on tap for tomorrow, a bill to clarify the legislature’s intent on the state’s requirements to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and prevent the governor from unilaterally barring the state’s participation. Gov. Christie pulled New Jersey out of the regional program last May calling it ineffective.
The Assembly session is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. tomorrow and the Senate at 2 p.m.