January 24, 2012
Contact: Adam Bauer / (609) 292-5199
Senator Christopher Bateman
Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset/Hunterdon/Mercer/Middlesex), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called for same sex marriage to be decided by the voters of New Jersey.
In addressing the Committee during its consideration of S-1, the “Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act”, Bateman said that he was willing to work with supporters and opponents alike to craft an unbiased and fair question on the issue in the form of either a Constitutional Amendment or statute enabled by referendum.
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January 23, 2012
Contact: Bill Murray / (609) 292-5199
Senator Kevin J. O'Toole
Senator Kevin O’Toole, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement concerning the nominations of Phil Kwon and Bruce Harris as Associate Justices on the New Jersey Supreme Court:
“Governor Christie’s monumental decision today to nominate Phil Kwon and Bruce Harris to be Associate Justices of the Supreme Court highlights his desire to ensure that our State’s highest court not only be a model of diversity for the country but also have a compliment of the best and brightest legal minds our State has to offer,” said O’Toole.
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January 23, 2012
Contact: Adam Bauer / (609) 292-5199
Senator Robert W. Singer
Bill Requires All New Jersey Schools to Have AEDs on Hand for Sporting Events
Legislation sponsored by Senator Robert W. Singer (R- Ocean/Monmouth) seeking to prevent student-athlete deaths from cardiac arrest has been reported favorably from the Senate Education Committee.
“Janet’s Law”, S-157, would require that all public schools, non-public schools keep Automated External Defibrillators (AED) on school grounds, and that an individual trained in the use of the devices is present during student sporting events.
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January 23, 2012
Contact: Bill Murray / (609) 292-5199
Senator Kevin J. O'Toole
Senator Kevin O’Toole, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, responded today the announcement by Governor’s Christie and Cuomo that the tolls on the Staten Island-New Jersey crossings would be cut beginning February 1, 2012:
“New Jersey’s middle-class families need every break that they can get during these difficult economic times,” O’Toole began. “These toll cuts will make it less expensive to commute to work or just to visit family or friends across the river.”
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January 23, 2012
Contact: Adam Bauer / (609) 292-5199
Senator Tom Kean
Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. (R- Union) issued the following statement in reaction to Governor Christie’s nomination of Phillip Kwon and Bruce Harris to the New Jersey Supreme Court:
“Governor Christie has picked two nominees with impeccable legal credentials to serve on our state’s highest court. Mr. Kwon has helped lead the fight on public corruption in New Jersey in the offices of the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney. Mr. Harris, a constituent with whom I had the pleasure of campaigning this past fall, comes from two of New Jersey’s most prestigious and influential law firms. The most important qualification for a nominee to the Supreme Court is his or her skill and knowledge as an attorney. The Governor has found in Phillip Kwon and Bruce Harris two extraordinarily qualified members of the Bar to serve the people of this state.”
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January 23, 2012
Contact: Jason Smith / (609) 693-6700
District 9
Legislation that would establish a pilot teacher preparation program at Richard Stockton College for veterans who served in the armed forces on or after September 11, 2001 was advanced today by the Senate Education Committee. Senator Christopher J. Connors is a prime sponsor of S-1026 along with Senator James Whelan. Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove are co-sponsors of the identical companion measure (A-1294), which has been referred to the Assembly Education Committee.
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January 20, 2012
Contact: Adam Bauer / (609) 292-5199
Senator Kevin J. O'Toole
Senator Kevin J. O’Toole (R- Essex/Bergen/Passaic), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today that he is extremely troubled by ultimatums issued by Democratic leaders to the Governor regarding two upcoming Supreme Court vacancies:
It is troubling that Democratic leaders would publicly state that no Supreme Court nominee will be considered unless he or she meets their own ideological litmus tests and other preconditions.
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January 20, 2012
Contact: Bill Murray / (609) 292-5199
Senator Gerald Cardinale
Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) announced today that Governor Christie has signed the “Rockland-Bergen Watershed Flood Prevention and Protection Act” into law. The bill is designed to create a cooperative commission to regulate the flow of overflow during rainstorms and snow melt.
“Governor Christie demonstrated extraordinary leadership last summer during Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee,” Cardinale began. “In the aftermath of these twin events it became apparent that bi-state cooperation was desperately needed to better control flood waters.”
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January 20, 2012
Contact: Adam Bauer / (609) 292-5199
Senator Christopher Bateman
Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R- Somerset/Hunterdon/Middlesex/Mercer) has resubmitted legislation intended to promote volunteer community service in New Jersey’s public high schools.
The bill, S-76, would require public schools to provide an annual, in-school community service opportunity for students in grades 9-12. The proposal is one Bateman first submitted to the legislature in 2007.
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January 19, 2012
Contact: Adam Bauer / (609) 292-5199
Senator Diane Allen
Legislation sponsored by Senator Diane Allen (R- Burlington) permitting active duty military service members to be married or enter into a civil union by proxy has been signed into law by Governor Christie.
Marriage by proxy allows an attorney to “stand in” for a service member and complete the legal necessities of marriage or civil union, thereby conferring tax treatment, health benefits, and power of attorney to a service member’s partner while he or she is serving in armed conflict or war.
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