NJBIA appreciates the Assembly’s expeditious work on a package of bills to address the fallout from the coronavirus.
“We were pleased to see the Assembly move with such quickness, especially when it comes to looking out for small businesses,” said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka.
“We were also happy to see the Senate move up their voting session to Thursday,” she added. “It’s critical that all of our policymakers work expeditiously to get our business owners and their employers the relief they need to sustain.”
NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Chrissy Buteas explained that when she and her staff viewed the Assembly legislation over the weekend, it was clear that most of the bills deserved the business community’s support. NJBIA suggested some changes to a couple of measures, which lawmakers made. NJBIA will continue to work with the Legislature on additional changes to assist the business community.
The Senate is scheduled to take up its coronavirus legislation on Thursday. Meanwhile, here is a list of bills the Assembly passed on Monday.
A3095 (Mazzeo) – Provides county clerks with additional week to mail ballots for 2020 primary election.
A3813 (Burzichelli) – Permits use of virtual or remote instruction to meet minimum 180-day school year requirement under certain circumstances.
A3839 (Carter / Bramnick) – Makes supplemental appropriation of $10 million from General Fund to DOE to support school facility cleaning and sanitization.
A3840 (Lampitt / Dunn) – Requires school districts to provide school meals or meal vouchers to students eligible for free and reduced price school meals during school closures due to COVID-19 epidemic.
A3841 (Pintor Marin / Bramnick) – Extends time to file gross income tax or corporation business tax return by one month.
A3842 (Greenwald / Taliaferro) – Establishes Bridging the Digital Divide in Schools Grant Program in DOE to provide and expand access to technology and equipment for students in certain school districts.
A3843 (McKeon / Bramnick) – Requires health insurance and Medicaid coverage for testing and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019.
A3845 (Freiman / Greenwald / Dancer) – Expands EDA small business loan program to include small businesses negatively affected by certain epidemics.
A3846 (Sumter) – Creates “Epidemic and Emergency Relief Fund”; provides for lost income of workers affected by epidemics.
A3847 (Tully / DeCroce) – Provides paid leave without utilizing accumulated leave for local government employees under certain circumstances.
A3848 (Lopez / Munoz / Downey) – Concerns time off from work in connection with infectious disease.
A3849 (Johnson) – Permits public agency to respond to request for government record within 21 calendar days during period of emergency or other exigency.
A3850 (Murphy / DeCroce) – Allows public bodies to conduct meetings by electronic means during periods of emergency.
A3851 (Schaer / Scharfenberger) – Extends deadlines for adoption of county and municipal budgets under certain circumstances.
A3852 (Coughlin / Bramnick) – Allows conduct of State business and legislative sessions at locations other than Trenton during periods of emergency or other exigency; allows conduct of legislative business using electronic means.
A3854 (Conaway / Munoz) – Authorizes licensed health care facilities and laboratories to develop and administer coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) tests.
A3855 (Mosquera / Stanfield) – Requires food access information be displayed on websites of 2-1-1 system and executive branch departments during public health emergencies.
A3856 (Downey) – Makes FY 2020 supplemental appropriation of $10 million for residential facility sanitation due to coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.
A3857 (Coughlin) – Makes FY2020 supplemental appropriation of $5 million to Community Food Bank of New Jersey to provide meals for children who are out of school and received subsidized lunches.
A3858 (Mukherji) – Requires Commissioner of Human Services to issue supplemental cash assistance payments to recipients of certain public assistance programs under certain circumstances.
A3859 (McKnight / Schepisi) – Concerns prohibition of residential tenant eviction and eviction due to residential foreclosure during certain emergency circumstances.
A3860 (Pinkin / DeCroce) – Facilitates use of telemedicine and telehealth to respond to health emergencies.
A3861 (Karabinchak / Johnson / Greenwald) – Permits corporations to hold shareholders’ meetings in part or solely by means of remote communication during state of emergency.
A3862 (Giblin / Armato / Houghtaling) – Permits professional and occupational licensing boards to expedite licensure of certain individuals during state of emergency or public health emergency.
A3863 (Houghtaling / Downey / Mazzeo) – Extends petition filing deadline by two weeks for all candidates, and waives signature requirements for candidates for party office, for 2020 primary election.
A3864 (Downey / Houghtaling / Swain) – Authorizes Notaries Public to Perform Certain Notorial Acts Remotely.
A3865 (Chaparro / Reynolds-Jackson / Verrelli) – Limits return of items purchased from retail food stores under certain circumstances.
ACR165 (Mejia / Mazzeo / Lopez) – Urges DHS to apply for federal waivers to facilitate and increase access to SNAP benefits during coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.
AJR158 (DeAngelo / DePhillips / Mukherji) – Urges FCC to take temporary measures to secure broadband access for those affected by COVID-19.
The Assembly added A-3861, which NJBIA supported, to its agenda. A number of New Jersey’s largest employers have their annual meetings in April, where new policies get set, raises and promotions are approved, and a host of other actions are taken. The social distancing mandate, should it extend beyond March 27, could have wreaked havoc on the ability to hold such meetings without this measure.
