Trenton Preview: Rent Relief, School Safety, and Transit Oversight

TRENTON, NJ — We have an active agenda at the State capital this week.

The Senate will hold quorum 12pm today with three committees scheduled to meet, here are the highlights….

Senate Education Committee (11:00 AM)

S155: School bus drivers would be allowed to administer epinephrine in emergencies as long as certain requirements are met – parental permission being one of them.

S1123: Public schools would be required to maintain portable anti-choking devices; directs DOE to reimburse for implementation and allows for donations.

S1374: Establishes a 500:1 student-to-school psychologist ratio/requires the position in every school.

S2613 (Discussion Only): Expands requirements on employment history for applicants looking for a job at a school.  This goes beyond just hiring and ramps up expectations on investigations, would require anyone who contracts with the school to implement the same requirements and bolsters training.

Senate Transportation Committee (11:00 AM)

S2917: Will pull the consumer advocate role outside of NJ Transit’s bubble and turn it into an independent watchdog with access to info, documents and a reporting line to the Governor and legislature.  

Thursday, March 5

Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (10:00 AM)

S451: Makes using algorithmic systems to influence price and supply of rental units illegal; intended to push back on rent setting tools that can lead to higher rents.

S1759: Increases the percentage of rent constituting property taxes for gross income tax purposes from 18% to 30% which could increase the value of some tax benefits for renters.

S1821: Provides a refundable gross income tax credit for certain renters whose rent exceeds 35% of their gross income – this is a direct refund.

S219: Sets guidelines for determining creditworthiness in affordable housing programs and is looking to increase transparency and consistency in deciding who qualifies.

The Governor’s Budget Address is set for next week (Tuesday, March 10), the Governor is scheduled to deliver the Budget Address which will likely touch upon everything we’ve been writing about -school aid, municipal aid, tax relief programs and statewide spending priorities.  Listen carefully because it could influence what moves in this legislative session.