Quick Hits: New Jersey news in brief for Friday, April 23
Bill aims to help small towns to hire emergency management coordinators
Gov. Phil Murphy has signed S-551/A-1057 into law, a bill that ostensibly makes it easier for towns with fewer than 5,000 residents to hire an emergency management coordinator.
“Emergency Management Coordinators are responsible for drafting crisis response plans for towns, identifying and locating critical resources, and coordinating responses from emergency service providers,” state Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Boonton, said in a news release.
“Smaller municipalities have struggled to find qualified candidates who are willing to make the three-year commitment,” Bucco added. “The requirement to fill the post with a resident of the municipality is much more restrictive on towns with smaller populations.”
Bill would allow burned-out police and firefighters to retire early
Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law A-2562/S-1017, a bill that would allow police and firefighters with 20 years of experience and facing burnout from service amid the pandemic to retire. The benefit was previously only extended to police and firefighters at least 55 years old and with 20 years of experience.
“This past year, we have asked our first responders to step up like never before as the coronavirus took more than 25,000 lives in our state,” Assemblyman Ron Dancer, R-Ocean, said in a news release.
Bill grants in-state tuition to military members’ children who attended a New Jersey high school
Gov. Phil Murphy signed A-2142/S-275 into law, granting in-state tuition at a public New Jersey college to children of military families who attended high school in New Jersey but not currently living in the state.
“Military commitments and sacrifices involve the entire family,” Assemblyman Ron Dancer, R-Ocean, said in a news release. “Most military families move every two to three years, and some even more frequently. For a military child, it’s possible to have moved 10 times by age 12 and to have changed schools six to nine times between kindergarten and high school graduation.”
NJ Transit reaches full roster of 393 engineers
NJ Transit has increased its ranks to a full roster of 393 locomotive engineers.
“A full roster of locomotive engineers is critical to ensuring that public transportation in New Jersey is reliable and accessible,” Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, D-Middlesex, said in a news release. “With highly trained, fully-equipped engineers at the ready – and continuing classes of new recruits in the pipeline – the days of canceled trains and lengthy delays will soon be a distant memory.
“While there’s still work to be done, NJTRANSIT has made undeniable progress in addressing staffing issues at the core of its operating challenges,” Lopez added.
– The Center Square
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