New Jersey Legislature – Martin Milita

NJ bidders may need to submit a gender equity repo

Companies that bid on New Jersey state contracts would have to ensure their gender-based pay equity and job equality standards under a Democrat-backed bill that passed the state Assembly Thursday.

Assembly Bill 883 — as a part of a package of Bills aimed at combating poverty and rebuilding the state’s middle class — would require every government contract bidder to submit a gender equity report to the Division of Purchase and Property in the State Department of the Treasury.

The report would measure the extent to which men and women employees perform the same or comparable work at different rates of pay and the extent to which job titles may be predominately held by members of the same gender, according to the bill’s language.

Introduced in January, the proposed law was previously reviewed by the Assembly State and Local Government Committee and received 46-17-9 approval Thursday.

Under A883, the purchase and property division would develop a system for bidders to measure and remedy gender-based pay gaps and gender-based segregation of job titles, along with uniform reporting instructions and criteria. Bidders would also get technical assistance with the reporting, the bill said.

Bidders for emergency contracts would be exempt from the law, as would contracts paid in whole or in part by federal funds if the application of the rules would impact eligibility to receive the funds, the bill said.

Muoio and Lampitt were joined in their sponsorship by Gabriela M. Mosquera, D- Camden, John F. McKeon, D-Morris, and Mila M. Jasey, D-Essex. Muoio, Lampitt and Mosquera introduced the legislation during the last session in June, but it stalled in the Assembly State and Local Government Committee.

The proposal has drawn criticism from the New Jersey Institute for Civil Justice, which described the legislation as a “complex and intrusive legislative scheme.”

The group feels the statistics would defeat the purpose of market wages, which they say provide a measure of a particular job’s worth and encourage people to take jobs for which demand exceeds supply. The reporting requirement itself would create a “treasure trove” of data that could leave employers vulnerable to lawsuits, the group said.

The group further contends that workplace gender equality statistics reflect disparities. Education, profession, experience or hours worked are among the “countless individual, voluntary choices that add up to statistical disparities in the aggregate,” the group said.

“The reality is that the existing anti-discrimination legal framework reflects a strong social consensus against discrimination based on sex,” the NJICJ said in a statement Friday. “The attempt to further regulate employee compensation and expose employers to litigation will succeed primarily in distorting labor markets and increasing the cost and risk of hiring new employees.

Lampitt, who authored legislation requiring employers to post wage discrimination notices in the workplace, countered that the current anti-discrimination statutes aren’t focused enough on women.

“If discrimination [laws are] already on the books, then why is it still happening?” she said.

Lampitt also addressed the statistics that would be provided, noting that citizens can find out information about public entities through the state’s Open Public Records Act. She asked why the private sector’s statistics shouldn’t be publicly available as well.

Hospitals avoid new local-tax burden-Energy and Environment Bills Signed Into Law

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bipartisan proposal that would have required nonprofit hospitals to pay new fees to municipal governments to help cover the cost of police, fire, and other local services in exchange for maintaining the property-tax exemption they have long enjoyed. The bill was prompted by a landmark state tax-court ruling in 2014 that successfully challenged the property-tax exemption enjoyed by nonprofit Morristown Medical Center, given that it also operates several for-profit services at the same Morris County site.

The pocket veto encourages uncertainty where the bill could have secured the legal future of hospitals. Legislators intended their efforts to avoid similar lawsuits around the state, but with the veto the state may see an untimely increase in litigation.

The move was more of a disappointment than a surprise, legislators said.

Energy and Environment Bills Signed Into Law

S-2617/A-3944 (Cardinale/Garcia, McKeon, Auth, Eustace, Pinkin) – Requires DEP to adopt regulations to allow cultivation of commercial shellfish species in certain coastal and inner harbor waters for research, educational, or restoration purposes; requires community engagement process for revision thereof

S-2880/A-4704 (Lesniak, T. Kean/Diegnan, Wisniewski) – Provides up to $25 million in tax credits under Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant Program for certain infrastructure at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

S-3321/A-4927 (Smith, Van Drew, Bateman/Spencer, Rumana) – Authorizes DEP to require public access to waterfront and adjacent shoreline as condition of waterfront development approvals and CAFRA permits

A-1726wGR/S-308 (Eustace, Lagana, Mosquera, Vainieri Huttle, Wimberly/Gordon) – Amends “Flood Hazard Area Control Act” to require DEP to take certain actions concerning delineations of flood hazard areas and floodplains

A-1812/S-2717 (Mosquera, Mazzeo, Andrzejczak/Cruz-Perez, Oroho, Jones) – Extends protections of the new vehicle “lemon law” to new farm tractors purchased or leased in New Jersey

A-1958/S-1848 (Allen, Van Drew) – Concerns exemptions from permits for certain agricultural activities under “Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act”

A-2839/S-2620 (Burzichelli, Space, Phoebus/Oroho, Turner) – “New Jersey Rural Microenterprise Act”

A-3257wGR/S-2125 (Andrzejczak, Mazzeo, Burzichelli/Van Drew) – Provides that determination by county agriculture development board or State Agriculture Development Committee as to what qualifies as farm-based recreational activity in pinelands protection area is binding on Pinelands Commission

A-3850/S-2467 (DeAngelo, Eustace, Mazzeo, Pintor Marin, Benson/Turner, Singer) – Requires BPU to establish procedures allowing electric power and gas supplier customers to switch energy suppliers

Energy and Environment Bills pocket vetoed

S-564/A-4186 (Smith, Bateman/Eustace, McKeon, Spencer, Benson) – Establishes “Solar Roof Installation Warranty Program” in EDA and transfers $2 million from societal benefits charge to initially fund program

S-1414/A-2405 (Smith, Bateman/Eustace, Benson, Johnson) – Concerns low emission and zero emission vehicles; establishes Clean Vehicle Task Force

SCS for S-1420/ACS for A-1603 (Beach, Whelan, Smith, Sweeney, Bateman, Thompson/Spencer, Eustace, Quijano, Wimberly) – Requires paint producers to implement or participate in paint stewardship program

S-2491/A-4069 (Smith/Danielsen, Pinkin, Benson) – Establishes position of State Oceanographer

S-2711/A-4128 (Smith, Whelan/Mazzeo, DeAngelo, Spencer, Singleton, McKeon, Danielsen, Johnson) –Permits BPU to approve qualified wind energy project; requires BPU to provide application periods for those projects

S-2769/AS for ACS for A-4197, 4206 (Smith, Bateman/Andrzejczak, McKeon, Spencer, Pintor Marin, Dancer, Vainieri Huttle) – Implements 2014 constitutional dedication of CBT revenues for certain environmental purposes; revises State’s open space, farmland, and historic preservation programs

S-3416/A-4808 (Lesniak, Sarlo/Eustace, Gusciora) – Prohibits possession, transport, import, export, processing, sale, or shipment of parts and products of certain animal species threatened with extinction

A-2586/S-1796 (DeAngelo, Quijano, Benson/Greenstein) – Establishes “Energy Infrastructure Study Commission”

A-4384/S-3145 (DeAngelo, Pintor Marin, Danielsen, Schaer, Johnson/Whelan) – Requires BPU to render decision on case within 12 months of final public hearing or hold another public hearing prior to deciding case

A-4763/SS for SCS for S-2973 (McKeon, Spencer, Pinkin/Smith, Bateman, Greenstein, Codey) – Revises “Electronic Waste Management Act”

A-4773/S-3146 (Eustace, Garcia, Gusciora/Lesniak) – Prohibits possession and transport of parts and products of certain animals at PANYNJ airports and port facilities

New Jersey State Assembly members hear testimony on Horizon’s Omnia Alliance

New Jersey State Assembly members heard testimony today on Horizon’s Omnia Alliance and its controversial tiered healthcare plans that face legal challenges from an eleven-member coalition of hospitals who say they are being strong-armed into an unfavorable deal with Horizon Blue Cross. The mayors of Trenton (Eric Jackson) and Elizabeth (Chris Bollwage) criticized the provider at the joint hearing of the Assembly Health and Services and Regulatory Oversight Committees.

Critics say hospitals that did not agree to reimbursement rates favorable to Horizon in exchange for higher patient volume have been forced to charge high rates to disadvantaged customers as second-tier institutions, setting the stage for losses in inner-city areas as those hospitals decline or fail. Proponents cite a need for drastic cost reductions in New Jersey, and say Horizon is merely executing a strategy that many smaller providers have already put in place. Horizon insures nearly 50% of patients across New Jersey.

Representatives of Horizon and the acting DOBI Commissioner were not present at Wednesday’s hearing.

Jackson and Bollwage said that the new Omnia plans have already placed an undue burden on poor and inner-city communities.

“What damage has been done in the meantime?” asked Jackson. “Not only to the institutions, but how many lives have been impacted by individuals who not only have a $4,500 deductible but find out when they get to a tier two physician, or hospital, that their copays are more than double what they saw on that sheet?”

Jackson said that he was testifying in the interest of defending Trenton’s charity, faith-based and non-profit hospitals from unfavorable public perceptions as well as new fiscal challenges.

“We are a tier-one city all the way around,” he said.

“Healthcare hospitals are the economic engines for your communities, and sometimes even the largest employers next to the cities,” said Shavonda Sumter (D-35), of Paterson, thanking the mayors for bringing the economic impact of the tiered networks into the discussion.

Saying that the new plans were “designed to shift market share from disfavored tier-two hospitals to favored tier-one hospitals in a non-transparent and secretive manner,” former Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner and attorney Steven Goldman painted the approval process from the New Jersey DOBI as too hasty.

“No input was sought from any of the tier-two hospitals that I represent,” Goldman said, adding that a thorough review would have taken months and not the two weeks Horizon waited before it received approval.

Health and Senior Services Chair Herb Conaway (D-7) agreed with the mayors’ testimony that many patients in low-income areas with a low density of tier-one hospitals would have to travel over an hour for care.

“It doesn’t really fully appreciate the transportation challenges that many people have,” said Conaway. “And we’re going to have to address that in regulations.”

Regulatory Oversight Chair Reed Gusciora (D-15) criticized the marketing push for the Omnia plans as obfuscating the cost and failing to address access, saying of Horizon’s materials “It doesn’t say ‘oh by the way, if you live in Trenton or Elizabeth don’t bother with these plans.”

At one point, Gusciora held up a spreadsheet detailing Horizon’s Omnia plan options for public workers, putting to Jackson and Bollwage that the second-tier providers have to levy exorbitant patient copays.

“One of them is the Horizon OMNIA, and it notes that it has the tier one and tier two program. If you choose a tier two hospital you have to pay a $4,500 copay. And I was wondering, how many of your constituents, per visit, can afford $4,500?” he asked Bollwage.

“I can’t,” Bollwage answered. “I’m a Horizon member and if you said to me I have to pay another $4,500, that’s going to take something out of the budget in my own household.”

Out-of-network legislation clears Assembly committee

The New Jersey state Assembly bills to address surprise out-of-network hospital bills are one step closer to becoming law, despite some remaining concerns for both payers and providers.

The two bills, sponsored by Assembly Democrats Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge), Gary S. Schaer (D-Passaic), Troy Singleton (D-Mount Laurel), Pamela Lampitt (D-Voorhees) and Grace Spencer (D-Newark), cleared the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee on Monday.

Originally introduced earlier this year as a single bill, the two new pieces of legislation cover changes in the administrative process for hospitals during non-emergency procedures, as well as creating a new transparency tool to determine what providers are charging for care — known as the Health Price Index. If enacted, the out-of-network bill would rely on the state Department of Banking and Insurance to find an organization to collect and maintain the Health Price Index.

The out-of-network bill, which is similar to a bill making its way through the Senate, is raising concerns about the increased burden on health care professionals, while the creation of a new price tool is likely to increase the already too-high-cost of insurance plans.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association supported the out-of-network bill, but has some concerns about the HPI.

“NJBIA continues to oppose creation of an HPI,” testified Mary Beaumont, vice president for health and legal affairs. “Surcharges on health insurers and benefits plans will ultimately increase health care costs for New Jersey employers. Furthermore, it’s duplicative. Existing sources collect and provide in-network and out-of-network cost information from physicians, hospitals, health care facilities and insurers.”

Similar opposition can also be seen for the administrative burden on doctors from the out-of-network bill.

But the bills’ sponsor believes the physicians and health care professionals within the health system should be responsible for tracking the insurance information. Laws already exist for emergency situations to be treated as in-network, so elective procedures are typically where surprise bills appear.

“If they were given the choice between continuing with medical care that ultimately would lead to substantial out-of-pocket costs and considering other options that carry a lower price tag, the vast majority of reasonable New Jersey residents certainly would choose the latter. The problem, at present, is that they don’t have that choice,” said Schaer.

Sen. Joseph Vitale, who heads the health committee and reviewed a similar bill, applauded the Assembly bill.

“Along with my Assembly counterparts sponsoring the bill, I am now confident that we have a piece of legislation that will advance through both houses before the end of this legislative session,” Vitale (D-Woodbridge) said in a statement. “People are being forced to choose between paying off medical bills that they never expected to receive or paying their necessary everyday expenses like rent, mortgage and food. It’s not a fair choice to have to make. New Jersey consumers need to know what they’re getting into, before non-emergent out-of-network medical services are provided, so they can make informed choices rather than being arm-wrestled into damaging debt.”

The bills call for the following to be implemented by health care facilities:

Disclose whether the facility is in- or out-of-network.
Advise the patient to check with the doctor arranging the services to determine whether or not the doctor is in- or out-of-network.
Advise the patient if a change in network status has occurred between the time the appointment was made and the time of the procedure.
Advise that the patient contact his or her insurance carrier for further consultation regarding costs.
Make publicly available a list of standard charges for the items and services it provides
Follow a binding arbitration process to allow consumers a chance to fight surprise bills
Publish online the names, mailing addresses and telephone numbers of physicians working at the facility and hospital-based physician groups with which it has contracted to provide services, including anesthesiology, pathology and radiology.

The New Jersey Association of Health Plans released a statement supporting various aspects of the bill, but stated concerns with the peer review process, cost sharing for emergency services and the $1,000 threshold for arbitration — all of which were urged by hospitals and health care providers.

“We believe that the peer review process will add cost and prove to be of limited utility, as it is not likely to provide information not already available to the disputing parties. We are also concerned about our experience with peer-review process, as we have seen that providers are reluctant to challenge their peers. As a result, we do not support the proposal,” NJAHP said in the statement.

“While we continue to have concerns about a number of elements of the bill, especially the network audit section, which we see as redundant of existing regulatory requirements, overall, we are supportive of the bill. Consumers, labor organizations, businesses, the State Health Benefits Program and other payers will benefit from the bill’s transparency measures and cost containment measures. It is time to put a stop to surprise bills for consumers and reign in the predatory price gouging practices by certain provider.”

Martin J. Milita, Jr. Esq., is senior director at Duane Morris Government Strategies, LLC.

Duane Morris Government Strategies (DMGS) supports the growth of organizations, companies, communities and economies through a suite of government and business consulting services. The firm offers a range of government relations and public affairs services, including lobbying, grant writing; development finance consulting, media relations management, grassroots campaigning and community outreach. Milita works at the firm’s Trenton and Newark New Jersey offices.

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What Tuesday Means for New Jersey

There are only 18 Democratic governors left across the nation, and the survivors have some theories about why Democrats have been swept out of statehouses all over the country in recent years.

Many of the remaining Democrats are blaming an unpopular president.

In New Jersey on the other hand Democrats picked up four Assembly seats, widening their advantage to 52-28. The Senate is also controlled by Democrats.

State Republicans’ also have theories why New Jersey is bucking the national trend with remaining Republicans blaming an unengaged Governor Christie.

Overall, incumbents were widely re-elected to the Assembly with only a handful of Republican legislators losing to their Democratic challengers. Democrats picked up 4 seats bringing their total to 52, their largest majority in over 30 years. Republicans held onto 28 seats (down from 32). Below are brief summaries of races where at least one new individual was elected to the General Assembly.

– First Legislative District: ATLANTIC (part) – CAPE MAY – CUMBERLAND (part) Counties

Republican incumbent Sam Fiocchi was defeated by Democrats R. Bruce Land. Democratic incumbent Bob Andrzejczak was re-elected.

– Fifth Legislative District: CAMDEN (part) – GLOUCESTER (part) Counties

Democrats Arthur Barclay and Patricia Egan Jones handily defeated their Republican opponents, Kevin Ehret and Keith Walker. They will replace outgoing Democratic Assemblymen Gilbert Wilson and Angel Fuetes.

– Eighth Legislative District: ATLANTIC (part) – BURLINGTON (part) – CAMDEN (part) Counties

Republican Joe Howarth joins his running mate incumbent Maria Rodriguez-Gregg in the Assembly. Both ran unopposed. Howarth is replacing retiring Republican Assemblyman Christopher Brown.

– Eleventh Legislative District: MONMOUTH (part) Counties

Democrats Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey narrowly beat their incumbent Republican competitors Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande.

– Sixteenth Legislative District: HUNTERDON (part) – MERCER (part) – MIDDLESEX (part) – SOMERSET (part) Counties

At the time of writing, Democrat Andrew Zwicker was leading incumbent Republican challenger Donna Simon by 29 votes, making it the tightest Assembly race. However, provisional ballots are still being counted, a process that will last until Friday November 6. From there, the losing candidate has until November 14 to file for a recount. Republican incumbent Jack Ciattarelli was re-elected.

– Twenty-Second Legislative District: MIDDLESEX (part) – SOMERSET (part) – UNION (part) Counties

Democrat James Kennedy was elected to replace retiring Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Stender. Democratic incumbent Jerry Green was re-elected.

– Twenty-Fourth Legislative District: MORRIS (part) – SUSSEX – WARREN (part) Counties

Republican Gail Phoebus was elected to replace retiring Republican Assemblywoman Alison McHose. Incumbent Republican F. Parker Space was re-elected.

– Thirty-First Legislative District: HUDSON (part) Counties

With no incumbents running for re-election in the district, Democrats Angela McKnight and Nicholas Chiaravalloti handily defeated their Republican opponents. They are replacing retiring Democratic Assemblymen Jason O’Donnell and Charles Mainor.

– Thirty-Third Legislative District: HUDSON (part) Counties

Democrat Annette Chaparro was elected to replace retiring Democratic Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia. Incumbent Democrat Raj Mukherji was re-elected.

In terms of county elections below is a brief summary of newly elected individuals and ballot question results:

– Atlantic County

Republican Maureen Kern was elected as the 2nd District’s Freeholder. The Republicans swept the elections in Atlantic County and were able to easily maintain their majority on the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Incumbents Dennis Levinson, James Curcio, Frank Formica, and James Bertino were re-elected.

– Burlington County

Republicans Kate Gibbs and Ryan Peters were elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders, defeating Democratic incumbents Aimee Belgard and Joanne Schwartz. As such, Democrats lost their majority on the board.

– Camden County

Democrats Susan Angulo and William Moen Jr. join Democratic incumbents Jeffrey Nash and Jonathan Young Sr. on the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Camden also elected Democrat Gilbert “Whip” Wilson to the position of Sheriff, replacing outgoing Sheriff Charles Billingham.

– Cumberland County

Newly elected Democrat James Quinn joins Cumberland’s Board of Chosen Freeholders. Incumbent Joseph Derella was re-elected. Overall, Democrats preserve their 4-3 majority.

– Middlesex County

74% of individuals voted yes to the Public Question “Shall the governing body of the County of Middlesex prioritize funding to programs which provide transportation services for individuals in need of dialysis, chemotherapy or other regular medical services as a means of offsetting recent federal and state funding cuts?”

– Morris County

Republican newcomers Christine Myers and Deborah Smith, and incumbent Republican John Cesaro were (re) elected to the Morris’ Board of Chosen Freeholders.

– Passaic County

Democrats swept Passiac County’s Freeholder elections. Newly elected Cassandra Lazzara and incumbents John Bartlett and Hector Lora allowed Democrats to retain control of the board.

– Salem County

Republican Melissa DeCastro and Democrat Charles V. Hassler remain in an extremely tight race, with DeCastro leading by 11 votes. At the time of writing, provisional ballots were being counted. Regardless of the outcome of this race, Republicans will retain control of the board.

So, the New Jersey Legislature now enters a lame-duck session after this week’s elections with several key questions still needing to be answered.

Among them: – Funding the New Jersey Pension- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Omnicre- Out-of-Network, and most critically– Funding for the Transportation Trust Fund.

Serious conversations about raising New Jersey’s gas tax to head off a looming transportation-funding crisis were put on hold earlier this year, so lawmakers could focus on the Assembly elections that were just held in all 40 legislative districts earlier this week. But now with those contests in the rearview mirror, the talk in Trenton has shifted back to transportation.

Lawmakers from both parties said yesterday that they are willing to strike a bipartisan deal to renew the state’s Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for road, bridge, and rail improvements throughout the state, using revenue from the gas tax and other sources, including from borrowing.

The lawmakers also seem to be in agreement that any deal they strike on transportation funding will likely have to involve raising the state’s 14.5-cent gas tax to bring in new revenue, since all of the money coming in from the gas tax is going to pay down debt. The trust fund is also up against its borrowing limit and only has enough money to make it until the end of June 2016.

There are also signs of hope that lawmakers in the Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats, will find common ground on the transportation-funding issue as well. They recently came together to pass a resolution supporting a plan to share costs with the federal government on a new Hudson River train tunnel. But how to convince Christie, who has signed an anti-tax pledge as a GOP presidential candidate this year, to agree to a tax hike in the middle of his presidential campaign remains a big concern. When the issue came up during his monthly call-in radio show on NJ 101.5 FM earlier this week, Christie was noncommittal, saying only that he hasn’t dismissed a gas-tax hike outright.

Lastly, the State must deal with Governor Christie’s Cabinet/Staff Changes that include:

Richard Badolato was formally nominated as Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance. He has served as Acting Commissioner since August of this year.

Ford Scudder, COO of Laffer Associates, will be nominated to the position of State Treasurer. Current Acting Treasurer, Robert Romano, will be responsible for management and operation of Treasury activities.

Richard Hammer, Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, will become that department’s Acting Commissioner. He replaces Jamie Fox.

With it all, there remains the question of how committed Christie will be to solving New Jersey issues as long as he remains in the hunt as a presidential hopeful. Christie is pushing in New Hampshire, where the primary is not held until February.

Martin J. Milita, Jr. Esq., is senior director at Duane Morris Government Strategies, LLC.

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Gambling mecca gone bad-Atlantic City, NJ

By Martin J . Milita, Jr., Esq.

It seems like only yesterday that Detroit filed for bankruptcy. It’s actually been more than two years since the initial filing, and almost a year since a judge approved the bankruptcy plan.

In the East, the fortunes of Atlantic City have always followed casinos, which is not a good sign in today’s economy. With four of the big gambling houses bankrupt, Atlantic City finds itself hurting for revenue.

The city has a $100 million hole in its budget. This is made worse by the fact that it keeps losing tax refund lawsuits. So far the city has been forced to refund $186 million in taxes after Casino owners contested their assessments.

But the pain isn’t all on the revenue side.

Atlantic City employs 29 city workers per 1,000 residents, almost triple the rate of Newark, with 11 employees per 1,000 residents, and Jersey City, with 10 employees per 1,000 residents. The mayor recommended laying off more than 200 workers, but that would still leave the city with a much higher worker-per-resident ratio than other cities.

So far, the New Jersey government, including the governor, has been quiet on the possibility of a bankruptcy in the state. The state has gone so far as to give the city more time to repay state loans. If Atlantic City goes under, it would be the first municipal bankruptcy in New Jersey since the depression.

While the state government hasn’t mentioned that the city might go bankrupt, it hasn’t taken that option off the table either. It could be that the governor wants to keep all avenues open, since he has the same financial issues at the state level. As long as bankruptcy is possible, he might have more leverage when negotiating pension reforms with unions.

Many other towns, counties, and states have fiscal woes that will only be addressed through some version of bankruptcy or negotiated restructuring. By the time that happens, investors and taxpayers have already lost.

Martin J. Milita, Jr. Esq. is senior director at Duane Morris Government Strategies, LLC.

Duane Morris Government Strategies (DMGS) supports the growth of organizations, companies, communities and economies through a suite of government and business consulting services. The firm offers a range of government relations and public affairs services, including lobbying, grant writing; development finance consulting, media relations management, grassroots campaigning and community outreach. Milita works at the firm’s Trenton and Newark New Jersey offices.

Visit his blog at: https://martinmilita1.wordpress.com

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NJ Gov. Chris Christie has conditionally vetoed P3 Infrastructure Bill

Martin J. Milita Jr. Esq., senior director at Duane Morris Government Strategies, offers: ”NJ Gov. Chris Christie has conditionally veto P3 Infrastructure Bill”.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has conditionally vetoed a Senate bill that would expand public-private partnership opportunities for government entities, calling for the removal of provisions mandating prevailing wage requirements and project labor agreements.

These modifications to S2489 would further competitive bidding for projects and reduce costs, Christie said Monday in a veto message that also recommended that the departments of Transportation, Education and Community Affairs take leading roles in building and transportation projects.

The legislation sponsored by Senate President Stephen R. Sweeney , that cleared the Senate in July, permits Local and state government units and school districts as well to enter into the partnerships, in which the private entity assumes administrative and partial or full financial responsibility for a project, according to the bill.

“While I agree with the sponsors that we must take advantage of the opportunity to improve our infrastructure through private investment, we must take care to ensure that the state has a unified plan of development that considers the impact of projects on our residents, the economic benefits of such projects, and the long term goals of the state,” Christie said in the message, which specified municipal projects and transportation work on bridges, roads and tunnels.

The departments Christie highlighted Monday in his veto message would work alongside the Economic Development Authority, which under the bill would review and approve applications and to cancel procurement after a short list of private entities is developed for projects in the public interest.

Presently only state and county colleges can enter the partnerships, according to state law. Christie cited the successes of such partnerships in Montclair State University and said others were planned or underway at Rutgers University, Ramapo College and the College of New Jersey.

The Assembly State and Local Government Committee had amended the original version of the bill to allow the use of availability payments as a financing method, to specify that a contractor is precluded from taking on projects under $50 million if the contractor contributed more than 10 percent of the project’s financing, and to eliminate the $10 million project threshold and instead require that roadway or highway projects must include an expenditure of at least $10 million in public funds or any expenditure in private funds.

Other amendments make certain lease provisions permissive rather than mandatory, exempt private entities from procurement and contracting requirements applicable to the public entities, and exempt nonprofit projects from property taxation and assessments.

The committee prohibited the bundling of multiple projects and eschewed the requirement that a government entity assign a management employee to enforce the prevailing wage requirement. They added requirements of EDA approval prior to commencing procurement of the project; that the private entity establish a construction account to fully capitalize and fund the project; and that the general contractor, construction manager or design-build team would post performance and payment bonds, rather than the chief financial officer of the public entity.

Tax breaks would apply to nonprofits, and private entities are exempt from certain procurement and contract requirements that apply to public entities, according to the legislation.

The bill was introduced in the Senate in October and then reviewed by the State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.

Martin J. Milita, Jr., Esq. Senior Director

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Lawmakers in New Jersey and New York Pass Port Authority Transparency Bills

The New Jersey Senate on Thursday unanimously approved legislation that would subject the Port Authority to the open records laws of both New Jersey and New York, just a day after the New York Assembly passed a bill to reform the bi-state agency by making it operate more transparently.

In a news release Thursday, New Jersey’s Senate Democrats said the open records measure, sponsored by Sens. Bob Gordon, D-Bergen, and Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, includes technical changes recommended by the governor and is a counterpart to legislation approved by the New York Legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in December.

Under New Jersey bill S-2183, the Port Authority would be required to abide by the Open Public Records Act of New Jersey and the Freedom of Information Law of New York. Although the Port Authority adopted new policies and procedures concerning public access to its records late last year, the public does not have recourse to challenge the agency in court if the requested documents are not provided, because the authority is not subject to either state’s open records law, the release said.

The bill’s sponsors, who last week applauded parts of the New York Assembly bill but said it didn’t go far enough to ensure New Jersey’s voice would be heard on transportation issues, said in a statement Thursday that their bill helps bring some accountability to the Port Authority but more reforms are needed to overhaul the agency and protect state interests.

Approval of the New Jersey bill comes on the heels of the New York Assembly’s passage of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015, sponsored by Rep. James F. Brennan, D-Brooklyn. That bill, which was endorsed by Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie last week, would replace the agency’s executive director and deputy with a new chief executive, prohibit the chairperson and commissioners from simultaneously holding staff positions and rotate the chairmanship every two years between the two states, among other measures.

Additionally, the Port Authority would be required to conduct a needs assessment and public hearings before raising tolls and fares, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie said in a news release Wednesday. Enhanced annual reports, financial audits, and publication of capital plan and advance debt issuance reports would likewise be required.

The reform bills come after recent calls for enhanced transparency at the agency, which has been embroiled in the George Washington Bridge scandal, and has been characterized by Christie and Cuomo as a “dysfunctional organization suffering from a lack of consistent leadership,” according to the Assembly’s release.

By: Martin J. Milita, Jr. Esq., Sr. Director.

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Port Authority Reform Bill Introduced With Mixed Reception

The governors of New York and New Jersey on Thursday announced their joint support of legislation to reform the bi-state Port Authority by making it operate more transparently, but some lawmakers argue that the measure falls short of meeting transportation policy needs.

The proposed legislation, which Cuomo and Christie said achieves much-needed reform of the Port Authority, would replace the agency’s executive director and deputy with a new chief executive, prohibit the chairperson and commissioners from simultaneously holding staff positions and rotate the chairmanship every two years between the two states, among other measures, according to Cuomo’s office.

However, New Jersey legislators said they would introduce their own bill later this month, hold hearings with commuters and other stakeholders, and pass the measure later in the year. The two bills would then have to be reconciled, and passed as amended by both legislatures, they said.

Christie, who has faced recent criticism over the George Washington Bridge scandal, which directly involved officials at Port Authority, said in a statement Thursday that the agency’s structure, management, operations and governance are in need of reform to secure its future as a transportation and economic cornerstone. He said the bill includes key elements of the recommendations of a bi-state panel and legislation introduced by New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union.

NJ Bill Allowing Amusement Games In Bars Moves Ahead

By: Martin J. Milita, Jr. Esq., Sr. Director.

A New Jersey bill that would permit bars and restaurants to operate amusement games, including in entertainment establishments such as Dave & Buster’s Inc., cleared the Regulatory Oversight Committee unanimously with a vote of 5-0.

The bill, A-4143, seeks to repeal a 1959 law banning the games.

The proposed legislation would allow liquor license holders to obtain a license to operate amusement games, provided the establishment is at least 20,000 square feet and includes at least 100 games. The law would pave the way for businesses such as Dave & Buster’s to open locations in the Garden State, which it has shown an interest in doing, supporters say.

Dave & Buster’s operates 73 restaurants in 30 states and Canada, but has been shut out of New Jersey by a 56-year-old law that regulates games of chance and skill, and bans vendors that serve alcoholic drinks from obtaining a license to operate games that issue prizes.

A repeal of the law has been targeted by New Jersey’s Red Tape Review Commission, that looks to ease overly onerous regulations to promote economic development. Assemblyman Scott Rumana, R-Passaic, a member of the commission and a sponsor of the bill, called Dave & Buster’s business model a successful one. “It makes sense for New Jersey to allow this popular entertainment format,” Rumana said in a statement. “This model is successful in other states, particularly New York and Pennsylvania. These states are capitalizing on the recipe of combining amusements, food and drink under one roof.”

The New Jersey Amusement Association, an industry group of entertainment operators along the New Jersey shore, opposes the rule change. Members of the group fear the expansion of amusement games throughout the state would harm their businesses, likening the proposal’s impact to the increased competition faced by Atlantic City from neighboring states that have expanded casino gambling in recent years.

But, proponents insist that repealing the law will help the state bring in new jobs.

Please feel free to contact the author or your other Duane Morris Government Strategies LLC contact to learn more about this week’s legislative session and what it may mean to you.

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