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Hope you all had a Happy Father's Day, and enjoyed some family time. I started the day by attending the kick-off of a new Muslim effort to end hunger in our larger community. It was a well attended gathering at the Glenpointe Hotel in Teaneck where money was raised to purchase and outfit a building in Newark for a soup kitchen. Beside feeding the hungry, this new social service group will help to foster outreach to victims of domestic violence. Congratulations and best wishes for this new endeavor. Gave me a chance to renew acquaintance with the good women of WAFA House who are working to start a residence for Muslim women who might be victims of domestic violence. I'll be meeting with them next month to see where we might help.
Today it's off to Trenton again starting with a Judiciary Committee meeting to deal with judicial reappointments, the new Commissioner-nominee of Children & Families, Dr. Allison Blake, (seems like a good appointment) and various other Christie nominations. My main interest will be the nomination of Dr. Kevin Barry of Mendham to a position on the Board of UMDNJ. Have lots of questions for Dr. Barry such as how he feels about making sure that there is a continued commitment to provide physician training in women's reproductive health, and how to improve physical conditions at the dental school where they provide much needed services to the developmentally disabled population in awful surroundings. Hope Dr. Barry will show some interest in these important areas. By the way, if we have any more nominees from Mendham, they will soon have enough folks to fill their own commuter van to Trenton.
We all also be meeting to discuss the new Democratic leaderhip initiative on capping property taxes. The Democratic proposal is a 2.9% cap with certain exceptions. I like our democratic ideas much better. You know that Governor Corzine was actually producing results with his 4% "soft" cap. Under our prior Governor's leadership, the rise in property taxes actually slowed from a high of 7% to a more realistic average of 3.3%. I'm glad that the Democratic legislature will stand up - and I hope stand together - on this important issue. We have the better plan!
Senate voting session is slated to begin at 2 p.m. and will continue all afternoon as we await the results of the Assembly attempt to override the Governor's veto of the "more than millionaire's" tax. Hardly a cliffhanger I know, but all legislators should be on record about who will really be "sharing the pain" of this budget. Is it senior citizens who will lose property tax relief? Is it the family planning centers who will lose the money used to support women's health care? Is it developmentally disabled youngsters who need early intervention? Is it the much needed services of our local libraries? Just to name a few! Or is it those in New Jersey making more than a million dollars? You get the idea. All our residents will see a clear picture of their own legislator's answers to these questions with the red and green votes registering on that big board in the Assembly.
SCR-108 will be on the Senate agenda. It urges the Governor NOT to join other states in suing against the enforcement of the new federal health care reforms. Caused quite an uproar in last week's Senate Health, Human Services & Senior Services Committee. The hearing I chaired went on for several hours as Steve Lonegan and members of Americans for Prosperity came out against the bill. Folks were respectful toward each other, and we even got an American history lesson through the interchange between Senator Whalen and Assemblywoman McHose. I did point out that the Governor already turned to funds from the federal bill to maintain the PAAD prescription program for low income seniors and the disabled in his new budget! It would be a little late to decide that the federal government had no right to pass this law. But consistency has not been a hallmark of this administration, so anything can happen!
Congratulations to Assembly colleague Jerry Green who rightly slowed down the S-1 train in his committee. He even took testimony on the bill! I for one appreciate his leadership. Now I hope we can work to make it into a law which respects the rights of municipalities, the business community, as well as those who are entitled to affordable places to live within our larger community!
Will have more news on the budget after this afternoon's caucus. We are still aiming for a budget adoption this Thursday, but nothing is etched in stone just yet! The coming week will be busy and our votes will set the priorities for our state during the coming fiscal year. Let's hope we collectively make the right decisions.
Now more than ever.....Keep your voices heard!
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