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New Jersey News
- 07/04/08 - Water Utilities to Split $67M Pollution Settlement
- 07/01/08 - Keep New Schools From Tainted Sites, Corzine is Urged
- 06/30/08 - States Taking Initiative on Environmental & Climate Crisis while Feds Do Little or Nothing
- 06/30/08 - Pentagon Fights EPA on Pollution Cleanup
- 06/26/08 - New Jersey Dealing With Solar Policy's Success
- 06/24/08 - Elevated Levels of Vapor at Former DuPont Plant Frighten Residents
- 06/24/08 - More Questions Than Answers About Town's Vapors
- 06/24/08 - Feds Announce $80M Cleanup of Passaic River
- 06/23/08 - EPA: Cleanup of N.J. Toxic Sites Insufficient
- 06/23/08 - CDC Recommends Turf Fields Should Be Tested
- 06/11/08 - Move Over MoveOn: Grassroots Netroots Alliance (GNA) Launches New Progressive Campaign to 'Press the Politicians'
- 06/11/08 - Tests Reveal Chemical Vapors that May Invade Homes
- 06/11/08 - High Lead Levels Close Local Ballfields
- 06/10/08 - EPA: 'Sludge Hill' as Clean as It Will Get
- 06/06/08 - State Pension Fund News
- 06/03/08 - Banking on Coal's Future
- 06/03/08 - Lead on Playing Fields can be Absorbed by Body
- 05/31/08 - Can Grilling Meat Cause Cancer?
- 05/28/08 - Synthetic Fields of Play Spur Turf War
- 05/27/08 - Colleges Try Composting to Recycle Wasted Food
- 05/20/08 - Safety Testing Lax on New School Sites
- 05/20/08 - State Officials Look to Make Chemical Plants Safer
- 05/16/08 - Study Confirms Lead Fragments in Venison
- 05/15/08 - Center for American Progress: What Are You Paying for the War?
- 05/08/08 - PCB Levels at Paramus Pool Off the Charts
- 05/05/08 - LEHT Wal-Mart Plan Draws Opposition
- 05/01/08 - Corzine Boosts Lead Dust Rules, Says Kids Need Greater Protection
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New Jersey: Ban Bisphenol A Now!
Tell your New Jersey legislators to ban baby bottles, plastic toys and other children's products made with toxic chemicals.
Last Updated: 4/25/08
Progressive States Network's New Jersey Legislative Roundup -- July 23, 2007
New Jersey has a year-round session and has taken a break for the summer
beginning at the end of June with the legislature set to reconvene after the
November 2007 elections. Before the summer recess, New Jersey made major gains
in a number of areas, including:
Clean Energy: The legislature enacted the Global Warming Response Act, which dramatically reduces the amount of greenhouse gases to pre-1990 levels by 2020. (AB 3301 / SB 2114)
Social Equity: The state established gay civil unions and prohibited discrimination based on gender identity or expression. (AB 3787)
Health Care: New Jersey's legislature voted to fund the state's SCHIP program at 350 percent of the poverty line and increase state aid to hospitals by 23% in order to help pay for treatment of uninsured patients. They also passed a stem cell research bill, which is still awaiting final approval from the Governor, approved a referendum before voters to borrow $450 million for stem cell research ( AB 3186), and implemented a clean needle exchange pilot program (S494). The stem cell referendum was ultimately voted down.
Workers Rights: Lawmakers moved to close loopholes in the prevailing wage laws, prevent construction companies from classifying full time employees as independent contractors to avoid paying taxes (AB 4009), and expand the state's earned income tax credit. (SB 2647)
Election Reform: New Jersey also implemented verifiable paper ballots and expanded the Clean Elections pilot programs. (AB 100)
The state also expanded the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit program to encourage redevelopment of low and moderate income neighborhoods, while increasing school aid. (S 2095) This was combined with a $2 billion property tax cut that provided tax credits and rebate checks for more than 95 percent of the state's homeowners, but did not address a looming structural deficit facing the state. (S 20)
The state's proposed paid leave bill, which would give 12 weeks of paid leave at $502 per week, did not go through before the summer recess. And the summer recess started on a low note, as two veteran Democrat state senators were indicted, charged with fraud and corruption, and accused of illegally using their offices for personal gain and defrauding taxpayers.
Take Action. Support Green Jobs!
The Green Jobs Act of 2007 authorized $125 million per year to create an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program as an amendment to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The Green Jobs Act (GJA) is an initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of industries - including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating "green pathways out of poverty."
Congress has not yet appropriated money for the Green Jobs Act. Please contact your Senator today and urge them to fund the Green Jobs Act of 2007!
Read more at Green for All's web site.
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