Phil Gregory

A New Jersey lawmaker wants to prohibit kids under the age of 12 from participating in organized tackle football games.

Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle says New York and several other states have proposed similar laws.

“I actually cringe, I get nervous, when I see young kids as young as six years old, we’re talking about, playing and banging their heads.”

Huttle says it’s dangerous for children to be exposed to constant blows to the head at the age when their brain is forming.

Hearings on Governor Phil Murphy's state budget plan are underway.

Even some of his fellow Democrats have reservations about the $1.6 billion in tax increases he's recommending.

Assembly Budget Committee chairwoman Eliana Pintor-Marin says lawmakers will examine the potential impact of the tax increases.

"They all are concerning. We're going to take a careful look at exactly what those are and how much money they do produce and what type of families we're raising those taxes on."

After ordering a 60-day review of New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, Governor Phil Murphy is making changes to expand it dramatically.

Murphy says bureaucratic conditions have stifled the eight-year-old program's ability to help.

"The days of making residents jump through hoops are coming to an end. We will have a medical marijuana program that is compassionate, that is progressive, and that at long last meets the needs of patients."

New Jersey is joining a multi-state lawsuit against the federal government to block the inclusion of a proposed citizenship question in the 2020 census.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal says asking people if they’re U.S. citizens will discourage immigrants to participate in the census.

Amol Sinha the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, says that would have negative consequences.

The New Jersey Senate has passed legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to be eligible for college financial aid.

17-year-old Maria Mendez lives in Plainfield. She came to the United States from Mexico when she was three. She was recently accepted at six colleges and says access to financial aid will determine whether she can pursue her dream to major in communications. 

A package of bills approved by the New Jersey Assembly would make the state’s tough gun laws even tougher.

The bill that passed with the most opposition would make it more difficult to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun. Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi was among the lawmakers who voted against it, saying the restrictions would make it almost impossible to get a carry permit.

“As somebody who was a crime victim if I had a serious threat, if my life was in danger, if my daughter’s life was in danger, I want to be able to protect myself.”

New Jersey lawmakers are considering legislation that would make it easier to register to vote.

Senator Joe Vitale says his bill would automatically put residents on voter registration rolls when they apply for or renew their driver's license.

He says that would eliminate the need to fill out a form to register with the local Board of Elections.

This month’s string of  four nor’easters have taken a bite out of some New Jersey beaches.

New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection says 55 of the 66 beaches it surveyed had minor erosion while 10 had moderate erosion.

Jon Miller is a professor of coastal engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. He says the storms pulled a lot of sand off the beach and into the ocean.

New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that would require inmates be offered an injection of a drug used to treat opioid addiction before they’re released from prison.

Assembly Health Committee chairman Herb Conaway says a single dose of Vivitrol can block the effects of heroin for a month and could help prevent deadly overdoses.

He says people who are incarcerated often have drug addictions that haven’t been treated before they’re released.

New Jersey lawmakers are looking at legislation to expand the state’s medical marijuana program.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora says his bill would allow an additional 12 medical marijuana dispensaries in New Jersey.

“Currently the state allows six. Only five are open. Many patients say they don’t have ready access to the dispensaries. It would also be a way of creating competition and lowering the cost of the product itself.”

More forms of the drug including edibles and oils would be allowed at the dispensaries.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says the state is preparing for what could be a major storm.

Murphy says gusty winds could bring down power lines, and utility companies in the state have activated their mutual aid arrangements.

“Their ability to bring in linemen and women from other utilities and other workers to bolster from other states. I think JCP&L has said that they have activated 800 people to come in and god knows we certainly hope that is sufficient.”

The Governor says the state has enough personnel and equipment to clear snow from the roads.

Governor Phil Murphy is breaking down the $242 million increase he's proposed in his budget plan for upgrading New Jersey Transit.

New Jersey Transit executive director Kevin Corbett says the governor's proposal allocates $19 million to expand the workforce with 114 new employees.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says a planned research and innovation center in New Brunswick could be a place for high-growth startup companies to thrive and boost the state’s economy.

New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill says a city-owned site in the downtown area is earmarked for the project.

“As a center for innovation for health care, biosciences, technology, artificial intelligence, big data, and analytics this offers the state of New Jersey an unparalleled opportunity for development.”

A bill advancing in the New Jersey legislature would ensure that union representatives have greater access to the public employees they represent.

What's called the Workplace Democracy Enhancement Act would allow unions to hold meetings during lunch and other breaks during the workday to look into issues and grievances.

Eric Richard with the state AFL-CIO says it would also mean that union representatives could meet with newly-hired employees without docking their pay.

New Jersey Assembly's Labor Committee will take up a bill Monday that would require employers to provide equal pay to all workers for substantially similar work.        

Elaine Zundl with the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University says a gender pay gap follows women throughout their lives.

New Jersey's Attorney General is backing legislation to overhaul the state's decentralized medical examiner system.

The legislation transfers oversight of the medical examiner system from the Attorney General's office and creates an independent Office of Chief State Medical Examiner within the New Jersey Health Department.

Senate Health Committee chairman Joe Vitale says the key factor of the transfer is that it will ensure the independence the person in that new position.

A tax credit program to encourage the movie, TV, and digital media industry to produce their shows in New Jersey could be restored and expanded.

Former Governor Chris Christie was skeptical about the program's economic benefits when he suspended it in 2010 and it expired in 2015.

Lawmakers are considering a replacement measure that would provide tax credits of $75 million a year for film productions and $10 million for digital media content.

Used car dealers would have to tell a potential buyer about any safety recall that a previous owner ignored if a bill advancing in New Jersey's legislature becomes law.

Assemblyman Paul Moriarty says his bill would require dealers to gather information from the car manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to check for any recalls

and notify a potential purchaser before a sale is finalized.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is out with its annual rankings of the health of New Jersey Counties.

Based on an analysis of more than 30 factors including housing, education, and jobs, the foundation rates Morris as the state’s healthiest county and Cumberland as the least healthy.

This year’s report puts new emphasis on the impact of race.

Toni Lewis is the foundation’s community coach. She says African-Americans have worse health outcomes than the lowest-ranked county.

New jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s first budget plan is a major departure from the eight years of proposals made by his predecessor.

Democrat Murphy is calling for a millionaires’ tax, something Republican Chris Christie repeatedly rejected.

“The irrefutable fact is that we have a thousand more millionaires today than we did at our pre-recession peak, and I’m sure none of them are here for the low taxes. They are here because we can offer an unmatched quality of life.”

New Jersey lawmakers are making another effort to get legislation enacted that would require all public schools be equipped with a panic alarm that would be directly linked to law enforcement authorities.

The silent alarm would be activated during a shooting or other school emergency.  Former Governor Chris Christie vetoed similar legislation three times in the past five years.

Now that the state has a new governor, Assemblyman Ralph Caputo is hoping the outcome will be different.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy will unveil his first state budget plan in a speech to a joint session of the legislature tomorrow.

Republican lawmakers are urging Murphy to reverse his campaign promise and not propose a tax surcharge on millionaires.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean says increasing taxes would send a bad message to individuals and corporations.

“Any changes that Governor Murphy makes should focus on property tax relief. Any new investments or extra revenues should focus on property tax relief.”

Governor Murphy’s nominee to be New Jersey’s Health Commissioner spend most of his confirmation hearing answering questions about the state’s marijuana policies.

Shereef Elnahal told lamakers than when a 60-day review ordered by the governor is completed, suggestions will be made to improve the state’s medical marijuana program. 

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is directing the Board of Public Utilities to investigate the power companies’ response to the recent winter storms that knocked out electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers.

“We’re going to examine what went wrong and whether the improvements to protect and strengthen our grid devised post Sandy have been implemented.  We will look to see if all preparedness measures were taken before last Friday knowing a major event was coming. My gut tells me they were not, and if they’ve not been, that is entirely inexcusable.”

If New Jersey legalizes recreational marijuana, a state lawmaker wants to have a measure providing new opportunities for some residents and communities ready to go.

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano says if the state allows possession and use of marijuana, it should clear the records of all those previously convicted of marijuana possession.

The New Jersey legislature is looking at establishing a Main Street Economic Growth Program.

Assemblyman Dan Benson says his bill is intended to encourage business development in small towns.

A week before New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy proposes his first state budget, the leader of the state Senate has unveiled a plan to raise taxes to provide more money for education.

Senate President Steve Sweeney wants to impose a tax surcharge on corporations that make more than a million dollars in profits in New Jersey.

He says that would raise about $657 million and be just a portion of the money those companies will save from changes in the federal tax code.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency because of an approaching storm that could bring heavy, wet snow and the potential for damaging winds.

Murphy says the Department of Transportation has 2500 pieces of snow fighting equipment at its disposal to make major highways passable.

“Whether it’s plows spreaders and loaders which can be deployed across the state. The Department has about 207,000 tons of salt available which is 78 percent of its capacity and it’s also at 82 percent of its capacity for liquid calcium.”

A bipartisan group of New Jersey Senators is drafting legislation to counter some of the negative consequences of federal tax code changes.

Senator Tony Bucco says the measure would allow small businesses registered as

S corporations, LLC’s, and other partnerships to pay their state taxes as a corporate entity so their owners and partners could deduct the full amount of the tax on their federal returns.

New Jersey could become the first state to require a warning sticker on opioid prescription bottles.

Assemblyman John Armato says his bill would require a red sticker on the cap of a prescription bottle warning that the medication is an opioid and could cause addiction and overdose.

“One of the reasons is that there’s so many different pain medications out there. I have had people come to me and say thank god my son is not on an opiate. So what is he taking?  He’s taking Percocet. Well that is an opiate. “