What’s Important to Know About NJ This Week – 02/10/2024

Feb 10, 2024

Electric Bills To Rise, Children With Disabilities Not Getting Services the Need, Family Leave Law On Track to be Strengthened, NJ Rehab Services Are a Mess

NJ Families Will See Their Electric Bills Increase This Summer

From NJ Spotlight

Electric bills will rise again this June as a result of an auction overseen by state officials to acquire the power customers need to keep the lights on in their homes and businesses.

The auction, the 22nd run by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, resulted in monthly price increases ranging from $4.71, or 3.6%, for the typical residential customer of Rockland Electric to $8.22, or 6.2%, for Public Service Electric & Gas customers. The monthly bills will jump 4.8%, or $7.34, for Atlantic City Electric customers and $8.34, or 8.6%, for customers of Jersey Central Power & Light Read More

Vast Majority of Children with Disabilities Denied Compensatory Education Services

From NJ Education Report

Phil Murphy signed a bipartisan law, S905/A1281, that protects the rights of students with disabilities to compensatory education arising from COVID-19 school closures.

Here is what is news: among the students who filed complaints and got decisions, 80% of them were denied the special education services the bill was supposed to secure. Read More

Bill Strengthening Family Leave Protections Set for a Vote

New Jersey Monitor

The legislation would expand job reinstatement guarantees for workers who draw state family temporary disability leave benefits to employers with as few as five workers, from the 30 provided for under current law. The figure would move from 30 to five in two years.

The bill’s supporters said the change is needed to address a gross public policy sin — that workers whose payroll taxes entirely fund the state’s family leave program can’t claim benefits without risking their jobs. Read More

NJ Substance Dependence Rehabilitation Services Needs to Get Clean

From Patch

Patient brokering, overcrowded and illegally operating sober living homes, and a lack of licensing for “peer recovery coaches” along with insufficient penalties for those who violate laws and regulations have left the industry ripe for wrongdoing as New Jersey and private entities poured millions of dollars into addiction treatment, the report said. Read More