What’s Important to Know About NJ This Week –05/25/2024

May 25, 2024

NJ OSC Holds State Police Accountable, Public Education Coalition Comes Out Against OPRA Bill, Bramnick Advances Bill on Money Transfers, Middle-Class Tougher to Get Into, Birth Control More Accessible in NJ

Kevin Walsh – Open Government Disco Master- Calls Out State Police for Failing to Address Racial Profiling

NJ Office of State Comptroller

This review has identified a decade-long systemic failure by both NJSP and OLEPS to go beyond merely identifying data patterns reflecting disparate treatment toward racial and ethnic minority motorists. NJSP has consistently failed to adequately analyze the aggregate motor vehicle stop data and recognize when action may be needed to address apparent problems. OLEPS, during this time, has allowed its oversight to be limited by the agency it is overseeing. OSC’s review also revealed a major software system failure that impacted motor vehicle data collection for over two years and caused harmful downstream effects—none of which was adequately communicated to the public. Source

NJ Public Education Coalition Comes Out Against OPRA Bill

NJ Education Report

One of the amendments that might have been missed in S2930, which has now been passed by the New Jersey Senate and Assembly, is the replacement of this Section. In the opinion of this writer, the sponsors of the bill cleverly replaced it with a new Section 1 that provides definitions, so that the removal of the original section might go unnoticed. And despite representations that the change was removed prior to passage, it remains in the bill that has been sent to the Governor’s desk.

This removal of this section alone shows that the true intention of this act is to eliminate the presumption in our law that “government records shall be readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination by the citizens of this State.” Source

Bramnick Advances Bill That Addresses Mistaken Cash Transfers

NJ Monitor

The bill’s language doesn’t lay out penalties for someone who refuses to return money they were sent in error. McKeon said his office is working on whether they should be added to the bill, noting that theft penalties change depending on the amount of money involved. The intent of the bill isn’t to punish people, but to motivate them to return money they shouldn’t have received, he said. Source

Middle-Class Less Reachable for NJ Working Families

Patch

However, as the study points out, the middle class requirements for each state vary. In New Jersey, the 2012 middle-class income range of $47,758 to $143,274 has increased 35.58 percent to $64,751 to $194,252 in 2022. Source

Birth Control Available Without Prescription Available in NJ

NJ Spotlight News

A law allowing people to obtain birth control without a prescription went into effect in New Jersey on Monday.

Residents have been able to buy the Food and Drug Administration-approved Opill over the counter since March. But that birth control medication uses progesterone only. Now New Jersey is joining more than 20 other states in offering pills that also include estrogen, plus other self-administered options, including rings, patches and injectables. No visit is required to a doctor first, but there is a safety check. Source

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