LEGISLATIVE REPORT
Never a dull moment
Things in Trenton will cool down during the
next few months before heating up in a flurry of
budget and pre-election-related legislative ac-
tivity. That isn’t to suggest that nothing is hap-
pening in Trenton. Quite the contrary. In fact,
most legislative and political action takes place
behind the scenes with one-on-one personal
relationships. And there are high-profile issues
ROB NIXON that have kept Trenton abuzz in March, namely
the decision to move ahead with a vote to legal-
ize the recreational use of marijuana.
But one thing PBA members should know about this time of
year is the predictability of the schedule. March usually features
routine legislative activity. April is a quiet month reserved for
budget committee hearings to analyze and take comments on
the governor’s proposed budget. Legislative action resumes in
May.
Then, the real activity kicks in around the middle of June,
when the governor and lawmakers piece together the deals that
result in a state budget agreement by June 30. Summer recess
starts as soon as that is delivered. Factor in the political reality
of a General Assembly election in November, and the decisions
during the next few months take on a lot more prominence.
In many ways, though, it doesn’t matter what the schedule
looks like in Trenton for the State PBA. We are constantly work-
ing on a variety of bills and priorities. March has been a busy
month legislatively. We successfully moved PBA-designed legis-
lation out of committee to establish “gap” training for correc-
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
tions officers to transfer to sheriff jobs, as well as a bill to retitle
county corrections officers as “correctional police.” We testified
in advancing a bill to make 9/11 presumptive diseases subject to
a PFRS disability pension, and we are lobbying for amendments
to provide the survivors of those officers with health benefits.
Add those to the numerous legislator meetings and bill analysis
and March has been anything but slow.
The State PBA will be devoting the next few months to looking
ahead at where our issues fit when things get hot in Trenton. The
governor’s budget proposes a number of areas for us to focus on.
For example, the governor’s proposal to examine the healthcare
industry to develop savings from enhancements in health ben-
efits management will save the state more than $800 million.
Many of those concepts have been previously discussed or pro-
posed by the State PBA through Kevin Lyons, our health benefits
coordinator. Those ideas more productively shift the argument
toward examining the high costs and waste in the healthcare in-
dustry, as opposed to decreasing benefits or increasing costs for
employees.
Conversely, the State PBA is concerned with the governor’s
proposed tax on firearms and ammunition and increases in fees
for firearms permits, firearms ID cards and the Retired Police
Officers (RPO) program. These proposals simply increase the
costs for equipment and tools for officers to fill gaps in the state
budget revenues.
In short, whether the legislature is in action or on recess, the
NJ State PBA will always have a full agenda and a lot to do in
Trenton.