The latest lame duck pension maneuver – POLITICO – Politico
Good Thursday morning!
It wouldn’t be lame duck without a new bill to boost politicians’ pensions. And here it is: New legislation that would put politicians back in PERS if they had to leave it because they were elected to office after 2007, when a new law shifted them to a 401(k)-style plan.
It’s one of those bills that seems to emanate from the ether and is just carried by its sponsors as a favor to whomever the bill is really trying to help. In this case, state Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union), who wouldn’t personally benefit from the bill. But as far as I can tell, his running mate, Assemblymember Annette Quijano (D-Union), might. And I’m sure there are some others that I’m not aware of.
There have been numerous bills in recent years and months that would tinker with the pension system by rolling back some of the cutbacks of the last decade or so, most infamously the one signed by Gov. Chris Christie, of all people, that allowed former Camden Mayor Dana Redd back into the first tier of the pension system just as she got a $275,000 pensionable job from an obscure university governing board.
The pension system is on its way back to fiscal health if the state keeps up its payments. Yet it seems nobody wants to wait for it to get there before getting back in. But all these tweaks seem to benefit a very small number of people.
WHERE’S MURPHY? No public schedule
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Your legacy as a champion of people, including children, with disabilities, is well deserved. However, that legacy is incomplete so long as pregnant women who work in casinos are forced to expose their unborn children to secondhand smoke and put them at serious risk of developmental and other disabilities that can and should be prevented.” — Cynthia Hallett, CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, in an open letter to Senate President Steve Sweeney that comes as a casino workers union is trying to convince Sweeney to pair a smoking ban with the casino tax break bill he’s moving during lame duck
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Middlesex County’s John Carroll, Former Menendez spox Tricia Enright, Rider Professor Micah Rasmussen
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WHILE REFUSING TO ANSWER BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT STATE POLICE’S RESPONSE — ‘Idiocy’: Murphy lashes out at GOP lawmakers who defied Statehouse vax-or-test rule, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday lashed out against GOP lawmakers who refused to adhere to the Statehouse’s vaccine-or-test requirement last week, though he stopped short of explaining why the State Police did not enforce the rule. A visibly angry Murphy called the Republicans’ actions “idiocy” as well as “outrageous [and] irresponsible.” … “The big story from last week is not about security,” Murphy said during his regular Covid-19 briefing, jumping in for a question directed at State Police Superintendent Pat Callahan on why troopers did not enforce the requirement. “It’s about the idiocy of these ring leaders who were putting their fellow members’ health and the families of those fellow members at risk.”
VIVEKTION — CarePoint pushing lame duck bill to prevent eviction from its hospitals, by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton: A fading for-profit health system is rallying lawmakers to support legislation that could spare it from being evicted from the three Hudson County hospitals it has operated for more than a decade. The bill, NJ S4191 (20R), cleared its first hurdle on Monday when it was advanced by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens. No one signed up to testify on the measure and, when asked by POLITICO about the bill, Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson), the lead sponsor, said, “I don’t want to make a statement.” Nevertheless, multiple sources identified CarePoint Health and its high-powered lobbying firm Optimus Partners as the driving forces behind the bill, which Cunningham quietly introduced at the start of the Legislature’s lame duck session.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BENJIEMINS — “NJ law allows Paterson schools to pay Benjie Wimberly for time away in Trenton,” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico: “Benjie Wimberly didn’t report for work for his six-figure Paterson Public Schools job on seven days in June, but he still got paid for all that time, according to district records. Wimberly, a state Assemblyman, was in Trenton on those days performing his duties as a New Jersey legislator, officials said. Those absences didn’t affect his Paterson school paycheck because of a longstanding state law, district officials said. That law, which was adopted in 1966, says that a school employee who also serves in the legislature “shall be entitled to time off from his duties as such employee, without loss of pay, during the periods of his attendance at regular or special sessions of the legislature and hearings or meetings of any legislative committee or commission.” New Jersey also has a similar law enacted in 1979 that covers legislators who work in municipal and county governments.”
TOOTHLESS WATCHDOG — “N.J. prison watchdog remains without leader, out of compliance with expanded power,” by NJ Advance Media’s Joe Atmonavage: “The office tasked with serving as a watchdog over New Jersey’s prison system continues to be without a leader and is not in compliance with a law that gave it broad powers to investigate wrongdoing behind bars, officials in the agency said Tuesday. At the first Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson quarterly public meeting, two assistant ombudspersons, who have been leading the office since the previous ombudsperson retired earlier this year, said the office has not been able to fully implement provisions of the Dignity Act, a 2020 law that expanded the office’s authority to investigate complaints in the state’s prisons. The law allows for the office to subpoena witnesses, conduct investigations into alleged wrongdoing and hold public hearings. It is considered one of the most powerful of such positions in the country, though Melissa Matthews, an assistant ombudsperson, said it has been ‘difficult’ to implement without a top ombudsperson to lead the office.”
ENFORCEMENT IS IN A PERIOD OF FULL STOP — “It’s time for Murphy to make good on his promise to essential workers,” by Bruce Miller for The Star-Ledger: “New Jersey became the very first state in the U.S. to hold Wall Street’s corporate billionaires accountable to workers when they bankrupt companies and throw tens of thousands of people mercilessly out of work when we passed the Guaranteed Severance bill. But despite this governor signing the bill into law nearly two years ago, workers are still unprotected from Wall Street’s greed, due to Governor Murphy’s failure to enact the law since its effective date, July 19, 2020 … Had the Guaranteed Severance Law gone into effect as scheduled on July 19, 2020, more than half of the 40,137 workers in New Jersey whose jobs were terminated since the bill became law could have benefitted from the protections outlined in the landmark bill. That’s at least 24,920 people who were robbed of a safety net when their jobs were destroyed during the greatest public health crisis of our lifetimes. Meanwhile, large corporate employers in New Jersey received millions in state and federal tax benefits and subsidies.”
DWIGHT SCHRUTES — “Constables are ‘outdated relic’ and should be abolished, N.J. watchdog says,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Dana DiFilippo: “A state watchdog group is calling on New Jersey lawmakers to abolish the position of constables statewide, saying county constables often misrepresent themselves as sworn law enforcement officers, engage in policing activities beyond their authority, and use their position for personal profit. In a report released Tuesday, the State Commission of Investigation said constables are untrained and often armed, and yet have no supervision and are subject to no accountability. The commission began investigating after Essex County authorities raised concerns about constables’ conduct. Investigators found plenty of incidents where constables exploited their positions to act as ‘wannabe’ cops.”
NJ… UNITED? — Roginsky no longer with pro-Coughlin group, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: A top Democratic consultant has left a nonprofit group that spent more than $1 million in 2019 promoting Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin’s agenda, POLITICO has learned. Julie Roginsky, who ran the group NJ United since its founding in 2018, said she resigned from the group in August. She declined to go into detail about her resignation and referred questions about the group to Democratic attorney Bill Northgrave, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Roginsky’s resignation has not been previously reported. At this point, it’s not clear whether NJ United will disclose its 2021 donors.
— “State plans sweeping new climate-change regulations”
— “Jersey blue plates could make a comeback, but it’s a long road ahead. Here’s why”
— “Vaccines have long been mandated in N.J. schools. Could a COVID shot be next?”
— “COVID vaccine booster availability surges daily shots to highest numbers in months”
— “NJ’s COVID hospitalizations doubled in a month, and demand for booster shots increases”
— “No toll hikes for DRPA’s New Jersey, Pennsylvania spans”
— “Easing the way to successful prisoner reentry”
LYME AID — “Senate rejects N.J. lawmaker’s call for study into whether Lyme disease started in Pentagon lab,” by NJ Advance Media’s Jonathan D. Salant: “Rep. Chris Smith’s latest effort to investigate whether Lyme disease came from a Pentagon research laboratory ran into another Senate roadblock this week and was left out of the final bill setting defense policy for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022. The Senate refused to go along with the House-passed provision to have the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, look into whether the Pentagon considered using ticks and other infects infected with Lyme disease as bioweapons, and whether they were ‘released outside of any laboratory by accident or experiment design.’”
— “Casha reflects on the glory days’, launches campaign for congress”
PATERSON — “Eileen Shafer will retire as Paterson schools superintendent amid controversy,” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico: “The city’s schools superintendent Eileen Shafer announced Wednesday night she would retire at end of this academic year and, moments later, the longest-serving member of the Board of Education suggested she was forced out of the job. ‘Those aren’t easy words to say, and I’ve had many sleepless nights,’ Shafer said after announcing her retirement at the start of Wednesday night’s school board meeting … Shafer did not address the behind-the-scenes battle about her job. But Jonathan Hodges, who has been on the board for more than 20 years, called the ‘activities in back channels’ embarrassing … Hodges stated during his public comments that a majority of board members were trying to help one of their friends get the top schools position in Paterson. In a subsequent phone interview with Paterson Press, Hodges said he was referring to Christopher Irving, former president of the Paterson school board and the current superintendent of schools in Teaneck.”
PROGRESSIVES BOGGED DOWN — “Councilman Boggiano’s base flew under the radar, but made its voice heard when it counted,” by The Jersey Journal’s Jake Maher: “The base of support that has delivered three straight victories for Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano turned out in force in Tuesday night’s runoff election, showing that the time may not yet be right for a progressive movement in Journal Square. Chris Boggiano, the councilman’s son, said that the results shouldn’t be a surprise to those who understand the incumbent’s supporters. ‘The voters that he represents are the people who typically don’t have much of a voice,’ he said … Supporters of challenger and political newcomer Kevin Bing are more vocal online and on social media, Chris Boggiano said, but that fact can obscure the underlying political reality. ‘A lot of the things (Bing’s supporters) want to do are quite laudable, but as I look at the conversation from a 30,000-foot view, it sounds like half or more of the voters are not speaking, but then they speak quite loudly when election day comes,’ he said.”
COALITION FOR PROGRESS HAD BEEN STAGNANT — “Fulop super PAC plays in Hillside runoff, maybe signaling start of 2025 gubernatorial campaign,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has now dipped his toe into the waters of the 2025 gubernatorial race, playing in Tuesday’s Hillside council runoff in support of a slate backed by Mayor Dahlia Vertreese. A super PAC allied with Fulop, Coalition for Progress, spent $25,000 on four direct mail pieces and townwide text messages in support of the Vertreese team and slamming the opposition as obstructionists. “Coalition for Progress was proud to support Mayor Dahlia Vertreese and her team with a significant investment in direct voter contact in the Hillside runoff election,” said Drew Nussbaum, the super PAC chairman. … Coalition for Progress had been largely quiet since Fulop pulled the plug on his 2017 campaign for governor.”
SIMMERINGANGERVILLE — “Somerville asks Gov. Murphy to relocate state motor vehicle office,” by MyCentralJersey’s Mike Deak: “Frustrated over the lack of any progress in moving the MVC office from Roosevelt Place where it has caused ‘chronic’ neighborhood problems, the borough has decided to go directly to Gov. Phil Murphy and ask him “to take all the necessary steps” to relocate the office. Veteran Councilman Granville Brady was adamant at Monday’s borough council meeting that Somerville has to go to the top. ‘This governor said ‘I have to be more pro-active because I almost lost the election,’ Brady said. ‘Well, Bucky, this is one way you can be more pro-active.’ Mayor Dennis Sullivan also expressed frustration … Sullivan said the Somerville MVC office is the only location in the state which is near a residential neighborhood. Dating back into the last century, neighborhood residents have repeatedly complained about traffic, illegal parking, littering, trespassing by MVC customers and noise that they said have affected the quality of their lives.’”
— “Protestors demand answers after one man beaten, another stabbed at [Essex County] jail”
— “Student charged after found with loaded gun at Lawrence High School”
— “Pro-life [Morristown] Democratic chairman says he won’t quit”
— “Newton closes town hall amid COVID cases rising in Sussex County”
— ‘Katie Brennan talks candidly about the underreporting of sex crimes, on state of affairs”
— “NJ housing nonprofit blamed for Wayne man’s death in new lawsuit”
— “100 exotic animals may lose their home as ‘Bat Cave’ building in Garfield is sold”
— “What to do with Freehold’s stray cats? Some residents have a plan to keep them alive”
NJ GAVE THEM MILLIONS WHEN THEY WOULD’VE SETTLED FOR A KITKAT — “New Jersey incentives, locations, crew lure big productions looking for a good break,” by Variety’s Phil Gallo: “For his first film since winning the Oscar for 2018’s ‘Green Book,’ Peter Farrelly again ventured into new regions of the country. The 40-day shoot of ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever,’ set between fall 1967 and spring 1968, was split between Thailand and northern New Jersey … The entire film was to be shot in New Zealand until COVID-19 scuttled those plans. Farrelly heeded the advice of his friend, Sony Pictures Classics co-president Tom Bernard, who told him ‘if you’re going to shoot in New York, go to New Jersey. It’s cheaper and you got all the same stuff.’ … ‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ and ‘Wu-Tang Clan’ are among scores of productions pushing 2021 film and TV production spending beyond half a billion dollars in the Garden State, a record year following 2018’s $121.4 million (the first year Gov. Phil Murphy reinstated tax credits) and then 2019’s $421 million before COVID-19 largely shut down location and studio shoots. The state has seen a boom in productions since reinstating its tax credit — now between 30% and 35% — in 2018 during Murphy’s first term in office.”
— “Atlantic Health System acquires controlling interest in N.J. hospital, plans $135M investment”
— “Water panel targets toxic algal blooms”
