Senate Considers Local Legislators' Bills

The state Senate will be considering two bills sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and one sponsored by Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Summit). Munoz is the Assembly sponsor of one of the Kean bills.

Both Kean and Munoz represent Springfield.

The joint bill proposes to increase penelties for drivers who hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk and cause "serious bodily injury" to the pedestrian. Under the Kean/Munoz plan,  penalties for drivers would increase from a $100 fine to up to $500. The bill also allows the judge to impose 25-day jail sentences on drivers in addition to driver's license for up to six month. The bill is still pending before the Assembly transportation committee. It is not known if it will be considered before the end of the legislative session in January.

Munoz' bill to ban electronic cigarettes is up for a vote in the Senate today. The bill, co-sponsored with Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Paramus), would ban the sale and distribution of electronic cigarettes to minors in the state. The bill passed the full Assembly earlier this week and if passed by the Senate would go to Gov. Jon Corzine for his consideration.

Kean is a co-sponsor of a bill pending before the Senate today changing school security procedures. The bill would change the current practice of two fire drills a month in the public schools to one fire drill and one school safety drill per month. The bill also mandates security and safety training for public school teachers and the development of a statewide school safety curriculum. The bill was first proposed by State Sens. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark) and John Girganti (D-Hawthorne). The bill has passed the Assembly and if passed by the Senate would go to the governor.

The Senate will also consider other bills in one of the last sessions before the end of the current legislative term in January. These bills include adding a representative of a labor union as a non-voting member of the New Jersey Transit board, allowing residents to place their e-mail addresses on voter registration applications, establishing a state reading disabilities task force, increasing the Medicaid reimbursement for family planning services, requiring chain restaurants to provide calorie information, requiring parental and school staff notification if contaminated soil is found on school grounds and requiring records to be maintained for the sale of used jewelry.