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Presented by AARP: Matt Friedman's must-read briefing on the Garden State's important news of the day | | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | | | Good Friday morning! Yesterday morning, after 16 years of stagnation, it looked like a bill to eliminate exemptions for casinos to the indoor smoking ban was finally going to move. And then it didn’t. The long-anticipated meeting of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee ended without taking action on the bill, despite supporters spending hours trying to wrangle the votes. This really shows you how much juice the casino industry has. The last time this bill actually got a vote was in 2007 in the state Senate, when it passed 35-0. Sixty-five percent of senators are either prime or co-sponsors of the bill. And yet it can’t get it out of a committee chaired by Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex), who’s spent years fighting for it. Even some of its initial co-sponsors, like state Sen. Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) and Renee Burgess (D-Essex) refused to support it. Other holdouts in the committee included Sens. Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen), and Ed Durr (R-Gloucester). New Jersey has banned smoking in almost every public indoor space, gambling establishments being the only exemptions that aren’t tobacco stores or private places. And even as they struggled to pass widely popular initiatives like legalizing weed, the Legislature never seems to hesitate to expand gambling, even when there’s plenty of documentation about the harms it causes. It’s not just the casino industry that opposes this. United Here Local 54, the influential casino workers union, also does. But the dealers' union favors it — and they’re presumably the workers who are most exposed to the smoke. | | | | GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | |
TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Benjie Wimberly, Oren Auslin, Stephanie Brown, Gina Marie Santore, Ani Toumajan, Ed Doherty. Saturday for Kaitlin McGuinness, Gerard Canta, Patricia DiCostanzo, Kelly Klass, Bill Murray, Brian Murray. Sunday for Kay LiCausi, Amy Goldsmith. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “[I]t’s likely to happen at some point, but I just don’t think we’re ready yet” — Senate President Nick Scutari on homegrown cannabis WHERE’S MURPHY? In Arizona until Sunday for a DGA meeting |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | |
UP IN SMOKE — Casino smoking ban bill pulled from committee vote with lack of support, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: A bill to ban smoking inside Atlantic City’s casinos was unexpectedly pulled from a committee vote on Thursday afternoon after it failed to get a majority of votes needed to pass. The outcome at the packed Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee meeting came as a surprise … The scheduled vote would have marked the first time that happened in over a decade … Health committee chair Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex) — one of the largest backers of the bill in the Senate — said the bill would be back in his committee in December. “Is it going to get done? I believe it will,” Vitale said.
NOTHING BREWING — Scutari on Murphy's brewery bill veto suggestions: 'I don't think so', by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: Senate President Nick Scutari on Monday suggested his chamber won't agree with one of Gov. Phil Murphy’s top lame duck session priorities on liquor license reform. When asked by POLITICO if the Senate would concur with the governor’s conditional veto on a bill that would lift restrictions for breweries in the state, Scutari said: “No, I don’t think so … “I think it needs a lot of work,” Scutari said of the governor's conditional veto. “I think we're gonna continue with the administration and see if [it’s] an issue we can come to grips with ... We're not there yet. That's a complicated issue. Hundreds of years of regulations, to try to get it done in a few weeks [is] gonna be tough.” | | | | A message from AARP: Older New Jerseyans in nursing homes deserve safe, high-quality care. Nearly 75 percent of New Jersey’s nursing homes are for-profit facilities. The complex structures of some of these nursing homes make it difficult to see where cash is flowing—and may allow money to be siphoned away from resident care. We need to know where our money is going. It’s time to hold nursing home owners accountable. Tell your lawmakers to pass A4484/S2769. | | |
MAILING IT IN — “Little by little, perpetual vote-by-mail list reshapes New Jersey’s off-year elections,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Nikita Biryukov: “About five years ago, state lawmakers enacted a law requiring election officials to continually send mail-in ballots to New Jerseyans who requested them for a single election. Democratic and Republican operatives and other observers agree on the result: More voters are casting ballots in races they would typically have skipped, and they’re doing it by mail. ‘The holy grail for political parties has always been ‘what can I do to get people to vote in this election and keep them on the voting rolls forever.’ It looks like that permanent vote-by-mail list is that holy grail,’ said Dan Cassino, executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll. Before the list, Republican voters were typically more likely to cast ballots in odd-year elections despite their smaller numbers, but mail-in voting has increasingly pushed Democrats to vote in elections they might otherwise ignore, Cassino said.”
FOR WHOM THE TOLLS BILL — New York closes in on tolling plan, but fights continue, by POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday threatened another lawsuit to block New York’s plan to charge drivers entering parts of New York City $15 more a day. Murphy’s threat, based on how hard commuters from his state would be hit by the toll, was but one dramatic reaction to new recommendations by a group tasked with crafting a long-awaited, landmark tolling plan to curb traffic and fund public transportation in the nation’s largest city. A member of that group, known as the Traffic Mobility Review Board, condemned the plan and quit. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the plan — which has taken months if not years to craft — was “the beginning of the conversation” about what the final rate should be. | | | | A message from AARP:   | | |
THE ARC IS HISTORY BUT IT BENDS TOWARDS GATEWAY — “For some at groundbreaking of Gateway rail tunnel, there was a feeling of déjà vu,” by The Record’s Colleen Wilson: “For several of the dignitaries gathered at the concrete desert off Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen on Thursday to announce the start of construction on the New Jersey side of the Gateway rail tunnel entrance, there was a feeling of déjà vu. Some had been here before — when the same project launched in 2009 … Some 14-year-old aging concrete support beams remain stacked in rows on the site, just feet from where shovels of dirt were tossed Thursday to mark the newest version of the Tonnelle Avenue overpass project. Now, Edison-based Conti Civil, LLC will do the project all over again, this time for $28.6 million.”
JERSEY FIEFDOM — “Polistina seeks ELEC probe of shadowy independent expenditure group,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Alleging that South Jersey Democrats deliberately made a mockery of New Jersey’s new Elections Transparency Act by creating a tenebrous independent expenditure group that sought to mislead voters and push Republicans toward independent candidates, State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) wants the state’s campaign finance watchdog to launch an investigation. In a letter to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Polistina wants a probe to determine if Jersey Freedom was created specifically to hide contributions and expenditures that interfered with elections in the 2nd and 4th districts.” HOLTEC — Appeals panel agrees Holtec should keep EDA tax incentives, by POLITICO’s Dustin Racioppi: The nuclear energy giant Holtec is entitled to $26 million in tax credits the state Economic Development Authority had frozen, an appeals panel said Thursday, dealing a blow to the Murphy administration's aggressive effort to scrutinize a massive incentives program widely criticized as favoring special interests. The Appellate Division decision is in turn a victory for the multinational company that is based in Camden and has strong ties to South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross … The EDA froze Holtec's $26 million tax credit for 2018 because of an allegedly false answer the company gave in its 2014 application by not disclosing that it had been debarred in Tennessee for 10 days in 2010. | | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | |
—“State now deciding whether Ruiz can be certified”
—“A closer look at the corporation-business tax surcharge in its final days” —“New Jersey lawmakers eye expanding job-protected family leave to small businesses” —“Gov. Phil Murphy orders officials to push forward on NJ offshore wind projects” —“How to speed up North Jersey supply chain? Port Authority has $176 million plan for that” —“Mapping out South Jersey Democrats’ great election night” — Sidamon-Eristoff: “Let’s turn the 2023 election fiasco into a teaching moment” —Coughlin backs family leave expansion for workers at small employers | | Biden's Beltway | |
NJ REPUBLICANS CLARIFY THAT NDAS ARE ONLY BAD WHEN MURPHY DOES IT — Former N.J. Trump golf club worker says she was sexually harassed, tricked into signing NDA, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: “A former server at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster alleges she was sexually harassed and coerced into sex by a supervisor, then tricked into signing an illegal non-disclosure agreement by Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba. The former server, Alice Bianco, made the allegations in a lawsuit against Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster filed Wednesday in New Jersey’s Middlesex County Superior Court … According to the lawsuit, Bianco learned that an unnamed co-worker was writing a letter to Donald Trump’s personal staff about Melichar’s alleged sexual harassment and told her of her own experiences, which the co-worker alluded to in the letter. After it was delivered, Bianco said she got a call from human resources and decided to hire a lawyer. That’s when Habba, a member of the club, allegedly approached Bianco “pretending to be a friend,” telling her she had heard about the situation and wanted to help her .. Habba, according to the lawsuit, encouraged Bianco to fire the lawyer and forwarded her a negative article about him. “Is this the guy? Be careful,” she wrote, according to text messages appended to the lawsuit. Habba then allegedly invited Bianco to her car during her shift and discouraged her from going public with her story, saying she could “protect her” if Bianco signed a “simple” non-disclosure agreement that included a penalty of $1,000 a day if she violated it, in exchange for what the lawsuit described as a “paltry sum.”
—“NJ attorney general will help lead multistate effort to curb high-capacity gun magazines” | | LOCAL | |
A THOROUGH AND EFFICIENT EDUCATION — “Judges set deadline for state to provide Lakewood with more school aid,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Joe Strupp: “The Department of Education must create a plan for improved funding of the debt-heavy Lakewood School District by April 1, an appeals court ruled this week, the latest action in a nearly decade-long legal battle over aid to the troubled schools. The three-judge appeals court issued the order on Nov. 27, which demands that Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan provide a plan to improve funding in the next four months. ‘I think it’s a huge deal,’ said Paul Tractenberg, co-counsel in a lawsuit first filed in 2014 against the state that demanded more school aid. ‘The commissioner’s plan was to drag this out for a year and a half.’ The order comes nine months after the same three-judge panel first directed Allen-McMillan to improve state aid to Lakewood, which is facing $173 million in state loan debt and other fiscal issues. But that directive had not included a deadline.”
GERBER NOW CRYING LIKE A CONSUMER OF THE BRAND HE SHARES A NAME WITH — “Duo charged with setting fire, spray-painting swastikas in Lacey Twp.,” by NJ Advance Media’s Matthew Enuco: “Two Lacey Township residents have been arrested on charges they set a fire and spray-painted swastikas at a park, school and grocery store in their town, police said. Alexander Gerber, 19, and Connor Dougherty, 20, are charged with third-degree arson and four counts of criminal mischief accusing them of a crime spree that vandalized three separate locations, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday. The first incident was reported Nov. 21 when Lacey Township police discovered a fire in the women’s restroom at Gille Park. The Lanoka Harbor Fire Department extinguished the fire and determined it was intentionally set, the prosecutor’s office said. On Sunday, graffiti was found and swastikas were spray painted at various locations around Gille Park” —“Pregnant wife of strip club owner handcuffed for hours as cops raided her [Middlesex Conuty] home, lawsuit says” —“Resolution that would cover extra Jersey City police OT rejected by council that’s tired of overspending” —“Ex-Bayonne BA sues city over unfulfilled OPRA request about her successor & contractor” | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
MARSHALL SEAVAK — “Spevak appointed interim CEO of Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial,” by ROI-NJ: “Marshall Spevak has been appointed to serve as interim chief executive officer of the Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial, according to a Thursday announcement from its board. Spevak succeeds recently retired CEO Phil Rowan and will oversee operations as the ship heads into its historic drydocking project in early 2024.”
SOMEONE’S GOTTA PAY FOR THE FOOTBALL TEAM’S LASER POINTERS AND NAP PODS — Unions ramp up pressure on Rutgers following tuition hikes, by POLITICO’s Lawrence Ukenye: When Gov. Phil Murphy signed his annual budget in July to boost higher education funding by $92 million, faculty unions at Rutgers University applauded as their newly minted contract would be bolstered with additional backing from State Street. Days later, university administration announced plans to increase tuition and fees by 6 percent, angering unions after both sides had labored during a historic strike to agree on a new contract worth $184 million over four years. Frustration with the tuition hikes is rising as unions argue that Rutgers is sitting on millions of dollars that counter its position that the price increases are designed to address the university’s deficit and rising costs. Union members have held demonstrations, hosted town halls and even threatened to “mobilize” if the university doesn’t rescind the tuition increases. | | | | A message from AARP: Government funds spent on nursing home care should be spent on care for residents.
But many of New Jersey’s nursing homes have complex structures that make it difficult to see where those taxpayer dollars are going. Without financial transparency and strong oversight, that money could be siphoned away from resident care — weakening the safety and quality of care for residents and making it difficult for New Jerseyans to make informed decisions when choosing a facility.
A4484/S2769 would hold nursing home owners accountable by improving the financial reporting requirements for owners. Tell your state lawmakers: Pass A4484/S2769 now to increase accountability and transparency for nursing home owners and improve care for residents. | | |
THE TUNNEL TO MOMMY’S BASEMENT — “New Jersey parents rank high on the list of helping adult children pay bills,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Juan Carlos Castillo: “A new survey done by USA Today ranked New Jersey in the No. 2 spot for the amount of money parents give their adult children … In the study, in which only the top 36 most populous states were considered, neighboring New York and Pennsylvania ranked in the 12th and 35th positions … in New Jersey, parents specifically stood out because they're more likely to be paying their children’s debts. On average, New Jersey parents give $583 to their adult children monthly.’”
—“'I needed to blend in': NJ Asians say they hid their heritage to survive in the suburbs” —“The federal government has a database to catch bad doctors. Why don’t NY and NJ check it more often?” —“Bruce Springsteen donates $100,000 to restoration of historic Turf Club in Asbury Park”
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