CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS NJAC and county officials from across the State certainly appreciate the original intent of the protections afforded public sector workers under the State’s civil service system; however, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has transformed into an overly burdensome and outdated bureaucracy that prevents the effective and efficient operation of government. With additional details to follow shortly, the rules, regulations, and directives imposed on local governments as employers by CSC present enormous challenges in the hiring, promoting, transferring, and disciplining of p...

HEALTH BENEFIT INCREASES Earlier this month, NJAC and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM) met with Administration officials to discuss the September 13th decision of the State Health Benefits Committee (SHBC) to approve unprecedented health benefit insurance rate hikes of up to 24% for local governments participating in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP). Although we appreciate the meeting, NJAC is urging the Administration to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies or other unrestricted reserve or surplus funds to temporarily offset the extraordinary increases as t...

HEALTH BENEFIT INCREASES On September 14th by telephone conference, the State Health Benefits Committee (SHBC) summarily approved unprecedented health benefit insurance rate hikes for local governments participating in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) by a vote of 3-1-1 with an overview of the outrageous increases summarized below. The recommended rate change for Local Government Actives is a 0% increase for medical and a 3.7% increase for the prescription drug premium rates, for a total increase of 21.6%. The recommend rate change for Local Government Early Retirees is a 6%...

ELECTION BILLS On July 28th, Governor Murphy signed into law a series of election reform measures of which NJAC is in the process of reviewing with our county election officials. VOTE-BY-MAIL STATUS A-3819/S-2868 (Mukherji D-33/Dunn R-25)(Cryan D-20/Gopal D-11) as P.L. 2022, c.68, which specifies the circumstances when voters will be removed from permanent vote-by-mail status and when ballots will be sent to primary addresses. In summary, this new law removes a voter from a permanent vote-by-mail status after a voter opted-in to voting by mail if the voter does not vote-by-mail for four co...

Governor Phil Murphy recently signed into law the following legislation concerning county government. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM & GRAVES ACT OFFENSES On June 30th, the Governor signed into law A-2426/S-513 (Wimberly D-35/Reynolds- Jackson D-15)(Cryan D-20/Turner D-15) as P.L. 2022, c.43, which establishes a rebuttable presumption of pretrial detention for a defendant who commits certain firearm offenses under the Graves Act. In general, the new law requires the pretrial detention for a defendant charged with a fire-arms related crime under the Graves Act, which includes the possession o...

MAYBE SOME PROGRESS ON THE DIVERSION OF 911 FEES On May 27th, senators Michael Testa (R-1), Anthony Bucco (R-25), and Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) along with Assemblyman John DiMaio (R-23) introduced budget resolutions in both houses that would partially end the State’s long-standing diversion of 911 fees and provide $21.0 in funding to County 911 Centers in the Fiscal Year 2023 State Budget with a $1.0 million grant made available for each county to maintain, upgrade, or regionalize its 911 system. NJAC commends the sponsors for their support and leadership in introducing the budget resolutions t...

END THE 911 FEE DIVERSION As previously reported, NJAC is requesting that the State Legislature include $21.0 million in funding for County 911 Centers in the Fiscal Year 2023 State Budget with a $1.0 million grant made available for each county to maintain, upgrade, or regionalize its 911 system as the State of New Jersey has failed to provide any funding to counties for this purpose since 2009. In addition to laying the groundwork for an imminent public safety crisis, the State's continued misallocation of 911 fees has imposed an inequitable system of double taxation on residents already b...

END THE 911 FEE DIVERSION On Thursday, NJAC testified before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee requesting that the State Legislature include $21.0 million in funding for County 911 Centers in the Fiscal Year 2023 State Budget with a $1.0 million grant made available for each county to maintain, upgrade, or regionalize its 911 system as the State of New Jersey has failed to provide any funding to counties for this purpose for well over a decade. Although the stated intent of the 2004 law that imposed a monthly telecommunication surcharge of .90 cents on every telephone line in th...

ENDING 911 FEE DIVERSION NOW STRIKE FORCE NJAC is urging the United States Congress to adopt the "Report and Recommendations" of the "Ending 911 Fee Diversion Now Strike Force" (911 Strike Force) established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the State of New Jersey continues to reign as the worst offender of diverting 911 fees in the entire nation. In addition to creating a public safety crisis and imposing a system of "double taxation" on residents, the 911 Strike Force concluded that: 911 fee  diversion  negatively impacts the ability of  the  public to  access em...

DANIEL'S LAW On December 20th, the General Assembly passed A-6171 (Quijano D-20/Lopez D-19), which would create the Office of Information Privacy, and would upon request, require the redaction of the home addresses and telephone numbers of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers pursuant to Daniel's Law signed into law by Governor Murphy in 2020. As recommended by our county counsels, this legislation would create an "opt-in system" as a more effective way for county governments to implement the 2020 law named in honor of Daniel Anderl, the late son U.S. District Court Judge Est...