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...

SUBSTANTIAL EXPANSION OF POWER FOR PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR UNIONS With the lame-duck session underway and the Legislature likely to reconsider the measure, NJAC is urging all 21 counties in the State to adopt resolutions in opposition to S-3810 (Sweeney D-3/Addiego D-8) and A-5862 (Armato D-2/Quijano D-20) as this legislation would substantially expand the power of public sector labor unions to negotiate previously non-negotiable items at the expense of local governing bodies and property taxpayers across the State. Proponents of this sweeping reform, which would ultimately eliminate well-es...

SUBSTANTIAL EXPANSION OF POWER FOR PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR UNIONS With the lame-duck session fast approaching and the Legislature likely to reconsider the measure, NJAC is urging all 21 counties in the State to adopt resolutions in opposition to S-3810 (Sweeney D-3/Addiego D-8) and A-5862 (Armato D-2/Quijano D-20) as this legislation would substantially expand the power of public sector labor unions to negotiate previously non-negotiable items at the expense of local governing bodies and property taxpayers across the State. Proponents of this sweeping reform, which would ultimately eliminate...

9-1-1 FEE DIVERSION NJAC is pleased to report that Assemblyman William Spearman (D-5) and  Senator Kristen Corrado (R-40) have introduced bi-partisan legislation on our behalf that would permit funds from the "9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Trust Fund Account (Fund)" to be appropriated for the purposes of paying certain costs incurred by counties and municipalities for the provision and maintenance of 9-1-1 emergency services; and, would further require the funds to be distributed on a prioritized basis to county, regionalized, or centralized public safety answering points. NJAC str...

BROAD EXPANSION OF POWER FOR PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR UNIONS NJAC strongly opposes SENATE, NO. 3810 (Sweeney D-3/Addiego D-8) and ASSEMBLY, NO. 5862 (Armato D-2/Quijano D-20) as this legislation would further unlevel the playing field in collective bargaining negotiations in favor of labor by clearly opening the door for public sector unions to negotiate previously non-negotiable items. In addition to empowering organized labor to exert undo pressure and influence on county and municipal governments across the State, this legislation would effectively eliminate the function and rights of manag...

IN-PERSON EARLY VOTING The New Jersey Early Voting Working Group recently completed a comprehensive analysis of the projected expenses each county is expected to incur as a direct result of implementing P.L. 2021, Chapter 40, which would require in-person early voting. The Working Group  is comprised of county election officials from across the State and representatives from the New Jersey Division of Elections with the goal of making sure early voting runs smoothly during the upcoming General Election. In summary, the analysis concludes that county governments will spend an estimated $83...

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN - LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUND  As public officials across the State of New Jersey anticipate receiving $10.2 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) monies and forthcoming guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury, the "Reader's Digest" version below provides a general overview on how and when the monies may be spent. HOW MUCH MONEY State of New Jersey: $6.4 billion Counties & Municipalities: $3.8 billion DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS Direct Payments: The State of New Jersey, all 21 counties, and municipalities with populations of 50,000 or more will receiv...

LOCAL PENSION SYSTEM PROTECTIONS On Monday, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee favorably reported by a vote 8-0 SENATE BILL NO. 3522 (Sweeney D-3), which would establish a new board of trustees for the Local Part of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). NJAC strongly supports this legislation and commends Senate President Sweeny for his leadership in introducing the measure as it would protect the long-term health and viability of the local pension system by establishing a new and balanced board of trustees for PERS with the ability to determine or modify benefits, d...

IN-PERSON EARLY VOTING On March 1st, both houses are expected to pass ASSEMBLY, NO 4830/SENATE, NO. 3203 (Zwicker D-16/Danielsen D-17)(Gill D-34/Greenstein D-14), which would require in- person early voting for certain elections. Although NJAC appreciates the fact that this legislation takes into consideration the State's constitutional prohibition against unfunded mandates and includes a reimbursement mechanism to address some of the in-person early voting expenses as required under the bill, the Association is concerned with the legislation's $2.0 million appropriation as the figure is ...

NJAC MISSION & LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES Although the New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) is committed to serving our elected officials and professionals as a resource and advocate for county government on COVID-19 related matters as the Garden State begins to navigate its way through the ongoing public health crisis, the Association also plans to refocus our efforts on achieving many long-term legislative goals and objectives. As a non-partisan organization that represents the State’s only true regional form of government with a unified and proactive voice, NJAC is dedicated to ad...