Gov. Chris Christie Signs 10 More Bills Into Law; Vetoes 2 Others

Gov. Chris Christie signed 10 bills into law this week, but he also vetoed two bills, killing one that would have allowed "motor-voter" registration.

Christie said he vetoed the bill, which would have registered or updated voter registration as part of driver's license applications or renewals, because it "fails to adequately protect the voter rolls to ensure that only eligible individuals are registered."

He also took exception with the cost, saying the law already gives all eligible voters plenty of opportunity to register.

"The bill not only will almost certainly register ineligible voters, but also contains language that would effectively absolve from punishment individuals who unlawfully vote," Christie wrote in his veto. "This bill should be called 'The Voter Fraud Enhancement and Permission Act.'"

Lawmakers, after passing the bill earlier this year, said they were trying to make it easier for eligible voters to register, because it's not so easy now.

"Sometimes voter turnout can be stymied simply by the fact that would-be voters have forgotten to update their registration because they moved," said Assemblyman Gary Schaer, a Democrat from Passaic. "Hopefully this will encourage first-time drivers to engage in the voting process and also make it easier for others to ensure that their voter registration stays current."

Here are the bills Christie signed and vetoed:

BILLS SIGNED:

• S-1379/A-3003 (Turner, Pennacchio/McKeon, Zwicker, Houghtaling, Jasey) - Concerns NJ Transit's treatment of people with guide or service dogs; establishes Access Link Customer Service Group
• S-2061/A-3610 (Sweeney, Allen/Conaway, Singleton, Greenwald, Taliaferro, Quijano, Benson) - Increases accidental death benefit to 70% of final compensation for surviving children of SPRS or PFRS member; redefines child in SPRS
• S-2099/A-3728 (Vitale, Turner/Singleton) - Places two-year moratorium on moving date of Type II school district’s annual school election from day of general election in November back to third Tuesday in April; creates study commission
• A-3841/S-2296 (Lampitt/Cunningham) - Allows School of Osteopathic Medicine at Rowan University to maintain principal clinical affiliation with either osteopathic or allopathic hospital
• A-3851/S-2033 (Quijano, O'Scanlon/Weinberg, Oroho) - Authorizes certain local government entities to adopt policies for payment of certain claims through use of standard electronic funds transfer technologies
• A-3882/S-2287 (Chaparro, Caride, Kennedy/Bateman, Smith) - Changes submission and notice requirements for short-term and long-term financing for environmental infrastructure projects
• A-3883/S-2292 (Zwicker, Green, Andrzejczak, Tucker, Benson, Mukherji/Greenstein, Kyrillos) - Authorizes New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust to expend certain sums to make loans for environmental infrastructure projects for FY2017
• A-3884/S-2293 (Chiaravalloti, Mukherji, Caputo/Whelan, Gordon) - Appropriates funds to DEP for environmental infrastructure projects for FY2017
• AJR-95 (Conaway, McKnight) - Designates August of each year as "Adult Vaccine Preventable Disease Awareness and Improvement Month" in New Jersey
• AJR-101/SJR-61 (Prieto, Bramnick, Phoebus, Space/Sweeney, T. Kean) - Recognizes 100th anniversary of National Park Service on August 25, 2016

BILLS VETOED:

• A-1944/S-1228 (Coughlin, Schaer, Eustace, Downey, Benson, Wimberly, McKeon, Jasey, Chiaravalloti/Vitale, Gill) - CONDITIONAL - Automatically registers or updates voter registration as part of driver's license application or renewal
• A-3591/S-2116 (Zwicker, Holley, Muoio, Eustace, Barclay, McKnight, Mukherji/Beach, Gill) - ABSOLUTE -"New Voter Empowerment Act"; permits 17 year olds to vote in primary election if they turn 18 years old before next succeeding general election