Essex County Lawmakers Find Common Ground On 5 Bills: Here's What They Agreed On

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Protections for people with disabilities. Background checks for youth sports coaches. More money for Code Blue shelters. And an effort to put the brakes on “reservation scalping” at New Jersey restaurants. These are some of the issues that Republicans and Democrats from Essex County have recently found common ground over in the halls of Trenton.

While fireworks between extremes often capture news headlines, the majority of bills that make their way into voting sessions are bipartisan, Republican Sen. Jon Bramnick previously told Patch.

“There are issues where there are substantial differences between Democrats and Republicans, but it’s not normally what goes on in the floor in Trenton,” he said. Read More: Going Beyond Blue And Red: When New Jersey Dems And GOP Agree

Here are some bills from Essex County lawmakers that have recently seen bipartisan support in the Statehouse:

‘PREDATORS’ IN YOUTH SPORTS

Last week, a proposed state law was introduced that would require coaches or instructors who work with children in sports to undergo annual criminal background checks.

Lawmakers cited a 2025 news report from NJ Advance Media, which found that more than 100 coaches, trainers and sports complex owners have been accused of sex crimes against minors – with 57 of those happening since 2020. They reportedly got access to children by exploiting a lack of background checks or accurate, up-to-date offender databases.

The bill, A4692, has seen support from Republicans and Democrats, including Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie (NJ-27), a Democrat who represents towns including Livingston, Millburn, Montclair, Roseland and West Orange.

“Nothing is more important than ensuring that every adult who works with our children keeps them safe,” Bagolie said. “That responsibility extends to every area of their lives, including youth leagues, sports clubs, and training programs across our state.”

SCHOOL BUSES AND SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

In January, a bipartisan bill was signed that creates a task force to recommend safety policies for special education students who ride school buses.

Lawmakers pointed to several tragic incidents involving vulnerable children with disabilities on school buses:

“In 2023, six-year-old Fajr Atiya Williams, who had a rare genetic condition, and 19-year-old Matthew Rossi, who had muscular dystrophy and autism, died on a school bus in separate incidents while aides and drivers missed signs of distress. In 2022, a 16-year-old Cape May County student with Rett syndrome, Landon Goff, died after experiencing a medical emergency while riding the bus. More recently, parents of a 14-year-old girl with autism say their daughter was sexually assaulted on the way to a special needs school in Passaic County after no adult intervened.”

Under the new law (A4607/S3447), the task force will have 90 days to convene to start to develop policies that best prevent and respond to medical and behavioral emergencies that take place on a bus.

The bill’s primary sponsors included three Republicans who represent towns in New Jersey’s 40^th district: Sen. Kristin Corrado and Assemblymen Al Barlas and Christopher DePhillips.

The 40^th district includes Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell, Verona and West Caldwell, among other municipalities.

Barlas and DePhillips said that school buses carrying children with disabilities must “fully and safely” support their needs.

“Kids of all abilities deserve the rightful opportunity to be a part of a school community where they can participate and learn; and safe transportation is the foundation to that fair and accessible education,” the lawmakers asserted in a joint statement.

Other state lawmakers who signed the bill as co-sponsors include two Essex County Democrats: Teresa Ruiz and Shanique Speight. Both represent the 29^th district, which includes Newark.

PROTECTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Before leaving office, former Gov. Phil Murphy signed several bills that strengthen oversight of providers that serve New Jersey residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The new laws include:

• S3750/A5634 – Enhances the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ authority to enforce quality standards among residential and other service providers for people with developmental disabilities. Human Services will be able to impose civil penalties and fines on providers for serious violations.
• S3751/A5636 – Revises the legal definition of child abuse or neglect to include people up to age 21 years in certain regulated settings, including institutions and day schools overseen by the Department of Children and Families.
• S3754/A5638 – Creates a new committee within the Human Services department that will review cases of abuse, neglect, exploitation or mortality of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“Families place extraordinary trust in the systems that support their loved ones with disabilities, and when that trust is broken, the consequences can be devastating for everyone involved,” Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie said.

“It’s imperative that we make a collective effort to build something better for future generations - a system that protects and effectively serves individuals with disabilities as they too deserve the opportunity to live a full and fruitful life,” Assemblywoman Shanique Speight agreed.

Republican Senate Leader Anthony Bucco, who was among the sponsors of S3750, said accountability has to be more than a promise – it must also be enforceable.

“As a co-chair of the New Jersey Legislative Disability Caucus, I’ve heard firsthand from families about the heartbreaking cases of abuse and neglect, and we owe it to them to do better,” Bucco said.

MORE MONEY FOR ‘CODE BLUE’ SHELTERS

Earlier in March, the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee advanced legislation sponsored by Sen. Corrado, a Republican, and Sen. Angela McKnight, a Democrat from the 31st district.

If it crosses the finish line, the bill would provide additional state funding for qualified “Code Blue” shelters.

In 2020, legislation was enacted to increase the threshold temperature to 32 degrees from 25 degrees Fahrenheit, requiring warming shelters to open more frequently during extreme weather conditions. The new bill, S1155, would establish a matching grant program for community-based nonprofit organizations that provide shelter during Code Blue alerts.

“When the state expanded Code Blue requirements, warming shelters were required to open their doors more often,” Corrado said. “What the state didn’t do was increase the funding to match the additional resources needed to meet that demand.”

“This bill would provide more funding to shelters to ensure the safety of vulnerable residents during dangerously cold weather conditions,” she added.

RESTAURANT ‘RESERVATION SCALPING’

Corrado has also partnered on another bipartisan bill with Sen. Joseph Lagana, a Democrat from the 38^th district.

According to Corrado, the proposed law would protect restaurants and patrons from the unauthorized selling of reservations from third-party services.

Here’s the problem, Corrado said:

“Third-party reservation marketplaces have become more prominent in recent years, allowing the sale of reservations without the consent of the restaurant. When this occurs, the tables are often resold at inflated prices, and if no buyer is found, the reservation may be canceled at the last minute, leaving empty tables and costing restaurants valuable revenue. During the 2025 Superbowl in New Orleans, a third-party service sold a reservation for over $2,000, sparking other states, including Illinois and New York to adopt similar measures.”

The bill, S1193/S1197, would prohibit third-party reservation websites or mobile apps from advertising, listing or selling restaurant reservations without a written agreement with the restaurant and establishes civil penalties for third-party services that violate the terms of the legislation.

“We’ve seen reservation scalping during major sporting events around the country and as New Jersey prepares to host the World Cup, we’re taking action to prevent that from occurring here in the Garden State,” Corrado said.

“This bill protects patrons from price-gouging and ensures that the benefit of major events goes to our local businesses, not opportunistic middlemen,” she added.

Looking for more areas where New Jersey politicians found common ground with their rivals? Catch up with some our recent articles below:

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