These New Jersey Laws Might Change Your Life In 2022

NEW JERSEY — A higher minimum wage. Mental health services for students. More financial literacy for “vulnerable” people. These are some of the laws that may change New Jersey residents’ lives in 2022.

Catch up with a few pieces of legislation that will help kick off the new year in the Garden State. Want to stay on top of local news in 2022? Sign up for Patch email newsletters here.

MINIMUM WAGE HIKE

One of the biggest changes that will take place in New Jersey this year actually dates back to 2019, when Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that will gradually raise the state’s minimum wage for most workplaces to $15 an hour by 2024.

On Jan. 1, 2022, the state’s minimum wage will increase to $13 an hour for most employers, up from $12. The wage for seasonal workers and employees at small businesses of five workers or less will increase eighty cents to $11.90.

Meanwhile, the suggested cash wage for tipped workers such as restaurant staff will increase a dollar an hour to $5.13 (a worker’s total earnings of hourly wage plus tips must equal at least the minimum wage per hour).

The minimum-wage – which was $8.85 in January 2019 – increased to $10 an hour in July 2019. It will go up a dollar for most workplaces every Jan. 1 until 2024. However, for seasonal workers and employees at small businesses of five workers or less, the base minimum wage won’t reach $15 an hour until Jan. 1, 2026. Learn more here.

MORE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR STUDENTS

A pair of recently signed bills will help to address the mental health needs of K-12 students across New Jersey, their supporters say.

According to a statement from Assembly Democrats:

“In 2016, half of children ages 6 through 18 in the U.S. with a mental health disorder received treatment or counseling. Since youth spend much of their time in school, counselors are in a unique position to identify mental health challenges and serve students where they are. However, some schools lack qualified faculty and support links to community services to effectively bridge the gap in mental health care.”

Here's how a pair of newly signed bills will address the issue:

• A-4433 – Creates grant program to encourage school districts to partner with institutions of higher education in training school-based mental health services providers.
• A-4435 - Requires DCF to give priority to certain applicants with student mental health counseling centers in awarding contracts to provide School-Linked Services.

FINANCIAL LITERACY

A new law will help to teach people in New Jersey to budget their finances better, its supporters say.

In an effort to “empower New Jersey’s most economically vulnerable residents,” Assembly Democrats Eliana Pintor Marin (D-Essex), Bill Moen (D-Camden, Gloucester), and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (Mercer, Hunterdon) recently sponsored legislation to establish financial empowerment centers in Camden, Newark, Paterson, New Brunswick and Trenton under a three-year pilot program.

Gov. Murphy signed the measure into law Wednesday.

Under the law (formerly bill A-3062), the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will partner with municipalities and local non-profits to facilitate financial literacy programs and personal financial coaching at each of the centers. Programs will be targeted to help individuals open or transition to a safe bank account, establish good credit, manage debt, and increase savings.

“The unfortunate reality is that a lot of our residents concentrated in the depressed cities of our state were never given the skills to manage their finances,” Moen said. “By creating a coalition of support with this law, however, we could begin to tackle the cycles of debt that have captured whole communities to change the outlook for them and generations to come.”

MORE FUNDS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE

Legislation sponsored by Republican senators Kip Bateman (R-16) and Kristin Corrado (R-40) that will approve and provide affordable loans to local governments and public water utilities for environmental infrastructure projects was signed into law on Wednesday.

Bateman’s bipartisan legislation, S-4079, would alter the list of environmental infrastructure projects for which the Legislature has appropriated funds to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for FY2022 to include new projects or modify the loan amounts for certain projects.

A companion bill, S-4078, is sponsored by Corrado and would amend the lists of environmental infrastructure projects for which the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (NJIB) is authorized to make loans to include new projects or modify the priority of specific projects.

UTILITY SHUTOFF GRACE PERIOD

Earlier this week, Gov. Murphy signed S4081, extending the utility shutoff grace period established under Executive Order No. 246 from December 31, 2021 to March 15, 2022, for all water, municipal electric and sewer customers.

The legislation also extends the payment plan provisions of Executive Order No. 246, requiring all utilities to offer a 12-month, no-down-payment, interest-free payment plan to customers prior to disconnecting service or imposing liens for non-payment of arrearages that had accrued since the beginning of the public health emergency.

“While many of us are returning to a sense of normalcy, there are many households that are still struggling as a result of the pandemic,” said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who also serves as the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.

“This extension will provide a buffer for families that still have arrears and allow additional time for them to work out a payment plan,” Oliver said. “No one should have to choose between paying their utilities and paying for other necessities such as food, housing, and medication.”

OTHER LAWS

Here are some other bills that Gov. Murphy recently signed into law.

• S-108/A-169 wGR (Gill, Turner/Caputo, Wirths) - Concerns speech rights of student journalists at public schools and public institutions of higher education
• S-2834/A-5312 wGR (Ruiz, Cunningham/Quijano, Lampitt, McKnight) - Mandates training on culturally responsive teaching for all candidates for teaching certification
• S-2953/A-4785 wGR (Sweeney, Cunningham/Quijano, Verrelli, Mukherji) - Expands scope of inmate reentry assistance and benefits
• S-3955/A-5905 wGR (Ruiz, Pou/Timberlake, Speight, Spearman) - Establishes “Rental Assistance Navigation Program” in DCA; makes appropriation
• S-3994/A-5943 (Sweeney/Greenwald, Mazzeo, Armato, Murphy) - Temporarily modifies taxes and credits of casino licensees; permanently redefines promotional gaming credits to include certain coupons and table game wagers; requires priority funding for senior and disabled transportation services
• S-4007/A-5587 (Sweeney/Greenwald) - Concerns matters related to operations and obligations of casino gaming properties and finances of Atlantic City
• S-4078/A-5974 (Greenstein, Corrado/Carter, Stanley, Chaparro) – Modifies lists of projects eligible to receive loans for environmental infrastructure projects from NJ Infrastructure Bank for FY2022
• S-4147/A-6216 (Beach, Turner, Tucker, Verrelli, Caputo) – Appropriates $16,380,595 from constitutionally dedicated CBT revenues to NJ Historic Trust for grants for certain historic preservation projects and associated administrative expenses
• S-4274/A-6170 (Sweeney/McKeon) - Provides supplemental appropriations of $500,000 to the Apportionment Commission and $500,000 to the New Jersey Redistricting Commission
• A-2455/S-2204 wGR (Benson, Vainieri Huttle, DeAngelo/Greenstein, Oroho) - Establishes pilot program in DOE to support robotics programs in school districts
• A-3062/S-1196 wGR (Pintor Marin, Moen, Reynolds-Jackson/Pou, Cruz-Perez) - Establishes three year Financial Empowerment Pilot ProgramA-4433/S-2715 wGR (Greenwald,
• Mukherji, Lampitt/Beach, Corrado) - Creates grant program to encourage school districts to partner with institutions of higher education in training school-based mental health services providers
• A-4435/S-2717 wGR (Verrelli, Greenwald, Speight, Lampitt/Beach, Corrado) - Requires DCF to give priority to certain school districts with student mental health counseling centers in awarding grants under School Based Youth Services Program
• A-4746/S-3947 wGR (Mosquera, Lopez, Chaparro, Dunn/Vitale, Turner) - Requires that certain provider subsidy payments for child care services be based on enrollment
• A-4834/S-3474 wGR (Mazzeo, Quijano, Downey/Pou, Turner) - Prohibits mail falsely implying State government connection
• A-5353/S-3421 wGR (Conaway, Vainieri Huttle, Benson/Madden, Turner) - Provides for certification of temporary nurse aides
• A-5599/S-3916 wGR (Chiaravalloti, Vainieri Huttle, McKnight/Scutari, Gill) - Establishes order of protection for judicial officer; upgrades and clarifies harassment against judicial officer; bars firearms possession by persons against whom judicial officer order of protection is entered
• A-5975/S-4079 (Calabrese, Tucker, Mejia/Bateman, Smith) – Amends list of environmental infrastructure projects approved for long-term funding for FY2022; makes various changes to FY2022 environmental infrastructure funding program
• A-5998/S-4098 (Mukherji, Coughlin/Sweeney) - Permits deferred retirement from JRS for member appointed as Administrative Director of the Courts by Chief Justice of Supreme Court
• A-6072/S-4169 (Egan, Coughlin, Danielsen/Vitale, Smith) - Increases number of hospitals eligible for highest amount of charity care subsidy payment; appropriates $30 million

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