Vandervalk Proposes Changes to School Funding and Safe Haven Act

With the Assembly Budgetary Committee holding hearings throughout the summer, Patch takes a look at some of the bills that Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk has pending before the Legislature. 

For Vandervalk’s first 10 pieces of pending legislation, the majority is waiting for hearings before either the Human Services Committee or Education Committee, showcasing her dedication toward families and learning.

Stuck in limbo with the Human Services Committee are A221, A232, A233, and A238.

The first item of legislation (A221) amends the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act and requires informational posters about safe placement alternatives for newborn infants are posted in public restrooms used by females. The posters would be placed in any women’s restroom that is in a private or public elementary or secondary school for children ages 12 or older or any higher college or university within the state and measure at least 10 inches by 15 inches.

She has also brought forward A238 to revise the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act so that parents who with to surrender an infant at a police station or hospital may do so without the fear of prosecution of child abandonment. It also prohibits the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) from attempting to contact the parents or identifying the parents unless a complaint or allegation of child abuse has been received first.

Vandervalk and Assemblyman Vincent Prieto teamed up for A232, to permit a tax deduction under the New Jersey gross income tax for taxpayers who operate or maintain for their employees a licensed child care center or who have paid the cost of outside child care. The deduction is equal to 25% of any expenses incurred and is intended to act as an incentive for small businesses to provide childe care services for their employees.

Similar to A232 is A233 which provides a corporation business tax credit for day care center support benefiting children of employees. The credit is equal to 25% of expenses incurred and may be taken in cooperation with other businesses involved in the same child care center service.

Before the Education and Higher Education Committees are A235 and A240.

Facing the biggest uphill battle is A235, a 30-page bill to revise the  for public education from state aid being based on property values to a per pupil basis when distributed by the Legislature and the Governor. Assemblyman Robert Schroeder is a co-sponsor with Vandervalk.

“I have been pushing to get this legislation passed for years,” said Vandervalk in a February press release. “But successive Democrat-controlled Legislatures have refused to debate the issue because certain school districts in the state benefit from the inequity in the current formula. In order to enact true reform, we must change our school funding formula."

Part-time county college students could take advantage of a tuition aid grant pilot program ifA240 makes its way out of Committee. Under the pilot program, tuition aid grants would be annually awarded to each part-time student that qualifies. Students would still be required to apply for all other federal student assistance grants and scholarships prior to receiving a tuition aid grant under the program.

Also waiting for review are A234 (Law and Public Safety Committee), A236 (Health and Senior Services), A237 (Financial Institutions and Insurance) and A239 (State Government).

With a focus on the environment in New Jersey, A234 limits the operation of personal watercrafts in coastal wetlands and in any wetland under the jurisdiction of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission.

Pharmacists would have to report any prescription drug-related deaths and substantial bodily injuries to the Board of Pharmacy according to A236 and be made no later than 14 days after the pharmacist or their assistant discovers the information. The bill is not intended to impose punishment against the individual who reports the information, but to instead facilitate an improvement to reduce the possibility that an error could recur again in the future.

If you are in a car accident and it is determined to be an “at-fault accident”, A237 will raise the monetary threshold to be paid by an insurer to $1,000 so long as you have less than nine automobile insurance eligibility points. The $1,000 payout will be adjusted by order of the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance on July 1 every three years to reflect the cumulative increases or decreases in components of the national Consumer  Price Index, U.S. City Average, deemed appropriate by the commissioner.

Under current law, if a member of the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) retires and receives a retirement allowance for any cause other than disability, but later becomes employed and is eligible as a member of PERS once more, they are required to reenroll in the system. Under changes to the law by A239, this bill provides that $15,000 is the amount of compensation any PERS retiree can earn in a single PERS-covered position with reenrollment. The limitation would apply to conpensation from each employer as opposed to an aggregate compensation.

Next week, Patch will take a look at some of Senator Gerald Cardinale’s legislation that is still pending for review.