Your Legislators: News From US and NJ Elected Leaders

House of Representatives: 

Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ) represents part of New Milford in the 9th District and is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense; and State and Foreign Operations. He released the following statement this week on support for Israel:

America’s support for Israel at the United Nations on the issues at hand is right on the merits and necessary for both America’s and Israel’s national security. The future boundaries of any two state solution must only be determined through direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians and not at the U.N. Additionally, any failure to stand with Israel during these difficult times in the Middle East will only encourage the enemies of America and Israel.

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) represents the other part of New Milford in the 5th District. This week he reintroduced legislation, the Equitable Treatment of Investors Act, that would shield individual investors who were defrauded by Bernie Madoff from further “clawbacks” by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) Trustee. He released the following statement regarding the legislation:

I introduced this legislation because I am increasingly concerned that the trustee in the Madoff case is ignoring the law and failing to provide prompt assistance to those who have been thrust into financial chaos.  He is taking positions on a wide range of issues that are contrary to SIPA, the Bankruptcy Code, and federal and state laws that are intended to protect investors against bad acts on the part of their brokers.  This legislation is intended to clarify congressional intent in these areas.

U.S. Senate:

Senator Robert Menendez called for the establishment of the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act on Monday which would raise the current $75 million cap on liability claims from offshore oil well spills to an unlimited amount of money.

Menendez said:

The best – and perhaps only – way we are going to prevent major oil spills in the future is if oil companies know they will pay for every cent of the damages they create. It’s time to stop coddling oil companies. It’s time to hold them to the same standard that average citizens – you make the mess, you clean it up.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg issued a statement in response to the FCC's announcement that they are investigating FOX 5's renewal application for WWOR, Ch. 9.

Channel 9 is required by law to cover New Jersey news, but when you turn on the TV all you hear is what’s happening in another state.   Time and again, Fox refuses to provide adequate coverage of issues important to New Jersey families and our local communities.  This issue must be resolved quickly so that New Jerseyans can finally have access to news about their communities and issues that impact their lives.

NJ State Assembly & Senate District 39:

The New Jersey state Senate and Assembly met on Thursday to vote on
several bills. Among them were S2628 with 39th District Senator Gerald
Cardinale as one of the primary sponsors and Assemblywoman Charlotte
Vandervalks co-sponsored A444 and A1851. All three bills were
approved.

Cardinale and Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-22) both sponsored S2628 which
authorizes an exception to the hearsay rule for certain out-of-court
statements by witnesses in cases involving a crime. It was approved by
a 24-15 vote.

The bill states that, "in a criminal proceeding involving a crime, a
statement offered against a party who has engaged, directly or
indirectly, in wrongdoing that was intended to, and did, procure the
unavailability of the declarant as a witness would not be excluded by
the hearsay rule."

At the Assembly level, A444 which disqualifies a member of a board of
education or member of a charter school board of trustees for
conviction of certain crimes and requires a member to undergo a
criminal history background investigation was approved 76-0-1.

Previously, candidates and members of a Board of Education had to be a
resident of the district for at least one year, be a registered voter
and be able to read and write.

Now, within 30 days of being appointed or elected to a seat on a Board
of Education, the member must undergo a background check to prove that
s/he had not been convicted of either: a first or second degree
offense involving the manufacture, transportation, sale,  possession,
distribution or habitual use of a "controlled dangerous 24      substance"
or a crime involving the use of force or the threat of force on the
act of a robbery, assault, stalking, kidnapping, arson, manslaughter
or murder; a third degree crime involving terroristic threats,
enticing a child into a motor vehicle, criminal mischief, burglary or
perjury; or any fourth degree crime that involves a victim that is a
minor.

The "Historic Property Reinvestment Act", A1851 provides credits
against certain taxes for certain costs of rehabilitating historic
properties following its 61-10-6 approval. The Historic Property
Reinvestment Act applies to those homes or properties that are
designated by the Pinelands Commission as a historic resource of
significance to the Pinelands.