Chris Christie Signs 40 Bills, Including New Breastfeeding Law

With just a week left of his tenure, Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday that he has signed 40 new bills into law (see below), including one that protects the rights of breastfeeding mothers. He also vetoed two pieces of legislation that deal with religious freedom and wage laws.

Christie signed legislation that identifies breastfeeding as a "protected classification," and to ensure that breastfeeding mothers are given reasonable accommodations to allow them to breastfeed or express milk during breaks at work.

Christie said he understands the importance of supporting mothers, including breastfeeding mothers, in their transition back to the workforce. That's why, he said, he was "appalled" to learn that the New Jersey Business and Industry Association opposed this bill.

"In New Jersey, we have a robust workforce, and the strength of our workforce is only enhanced by working mother," Christie said in a statement. "This bill will merely ensure that women who breastfeed are not discriminated against or terminated from employment because they breastfeed."

Additionally, this bill will require businesses to provide breastfeeding breaks in a private location to facilitate the ability of mothers to return to work.

"This bill strikes an appropriate balance between these basic accommodations and business concerns, as the bill expressly states that an accommodation is not necessary if it would be too burdensome for the business," Christie said.

The legislation was sponsored by Assembly Democrats Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Bob Andrzejczak and Elizabeth Muoio, making it illegal for employers to discriminate against women who choose to breastfeed or express milk in the workplace.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. The benefits of breastfeeding extend well beyond basic nutrition, the legislators said. In addition to containing all the vitamins and nutrients a baby needs in the first six months of life, breast milk is packed with disease-fighting substances that protect babies from illness, they said.

“Mothers don’t stop being mothers when they get to work,” said Huttle, D-Bergen. “The benefits of breastfeeding babies, especially during the first six months, are undisputable. No woman should ever be shamed for, or prevented from feeding her child the best food possible. This allows working women to breastfeed or pump at work without fear of repercussions.”

“Breast milk is the ideal first food for babies. Rather than discourage it, employers should help make it easier for nursing women to provide for their babies while at work,” said Andrzejczak, D- Cape May/Atlantic/Cumberland. “Staying home after having a baby is not a luxury many working women enjoy. This ensures that women who are breastfeeding can continue to do so while at work.”

“Mothers who nurse their babies often worry about what returning to work will do to their milk supply. The more a mother nurses, the more milk her body produces,” said Muoio, D-Mercer/Hunterdon. “Allowing women to nurse or pump while at work can help nursing mothers maintain their breastmilk which is the optimal food for babies especially during the early months.”

The bill, A-2294, would expand certain civil rights protections under the “Law Against Discrimination” to include breastfeeding and expressing milk or related medical conditions. Under this bill, it would be a civil rights violation for a working woman to be fired or otherwise discriminated against because of breastfeeding or expressing her milk during breaks.

The bill would also require an employer to provide reasonable break time each day and a suitable location for an employee who is breastfeeding to express her milk in private.

The bill was approved 70-0 by the Assembly on Dec. 7, and 35-0 by the Senate.

Christie vetoed a bill that would have prohibited disclosure of certain religious affiliation information by state or local government agencies to the federal government. He also vetoed a bill that would have reworked the enforcement procedures and remedies available for violations of the wage and hour laws.

Here are bills that was signed and vetoed:

BILLS SIGNED:

• S-974/ACS for A-1442 (Weinberg, Cruz-Perez/Lampitt, Mosquera, Vainieri Huttle, Jasey, Giblin) - Provides for registration and accreditation of human milk banks
• S-1032/A-1400 (Weinberg, Cruz-Perez/Johnson) - Requires preservation of certain biological evidence
• S-1148/A-3958 (Bateman, Pennacchio/Wisniewski, Webber, DeCroce) - Provides for time period during which complaints may be filed for certain motor vehicle violations
• S-1732/A-2449 (Cruz-Perez, Allen/Eustace, Gusciora, Houghtaling) - Establishes "Adopt a Monarch Butterfly Waystation" program
• S-1962/A-1652 (Turner, Cruz-Perez/Schaer, Muoio, Oliver, Moriarty) - Regulates deed procurement services
• S-1986/A-2448 (Cruz-Perez, Cunningham/Eustace, Pinkin, Gusciora, Houghtaling, Quijano) - Establishes "Milkweed for Monarchs" program
• S-2226/A-2776 (Diegnan/Holley, Kennedy, Wimberly) - Allows municipality to authorize parking authority as redevelopment entity
• S-2560/ACS for A-1813 (Turner, Addiego/Conaway, Eustace, Jimenez, Giblin, Sumter) - Authorizes establishment of drug donation programs
• S-2705/A-4539 (Diegnan, Madden/Quijano, Vainieri Huttle, Jones) - Establishes "New Jersey Hearing Impairment Task Force"
• S-2964/A-4707 (Vitale, Allen/Quijano, Munoz, Benson, McKnight, Sumter) - Prohibits residential substance use disorder treatment facilities and aftercare facilities from denying admission to individuals receiving medication assisted treatment for substance use disorder
• SJR-73/AJR-16 (Greenstein, Benson/DeAngelo, McKnight) - Designates September 21 of each year as "Evans Syndrome Awareness Day"
• A-261/S-3013 (McKeon, Kennedy/Greenstein, Diegnan) - Prohibits installation and sale of wheel weights containing lead or mercury; prohibits sale of new motor vehicles equipped with wheel weights containing lead or mercury
• A-306/S-2017 (Singleton, Tucker, Lampitt, Webber, Johnson, Danielsen/Allen, Beach) -w/STATEMENT- "New Jersey Housing Assistance for Veterans Act," establishes pilot program to assist certain veterans with housing modification and rehabilitation; appropriates $5 million
• A-856/S-1498 (Quijano, Dancer, Pinkin, Mukherji, McKnight/Madden) - Requires removal of equipment and markings on certain used emergency vehicles; requires that Attorney General issue guidelines or directives
• A-1427/S-2633 (Johnson, Burzichelli, Danielsen, Benson, Vainieri Huttle, Jasey/Weinberg, Cruz-Perez) - Permits increase in municipal free public library tax upon voter approval
• A-1451/S-1030 (Lampitt, Mosquera, Green, Caride, Pintor Marin, Wimberly/Weinberg, Cruz-Perez) - Permits small, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses located in designated regional centers or planning areas to qualify for loans from EDA as if located in designated urban center
• A-2082/S-2023 (Mukherji, Pintor Marin, Webber, Mazzeo, Conaway/Van Drew, Oroho) - Requires OAL to maintain Internet database summarizing all State rule-making actions
• A-2294/S-2709 (Vainieri Huttle, Andrzejczak, Muoio, Lampitt, Mukherji, McKnight/Weinberg, Ruiz) - w/STATEMENT - Expands civil rights protections to include breastfeeding; requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for breastfeeding mothers
• A-2336/S-3108 (Benson, Bramnick, Lampitt/Scutari, Cardinale) - Prohibits health insurance carriers from requiring optometrists to become providers with vision care plans as condition of becoming providers in carriers’ panel of providers; prohibits certain practices under vision care provider contracts
• A-2419/S-1841 (Eustace, Pintor Marin, Burzichelli, Mukherji/Ruiz) - Establishes hours during which alcoholic beverages may be sold on international airport property
• A-2741/S-2875 (Coughlin, Holley, Johnson, Benson, Vainieri Huttle, Danielsen/Vitale, Greenstein) - Authorizes municipal governing body to create and maintain list of municipal residents in need of special assistance in case of emergency for public safety purposes
• A-3211/S-3179 (Space/Oroho, Cruz-Perez) - Clarifies law concerning the advertising and promoting of NJ farm products
• A-3739/S-3227 (Jasey, Chiaravalloti, Gusciora, Vainieri Huttle/Weinberg, Cunningham) -w/STATEMENT - Requires public institutions of higher education to allow students, faculty, and other staff to identify sexual orientation and gender identity on any forms used to collect certain demographic data
• A-3824/SCS for S-2392 and 2472 (Vainieri Huttle, Lampitt, McKnight, Holley, Mukherji, Zwicker, Wimberly/T. Kean, Stack) - Establishes Office of Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and their Families
• A-3880/S-3339 (Pinkin, Karabinchak, McKnight, Diegnan/Cruz-Perez) - Requires restaurants to post DOH sign concerning food allergen awareness in kitchen or staff area
• A-3975/S-3361 (Pintor Marin, Benson/Beck, Gordon) - Permits smoking in certain facilities for purpose of medical or health-related scientific research
• A-4124/S-2907 (Mosquera, Barclay, Jones, Vainieri Huttle, Lampitt, Downey, Mukherji/Greenstein, Cruz-Perez) - Requires public employers to implement certain policies for handling and responding to reports of domestic violence
• A-4406/S-2845 (Benson, Vainieri Huttle, Muoio, Mukherji, DeCroce, Chiaravalloti, Wimberly/Weinberg, Gordon) - Provides for emergency assistance to individuals or families that are homeless or in temporary living arrangement due to domestic violence
• A-4457/S-3559 (Caride, Quijano, Singleton, Chiaravalloti/Sweeney, Ruiz) - Provides certain immunity to board of director members and employees of private schools for students with disabilities if they report incidents of bullying in compliance with school policy
• A-4540/S-2873 (Muoio, Eustace, Kennedy, Mukherji, Gusciora/Smith, Bateman) - Requires municipal land use plan element of master plan to address smart growth, storm resiliency, and environmental sustainability issues
• A-4670/S-3112 (Lampitt, Pintor Marin, Mosquera, Vainieri Huttle/Ruiz, Cruz-Perez) - Provides sales and use tax exemption for sales of breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, and certain services to maintain and repair breast pumps
• A-4704/S-3504 (Singleton, Schaer/Sweeney, Sarlo) - Requires analyses and reporting of investment performance of pension funds; requires disclosure of fees paid to managers of certain funds in which State invests pension funds
• A-4786/S-3402 (Taliaferro, Mazzeo, Pintor Marin, Lampitt/Cruz-Perez, Diegnan) - Streamlines authorization for farmers market programs to participate in WIC and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
• A-4790/S-3406 (Wisniewski, Vainieri Huttle, Benson/Ruiz) - Establishes special "Equality" license plates
• A-4865/S-3230 (Benson/Greenstein) - Permits State detectives and investigators to administer oaths when investigating violations or attempted violations of criminal law
• ACS for A-4871 and 4810/SCS for S-3237 (Jimenez, Munoz, Giblin/Pou, Stack) - Provides for licensing of radiologist assistants by DEP under "Radiologic Technologist Act" and requires State Board of Medical Examiners to approve procedures and establish level of supervision necessary for practice of radiologist assistants
• AJR-112/SJR-122 (Conaway, Singleton, Rooney/Vitale) - Designates April of each year as "Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month"
• AJR-139/SJR-100 (Vainieri Huttle, Eustace, Pinkin, Jasey, McKnight/Weinberg, Lesniak) - Designates November 14th through November 20th as "Transgender Awareness Week"
• AJR-140/SJR-101 (Vainieri Huttle, Eustace, Pinkin, Jasey/Weinberg, Lesniak) - Designates November 20th as "Transgender Day of Remembrance"
• AJR-149/SJR-109 (Vainieri Huttle, Benson, Singleton, Wimberly/Cruz-Perez, Van Drew) - Expresses State’s support for addressing homelessness through rapid rehousing strategies and urges use of rapid rehousing core components by community-based programs

BILLS VETOED:

• S-3011/A-4708 (Gordon, Weinberg/Quijano) – Conditional - Prohibits disclosure of certain religious affiliation information by State or local government agencies
• A-5072/SS SCS for S-1396 (Quijano, Muoio, Lampitt, Egan/Weinberg, Greenstein) – Conditional - Concerns law regarding failure to pay wages

Christie photo