newjerseynewsroom.com

60 other bills fill first Assembly voting session of lameduck Legislature

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey will top the agenda Monday when six state Senate committees meet while 60 bills crowd the first Assembly voting session of the lameduck Legislature.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a length hearing on S-1967, "The Freedom of Religion in Civil Marriage Act,'' the bill to legalize same-sex marriage. In the end, the committee is expected to narrowly approve the measure and send it to the full Senate for consideration on Thursday. The hearing is set for 1 p.m. in Committee Room 4 of the Statehouse Annex.

Action on the proposal comes 12 days after a Quinnipiac University poll found New Jerseyans oppose same-sex marriage 49 to 46 percent, with 6 percent undecided. In a poll made public April 29, New Jerseyans supported the idea 49 to 43 percent.

In the latest poll, same-sex marriage wins 60 to 34 percent support among Democrats and a narrow 49 to 45 percent support among independent New Jerseyans, while Republicans oppose the measure 69 to 25 percent.

Women support same-sex marriage 53 to 41 percent, while men oppose it 57 to 38 percent. White New Jerseyans split 49 to 47 percent, while black New Jerseyans oppose the measure 61 to 28 percent. White Protestants oppose same-sex marriage 60 to 36 percent, as do Catholics 51 to 45 percent. Jews support it 71 to 28 percent.

The same-sex marriage bill, sponsored by Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), would grant full marriage equality to same-sex couples, while maintaining the freedom for religious institutions to sanction marriages of their choice.

The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will consider legislation that would regulate the sale and use of the increasingly popular electronic cigarettes. The bills, S-3053 and S-3054, sponsored by Sen. Robert Gordon (D-Bergen) and Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) would prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes in indoor public places and workplaces and prohibit the product from being sold to minors.

The Senate Law, Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs Committee will consider legislation to codify several recommendations put forth by a special task force organized to review the state's one-gun-a-month law enacted earlier this year. The revisions are designed to help maintain the intent of the law without penalizing law abiding citizens and businesses. The package of bills, S-3068 and S-3104, is sponsored by Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) and Sen. Fred Madden (D-Camden).

Legislation to help autistic adults, to ask voters to amend the state Constitution to protect funds created to help workers and to expedite accidental death pension payments for families of fallen police and firefighters top the Assembly's agenda.

The Assembly will also consider legislation to restrict electronic cigarettes and require prompt parental notice of toxins found on school property.

Legislation sponsored by Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts (D-Camden) to further help New Jersey combat its highest-in-the-nation autism prevalence will be considered.

One bill, A-4225, would permit adults with autism to voluntarily place their names on a new state registry that will help New Jersey improve its planning and services for those with autism. The other, A-4226, would revise the state's anti-discrimination law to specifically prohibit discriminatory acts against people with autism.

At Roberts' urging, the Legislature has shepherded into law numerous measures to raise awareness about autism and encourage early diagnosis and early intervention.