Bill would allow schools to charge for summer school
Last week the Senate Education Committee approved a bill that would permit school districts to charge for summer school tuition.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-Bergen/Hudson), would allow for students to be charged on a sliding tuition scale that is in line with federal poverty guidelines. It is estimated that tuition would cost roughly $200 per student.
The bill now heads for a vote by the full Senate. If it is approved, it will move onto the Assembly.
“Charging tuition for summer school is not the ideal, but it certainly is better than the alternative of no summer school,” said Sacco.
Senate approves E-Z Pass bill
The full Senate unanimously approved a bill designed to protect E-Z Pass customers from theft.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-Bergen/Hudson), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, would make the theft of an E-Z Pass transponder a disorderly person’s offense that would carry a minimum penalty of $500 and a maximum of $10,000.
The bill also would protect E-Z Pass customers from incurring exorbitant charges racket up by a thief, as long as they report the theft in a timely manner to E-Z Pass authorities. The customer would not be liable to unauthorized charges of $50 or more prior to reporting it stolen and also would have the fees waived to replace their stolen transponder.
The bill now heads to the General Assembly for consideration.
Greenpeace report says Hudson County chemical plant has highest risk in U.S.
The non-profit environmental group Greenpeace says they recently conducted a “citizens’ inspection” of a chemical plant in South Kearny that holds containers of chlorine gas for use in producing liquid bleach.
They said that they obtained photos and other information suggesting that the plant is vulnerable and could leak the gas for miles if attacked by terrorists.
The Greenpeace report starts off saying that according to “[The] chemical company’s own reports to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), its South Kearny New Jersey facility puts 12 million people at risk in the New Jersey-New York City area due to the bulk storage of 2 million pounds of chlorine gas. This plant puts more people at risk of a chemical disaster than any other plant in the U.S.”
They also say that the plant is aware of “safer chemical processes that could eliminate these risks.”
To see the report, go to: http://members.greenpeace.org/blog/greenpeaceusa_blog/2010/06/22/new-york-chemical-plant-puts-12-million.
Bill that would allow libraries to aid towns
Last week the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved a measure sponsored by Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-Bergen/Hudson) that would allow libraries with surpluses to aid municipalities in need of revenue. In that way, he believes other libraries would be helped, as the libraries that have less than a 20 percent surplus would not be asked to supplement town budgets with their surplus, protecting libraries that are not as financially stable as others, said Sacco.
Public libraries with “healthy budget surpluses” would be allowed to help their towns under the bill (s-2070), if it is approved by the full Senate, and afterward by the General Assembly.
“Many libraries are holding surpluses in excess of 100 percent of their current budget, a good deal of which comes from a municipality to begin with,” said Sacco. “At the same time, many municipalities have been hit hard by the recession and a loss in state aid. I like to think of this measure as a marriage – with one partner in the community helping the other in sickness and in health. This bill is intended to provide relief for property taxpayers while protecting municipal libraries that are not as financially stable as others.”
Sacco said that the bill would help struggling municipalities remain under the state-mandated property tax levy cap.