NJ lawmakers will be voting from home on bills to help residents and businesses cope with Covid-19

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
On Monday, April 13, 2020, members of the New Jersey Senate and Assembly will meet online to vote on scores off bills all focusing on the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate session will open at 10 a.m. and the Assembly will get to sleep in, starting their session at 3:30 p.m. Following are the bills lists for each house.

Senate

A3901Prof. & occupational license boards-reactivate licensure during state of emerg.  
A3903Notarial acts, remote-allows during Public Health Emergency & State of Emergency  
A3904Flexible instruction days-permits virtual/remote instruction to meet 180-day req  
S2329Work First program-revises requirements for cash assistance benefits;$25M  
S2330COVID-19 Financial Security for Consumers Act  
S2331Inmate reentry-assists in obtaining necessary reentry benefits  
S23322020 NJ Emergency Rental Assistance Program-establishes;$100M  
S2333Civil & criminal immunity during st of emergency-provide cert. health care prof.  
S2334Prof. & occupational license boards-reactivate licensure during state of emerg.  
S2336Remote notarial acts-allows during public health emergency & state of emergency  
S2337Flexible instruction days-permits virtual/remote instruction to meet 180-day req  
S2338COVID-19 Fiscal Mitigation Act-clarify filing & payment deadline for CBT/GIT  
S2339Workers benefits and leave-enhances certain rights  
S2340Resid prop owner/tenant prot, emerg impact-mortgage forbearance & rent reduction  
S2341Tenants, commercial & residential-concerns protections; restrict rent increases  
S2342Nonprofit corp-allow members to participate in meetings by remote communication  
S2344Prescr. drug refills during state of emerg.-req Medicaid & health insur coverage  
S2345Transient space reservations-req. refund/credit during pub health or st of emerg  
S2346Permits, certain-extends during COVID-19 emergency  
S2347Employment & Business-Related Tax Deferral Assistance Program-establishes  
S2348Taxpayers that retain employees during COVID-19-allows CBT & GIT tax credits  
S2351Employment protection-affords to certain emergency medical responders  
S2352Counterfeit drugs & medical devices-enhanced penalty during state of emergency  
S2353Mass layoff due to coronavirus 2019 pandemic-exclude from severance requirements  
S2354Insurance policy cancellation-prohibits for at least 60 days, cert circumstances  
S2355Mandatory retirement in SPRS-delays when it occurs during state of emergency  
S2356Student financial aid-provide relief due to 2020 public health state emergency  
S2357COVID-19 demographic data-require hospitals to report  
SR64Finan. instit. fees & payments-urge to waive/suspend during coronavirus pandemic  
SR65COVID-19 Business & Employee Continuity & Recovery Fund-urges federal creation

Assembly

A3901Prof. & occupational license boards-reactivate licensure during state of emerg.    
A3903Notarial acts, remote-allows during Public Health Emergency & State of Emergency    
A3904Flexible instruction days-permits virtual/remote instruction to meet 180-day req    
A3906Hotel facilities-require state lease as isolation centers for COVID-19 emergency    
A3908COVID-19 Financial Security for Consumers Act    
A3912Inmate reentry-assists in obtaining necessary reentry benefits    
A3915Nonprofit corp-allow members to participate in meetings by remote communication    
A3919Permits, certain-extends during COVID-19 emergency    
A3920Insurance policy cancellation-prohibits for at least 60 days, cert circumstances    
A3921Small business tenant, cert-Gov permit emergency rent suspension during COVID-19    
A3938Mass layoff due to coronavirus 2019 pandemic-exclude from severance requirements

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Gov. Murphy’s new executive order halts non-essential construction projects in New Jersey

Image result for construction images
What construction work is allowed to continue

By Cameron W. MacLeod, Gibbons law firm
4/09/2020

On April 8, 2020, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 122 (EO 122), which further limited non-essential business operations throughout the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. This Executive Order halts all non-essential construction as of 8:00 PM on Friday, April 10, 2020.

The Executive Order expressly identifies those limited projects that may continue construction during the state of emergency. Of note, these include:

  • Projects necessary for the delivery of healthcare services, including, but not limited to, hospitals, other healthcare facilities, and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities
  • Transportation projects, including roads, bridges, and mass transit facilities or physical infrastructure, including work done at airports/seaports
  • Utility projects, including those necessary for energy and electricity production and transmission, and any decommissioning of facilities used for electricity generation
  • Residential projects that are exclusively designated as affordable housing
  • Schools projects
  • Projects involving single-family homes that are under contract, or a project underway on a single-family home or single apartment where an individual already resides
  • Projects involving facilities for the manufacture, distribution, storage, or servicing of goods sold by online retailers or essential retailers
  • Projects involving data centers or facilities that are “critical” to a business’s ability to function
  • Projects necessary for the delivery of essential social services, including homeless shelters
  • Projects necessary to support law enforcement agencies or first responder units in response to…

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Trump administration has expelled 10,000 migrants at the border during coronavirus outbreak, just 100 in custody at the border

U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agents escort asylum applicants across the Paso del Norte International Bridge between Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso. (Paul Ratje/Agence France-Presse/Afp Via Get)

By Nick Miroff, Washington Post
 April 9, 2020 at 1:06 p.m. EDT

The Trump administration has carried out nearly 10,000 summary deportations or “expulsions” since March 21, using emergency public health measures that have given U.S. Customs and Border Protection broad authority to bypass immigration laws, CBP officials said Thursday.

The measures have allowed the agency to quickly turn away most unauthorized migrants — sending them back across the Mexican border. The moves have dramatically slashed the number of detainees held in border stations, where they fear the coronavirus could spread, the officials said. CBP currently has fewer than 100 detainees in custody, down from nearly 20,000 at this time last year during last year’s border crisis, officials said.

Under coronavirus immigration measures, U.S. is expelling border-crossers to Mexico in an average of 96 minutes

Since the implementation of the rapid expulsions, unlawful border crossings have dropped 56 percent, said acting CBP commissioner Mark Morgan. Morgan also acknowledged that the United States has all but closed its borders to asylum seekers who are fleeing persecution, including those who attempt to enter legally at U.S. ports of entry.

“Those who are undocumented or don’t have documents or authorization are turned away,” Morgan said.

Democratic lawmakers have accused the administration of defying U.S. laws and exceeding the authority of the coronavirus public health order, but Morgan defended the emergency measures as a necessary step to stop the spread of the disease.AD

“This is not about immigration,” Morgan said. “This is about public health. This is about putting forth aggressive mitigation and containment strategies.”

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New Jersey extends enhanced water-quality protection to 600 miles of rivers and streams

By designating them as Category One, agency safeguards waterways of exceptional ecological importance

The Harold N. Peek Preserve on the Maurice River: The freshwater tidal river in Cumberland County is one of those that will receive increased protections.

TOM JOHNSON reports for NJ Spotlight APRIL 8, 2020  

New Jersey has designated 600 miles of rivers and streams for higher protection to keep their water quality from degrading, an action taken to safeguard these waterways from pollutants, sewage and harmful bacteria.

The rule adopted Monday by the state Department of Environmental Protection is not as expansive as the agency’s original proposal more than a year ago, which sought to designate 749 miles of waterways as Category One (C1) streams.

Even so, environmental groups applauded the step, saying it marks the first time in more than a decade the state has reclassified streams and rivers for higher level of protection, a designation earned for waterways of exceptional ecological importance, whose loss could mean threats to certain endangered species.

Only 5% of New Jersey’s streams meet federal clean-water standards for fishing and swimming. The vast majority of waterways, more than 22,000 streams and rivers, are designated as not meeting federal water-quality standards.

Safeguarding ecologically sensitive waterways

The new classifications afford increased protections for some of the most ecologically sensitive waterways — from the Maurice River in Cumberland County to a stretch of the south branch of the Raritan River in the Highlands to segments of the Ramapo River in north Jersey. The upgrades also include a two-mile stretch of the Cooper River in Camden County, the first urban waterway to be protected.

“The C1 designation puts in place protections from direct and indirect pollution,’’ said Michael Pisauro, policy director of the Watershed Institute. “It is vital that we continue to upgrade waterways before pollution and development degrade them.’’

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Indeed, of the approximately 150 miles of streams that were eliminated from consideration for the C1 designation in the proposed draft, 34 miles were removed because of deteriorating water quality, according to the DEP. The rest of the streams were delisted because they failed to meet other criteria necessary for C1 designation.

“We need to protect more waterways with recreational value, drinking water and Highlands waters,’’ said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “Protecting waterways before they become polluted is more cost-effective.’’

Opposing cleaner water

While comments on the proposal were overwhelmingly supportive, there was opposition from local communities who argued the new designations would hinder development and from operators of sewage treatment plants who said the new surface-water quality standards could force expensive upgrades of their facilities.

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Former NFL player who became a neurosurgeon is now serving on the COVID-19 front lines

Annie Reneau reports for Upworthy

Few people are ever able to realistically ask themselves, “Should I become a professional football player or a brain surgeon?” much less actually succeed at doing both. But that’s exactly what Myron Rolle managed to do.

The native Texan, whose parents immigrated here from the Bahamas, completed his Bachelor’s degree at Florida State in less than three years. After college, he spent a year studying at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar, then returned to play as a defensive back in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans for three years. After announcing that he was leaving football in 2013, he entered medical school. He is now in his third year of residency as a neurosurgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

So, you know, a pretty average life.

Now, Rolle has found himself on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the neurosurgery floor of his hospital has been transformed into a COVID-19-only unit. Though he’s still performing emergency brain surgeries, all elective procedures have been postponed. With his schedule freed up, Rolle has volunteered to work in the surge clinic that triages new patients who come in with COVID-19 symptoms.

And interestingly enough, when talking about how he’s making the transition from neurosurgery to treating a respiratory disease, it’s his football experience—not medical training—that he refers back to.

“Obviously, neurosurgery is not directly connected to this upper respiratory illness,” Rolle told The Tennessean. “But just like in football, if you’re called to do something different that you weren’t expecting, you adjust. You adapt. They’re showing us a new formation that we didn’t see on tape? You’ve got to hunker down and get the job done. In my opinion, this novel disease is something like that. A formation, a personnel package that we haven’t seen before. We have to meet the challenge, and I’m happy to be able to join the fight.”

Well done, Dr. Rolle. You are a true inspiration and role model for us all.

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Coronavirus is devastating the news industry. Many newspapers won’t survive.

At a time when readers and viewers crave reliable information, the economic crash is decimating the advertising base that kept local news outlets alive.
At a time when readers and viewers crave reliable information, the economic crash is decimating the advertising base that kept local news outlets alive. (iStock)

By Paul Farhi, Sarah Ellison and Elahe Izadi, Washington Post
 April 8, 2020 at 10:10 a.m. EDT

Two months ago, Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Brie Zeltner became consumed by one topic: the coronavirus crisis that would soon sweep into her state.

The veteran health-care journalist chronicled the early reports of illness in nearby states, and then the first cases transmitted within Ohio. She interviewed a local woman who had tested positive; explored the impact of the virus on maternal health; and questioned the state’s shortage of coronavirus tests and the reasons local health departments were pursuing such different strategies to thwart the disease.

Last week, the encroaching crisis took a hit on Zeltner’s own workplace — a financial one. Suffering a dramatic dip in advertising revenue amid the sudden economic downturn, the long-struggling newspaper cut 22 journalists from its payroll. Among them, Zeltner.

“It’s very difficult to watch what is going on in the world right now and be a health reporter,” she said, “and not be able to be out and about covering it.”

A tsunami of layoffs, cutbacks, furloughs and closures has washed over newsrooms across the United States over the past month — a time, ironically, when readership and viewership is surging with consumers in search of reliable information about the virus.

The Tampa Bay Times laid off 11 journalists and stopped five days of its print edition. Seattle’s Pulitzer-winning weekly the Stranger laid off 18 staffers and stopped printing altogether. There have been layoffs at the Denver Post and Boston Herald and salary cuts at the Dallas Morning News. Some smaller papers are folding altogether.

Small businesses of all kinds are hurting everywhere, of course; and this month’s cuts follow more than a decade of shrinkage for the media industry. As readers started to gravitate to online sources, news sites have struggled to claim a piece of a national Web advertising market increasingly dominated by bigger players.

But this frailty had seemed almost manageable — until recent weeks when the coronavirus turned it into an urgent existential threat, striking at local businesses that had been the last pillar of support for many news organizations.

The upshot is a void: stories that aren’t being covered and news that isn’t reaching readers and viewers because there’s no one to report them.

“There’s a huge appetite for what we do right now,” says Paul Tash, chairman and chief executive of the Tampa Bay paper, which until last week had never missed a print edition for almost 96 years. “On the other hand, the advertisers that subsidize our business are under enormous strain. . . . For many, many of our local businesses, [the lockdown] is a terrible reversal.”

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