PACKET EDITORIAL, Oct. 5
By: Packet Editorial
It used to be said that only an act of God could drag members of the state Senate and Assembly back to Trenton in the fall of a legislative election year.
Instead, it took an act of terrorism.
In an extraordinary session this week, the two houses of the New Jersey Legislature convened to begin work on a package of laws some of them commendable, others of more questionable merit in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco praised the lawmakers for their bipartisanship, which was evident both in the speed with which they acted and the unanimity of support they gave to virtually all of the bills that were posted for a vote.
Some of these measures required little or no debate. One bill approved by both houses creates more flexible rules to obtain death certificates for victims of the World Trade Center attack. Another waives the normal waiting periods for state benefits, such as workers’ compensation and temporary disability, and instructs municipalities to provide additional time for families that lost loved ones in the attack to pay property taxes.
Other bills that passed the Senate and await Assembly action are equally laudable. One provides free tuition for victims’ families at state colleges, while another prohibits price-gouging for essential goods and services during an emergency.
Acting Gov. DiFrancesco also called on the legislators to make sweeping changes to New Jersey driver’s licenses. He urged them to make photo licenses mandatory (New Jersey is the only state in the country that still gives drivers the option of having nonphoto licenses), and to approve a new digital format that make licenses counterfeit-resistant (New Jersey currently enjoys the reputation of having one of the easiest driver’s licenses to alter).
We heartily support this initiative for reasons, we hasten to add, that have little to do with combating terrorism. We understand that this measure was inspired by reports that at least two of the hijackers involved in the Sept. 11 attacks had New Jersey driver’s licenses, but we’ve heard no evidence to suggest that they were forged or otherwise obtained illegally. Regardless, tamper-proof photo driver’s licenses should have been made mandatory in New Jersey long ago to combat not only potential terrorist attacks but the much more common problems of underage drinking, identity theft and other illegal acts that have been too easy to commit in our state.
If all of these legislative initiatives are warranted in response to the events of Sept. 11, there are others that tread into more dangerous territory. A bill establishing a nine-member New Jersey Domestic Preparedness Planning Group, for example, was rushed to the floor with little evident regard for the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Had it not been amended at the last minute, the bill would have given this cabinet-level body unbridled powers to compel testimony without subpoena and seize property without a warrant in the course of investigating terrorism.
Other bills awaiting action are similarly problematic. One would require financial institutions and check-cashing businesses to report transactions when they suspect terrorism. Another would toughen driver’s license requirements for immigrants. Still another would ease restrictions on wiretapping. It may be possible to craft language that allows these policies to be carried out without trampling on civil liberties, but we would feel far more comfortable if the Senate and Assembly move into this murky area with particular caution, as opposed to the haste with which they acted this week.
Most of the steps the Legislature has taken in response to the events of Sept. 11 especially those that accelerate the delivery of benefits and cut the red tape facing the families of victims were admirable. They were also, for the most part, relatively easy. As our lawmakers go back to their districts and resume their re-election campaigns, we hope all of them, as well as their opponents in the Nov. 6 election, will give due and serious consideration to the far more difficult and troublesome decisions that lie ahead.

