By: centraljersey.com
The following items are taken from reports issued by legislators and other items of political concern.
Steroid use
Assemblymen John McKeon and Dr. Herb Conaway on Monday announced they’ve introduced legislation that aims to crackdown on illegal steroid abuse in New Jersey’s law enforcement and firefighting communities.
The legislation comes after an extensive series by The Star-Ledger revealed widespread steroid abuse in police and fire departments.
The bills would bring increased prescription monitoring, improved medical evaluations and urge the state to implement random steroid drug testing for law enforcement and firefighters.
"State taxpayers have been wrongly paying for millions of dollars in insurance costs for prescriptions that were, in many cases, issued illegally," said Mr. McKeon, D-Essex. "Taxpayers also have been footing the bill for the side effects of this abuse. It’s long past time for this outrage to finally stop. Taxpayers and public safety deserve better."
"This steroid abuse is frightening from both a public policy and public health perspective," said Dr. Conaway, D-Burlington/Camden. "Taxpayers have been stung and public safety has been put at risk as has the health of the abusers. We cannot sit idly by and let this abuse continue. These bills are a step in the proper direction."
One bill sponsored by Mr. McKeon would require local law enforcement officers and firefighters to report any prescription received for anabolic steroids or human growth hormone to a designated physician. Failure to report these prescriptions would result in disciplinary action.
The governing body of each county, municipality and board of fire commissioners would be required to designate the physician to which the law enforcement officer or firefighter would report.
The physician would conduct an annual medical evaluation to assess if the officer or firefighter is able to adequately perform the duties of employment. The physician would report the findings to the appropriate governing body or board.
A bill sponsored by Mr. McKeon and Dr. Conaway would require the Department of Law and Public Safety to include human growth hormones among the drugs to be monitored in the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program.
In one case, at least 248 officers and firefighters reportedly obtained prescriptions for these drugs from a single Jersey City doctor.
Human growth hormone is not a controlled dangerous substance under federal and state controlled substances laws. Therefore, prescriptions for human growth hormones would not be monitored as a matter of course under the program.
Another bill sponsored by Mr. McKeon and Dr. Conaway would urge the attorney general to add anabolic steroids as well as other designer drugs to the list of drugs for which law enforcement officers are randomly tested to determine if they are illegally using these drugs.
Under state attorney general drug testing policies, law enforcement agencies may request testing for anabolic steroids and designer drugs, but this testing is rarely requested. This resolution urges random drug testing of law enforcement officers automatically include screening for anabolic steroids and certain other designer drugs.
"It’s bad enough that this abuse has been costing the taxpayers of this state millions of dollars," Mr. McKeon said. "But law enforcement officers susceptible to ‘roid rage’ pose a grave danger to the public safety. These measures will increase accountability and awareness and send a message that this behavior must stop."
"Steroid abuse often comes with increased aggression so this activity by those assigned to protect our safety has been costly to both taxpayers and put people at risk," Dr. Conaway said. "It cannot continue. These bills will prevent abuse, save taxpayers money and, hopefully, lead to these abusers getting the held they need before it’s too late."
Student employment
Legislation Assembly Democrats Craig J. Coughlin, Pamela R. Lampitt, Cleopatra Tucker and Caridad Rodriguez sponsored to help college students find employment by providing tax credits to employers who hire post-secondary students for internships has received final legislative approval.
The bill (A3418) is part of the Democratic legislative "Back to Work NJ" effort to create jobs and economic development.
It was approved 45-23-6 by the Assembly and 33-7 by the Senate on Thursday.
"Presently, the unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 18 and 25 is over 25 percent," said Mr. Coughlin, D-Middlesex. "This bill is designed to encourage businesses to hire post-secondary students to learn firsthand about their chosen field of study and help them get their foot in the door to eventually secure full-time employment."
"No single piece of legislation will pull us out of this sluggish economy, but a measure like this will certainly help," said Ms. Lampitt, D-Camden. "It is our obligation to provide New Jersey’s students with the best possible educational experience, and internships are one of the best ways to prepare our young people for the workforce and beyond."
Under the bill, corporation business tax credits and gross income tax credits would be granted to qualified enterprises for wages paid to qualified interns for the 2012 and 2013 tax years. A qualified intern would be any individual enrolled and in good standing at a New Jersey four-year institution of higher education, a New Jersey county college or a New Jersey accredited post-secondary business, technical, trade or vocational school.
"Creating jobs, no matter how many, must be our number one priority," said Ms. Tucker, D-Essex. "In a market as tight as this one, young people need every advantage possible to help break into their chosen field."
The credits are allowed in amounts equal to 40 percent of compensation paid to qualified interns or $600 of that compensation, whichever is less. Additional credits would be given to employers hiring three or more qualified interns.
"In this economy, businesses have the luxury of hiring more experienced employees who will work for less money because they are desperate for a job," said Ms. Rodriguez, D-Hudson. "This measure provides businesses with an incentive to hire young people so they can help pay for their education among other living expenses."
The program will be limited to the first 5,250 qualified interns or 700 taxpayers. Employers will be required to pay interns no less than $8.00 per hour for a term of employment that lasted at least 12 weeks and included a minimum of 14 hours of service per week. All employers must certify that interns are working in New Jersey.
This program would be administered through the Division of Taxation, and a report will conclude the effectiveness of the program following its termination. This bill is modeled after the recently enacted Philadelphia Internship Tax Credit program.
Special education
Assembly Republican Whip Dave Rible, R-Monmouth, has introduced legislation that would create a task force to study various issues related to improving the funding, delivery and effectiveness of special education programs and services for public school students.
"The state needs to take a more proactive role in ensuring that the special education programs and services in New Jersey are both efficient and cost effective," Mr. Rible said. "The task force would address the current inconsistencies in special education by developing statewide regulations and evaluate the effectiveness of programs and services being provided to students throughout New Jersey."
Under the bill, the Task Force on Improving Special Education for Public School Students would examine issues, including the evaluation of practices for classifying and educating students who are eligible for special education and the development of standards. In addition, the task force would appropriate oversight to ensure programs and services address the needs of students, focus on student achievement and assess the effectiveness of programs and services.
"Families should not be forced to relocate or pay thousands of dollars to place their children in out-of-district schools because of inconsistencies in New Jersey special education programs," Mr. Rible said. "One of the goals of the task force is to develop strategies to ensure that special education programs and services are making every dollar count and not wasting money on ineffective programs."
The task force will consist of 15 members, including the commissioner of education, one parent or guardian of a public school student receiving special education services, one parent or guardian of a student attending a private school for students with disabilities, one public school special education teacher, one director of special education services for a school district and representatives of various associations concerned with education.
"It is important to have members on the task force who represent all aspects of special education," Mr. Rible said. "These members will work together to improve the special education system in New Jersey for public school students and their families. The task force will present their findings and recommendations to the governor, Legislature, the state Board of Education and the commissioner of education.
Business loans
A bill sponsored by senators Loretta Weinberg and Linda Greenstein, which would expand the eligibility for New Jersey-based small, women-owned or minority-owned businesses to receive Economic Development Authority-backed loans reserved for businesses in designated urban centers, was approved by the Senate by a vote of 35-0.
"The urban center loan program has been invaluable in encouraging business growth in our state’s urban communities," said Sen. Weinberg, D-Bergen. "We should bring this useful redevelopment and economic revitalization tool to bear to encourage investment in other areas of the state, not just New Jersey’s urban core. This bill expands the urban center loan program to give small business, woman and minority entrepreneurs outside of our cities a chance to participate."
The bill, S1216, would qualify small, women-owned or minority-owned New Jersey-based businesses, manufacturers, redevelopers or nonprofit organizations located in designated regional centers within the state for any direct loans that the New Jersey Economic Development Authority makes available for small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses in urban centers. The bill would take the definition of designated urban center and designated regional center from the New Jersey State Plan.
Under the State Plan, there are nine designated urban centers, characterized by high population density and providing a focus for the region’s economy, transportation system and governmental functions: Asbury Park, Atlantic City, Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, New Brunswick, Newark, Paterson and Trenton. By way of contrast, the 12 regional centers – Ocean City, The Wildwoods, Bridgeton, Millville-Vineland, Woolwich, Princeton, Long Branch, Red Bank, Stafford, Salem, Bridgewater-Raritan-Somerville and Newton – offer more variety in terms of character and size, mixing residential, commercial and public use, but still serve as important economic centers for the surrounding area.
The bill now heads to the Assembly for consideration before going to the governor to be signed into law.

