Republican state lawmakers plan to fight the COVID-19 health protocols that could force New Jersey State Troopers to deny them access to the Statehouse. State Senators will reportedly file a lawsuit to have the decision by the State Capitol Joint Management Commission to require all persons who wish to enter the Statehouse be fully vaccinated or subject to testing. The expected move from the members of the upper chamber comes after GOP Assembly members agreed in a virtual meeting on Nov. 24 that if their colleagues are blocked from entering the statehouse, none of them would participate in the next voting session set for Dec. 2. “This commission—comprised of appointees, not elected representatives—is telling the Legislature and the public that they can’t enter the People’s House,” said State Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-26). “Rules that govern the Legislature should come from the Legislature itself, not an unelected body.” North-JerseyNews.com
There are no immediate plans to implement lockdowns or other restrictions in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey despite growing concerns over the newly discovered Omicron variant that has the possibility to spread more easily and hospitalizations passing the 1,000 mark for the first time in two months, Gov. Phil Murphy said Nov. 30. “Right now, it is 99.9% Delta (in new cases), so we’re seeing the uptick that we had feared with people going indoors during the holidays. So right now it’s too early to say,” said Murphy. “There’s so little known about this (new) variant in terms of scientific research. The early sense is it’s more transmissible but does not appear to be more lethal. That’s really only a sense there’s no amount of research that underpins that, so we have to learn more.” NJ.com
A Food and Drug Administration panel has endorsed a COVID-19 antiviral pill from Merck. The first at-home treatment pill for the virus is called molnupiravir. It treats patients at risk of developing severe symptoms and reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by 30%. The treatment could be available within weeks, available at pharmacies based on a prescription from a doctor. News12 New Jersey
A second federal judge in as many days issued a temporary nationwide block against a Biden administration mandate that millions of healthcare workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 starting next week. In a ruling issued Nov. 30 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Judge Terry Doughty said there was no question that mandating a vaccine for healthcare workers at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid is something that should be done by Congress and not by a government agency and it is unclear whether such a mandate would be constitutional. A federal judge in Missouri on Nov. 29 blocked the healthcare-worker mandate in 10 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The Wall Street Journal
A 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit shot 11 people, killing three of his fellow students and leaving others with critical injuries. The authorities identified the dead as Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Tate Myre, 16, who died in a sheriff’s squad car while on the way to a hospital. The injured students ranged in age from 14 to 17, officials said, including three who were in critical condition and another who was in serious condition. The shooting was the deadliest on school property this year, according to Education Week, which tracks such shootings and has reported 28 of them in 2021. The New York Times
The federal Department of Education has ordered New Jersey to restore millions of dollars in funding cuts the state made to 80 of its poorest school districts after lawmakers in 2018 changed how the state provides aid to local schools. The cuts violate a provision in the American Rescue Plan’s relief fund for elementary and secondary schools that ensures schools with large enrollments of historically underserved groups—like students of color and those struggling with poverty, homelessness, language barriers, or disabilities—get an equitable share of state and local funding. Under the American Rescue Plan, high-poverty school districts must receive at least the same amount of funding in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years as they were given in 2019 and cannot have disproportionate per-pupil cuts compared to the overall state reduction. New Jersey Monitor
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Dec. 1 in a case challenging a Mississippi law that bars most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The law is at odds with Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion and prohibited states from banning abortions before fetal viability, the point at which the fetus can survive outside the womb, or around 23 weeks. Lawyers for Mississippi have asked the court to overrule Roe, a move that would allow states to ban abortions at any time or entirely. The New York Times
Sen. Bob Menendez and First Lady Tammy Murphy rang the alarm bell as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs challenges to a landmark reproductive rights case. Menendez and Murphy were joined by Planned Parenthood members and other advocacy groups to highlight what was at stake. “The threat to Roe v. Wade has never been graver. And that is why our commitment to reproductive rights must be stronger and louder and more unshakeable than ever,” said Menendez. According to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, New Jerseyans reported being “very” (41%) or “somewhat” (24%) concerned about the Supreme Court potentially overturning the landmark case in the future. Meanwhile, 13% reported they were “not very” concerned and 6% were “not at all” concerned. North-JerseyNews.com
The clock on Gov. Phil Murphy’s nomination of Rachel Wainer Apter to the New Jersey Supreme Court is quickly running out and it’s not clear whether Justice Jaynee LaVecchia will extend her retirement for a second time. State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39) has not signed off on Wainer Apter and there is no indication that she will before the current legislative session ends next month. That means Murphy would have to renominate the Englewood resident and the recently re-elected Schepisi will still have senatorial courtesy— an unwritten rule that halts Senate confirmation until home county senators approve gubernatorial nominations—in the next session. New Jersey Globe
State lawmakers approved a major spending plan from Gov. Phil Murphy‘s administration that includes allocating $100 million to convert the emergency department at Hackensack University Medical Center into a trauma center to treat the most critically injured patients and $265 million for a wind energy project in Salem County. In three votes on Nov. 30, the state Joint Budget Oversight Committee voted along party lines to approve spending $700 million in state taxpayer money and federal coronavirus relief funds on various projects involving health institutions, housing, economic recovery from the pandemic, and more. NJ.com
The final number of ballots cast ended up the highest for a New Jersey gubernatorial election in at least 20 years, according to data from the state Division of Elections Nov. 30. The final statewide total of votes counted at nearly 2.65 million. That represents about 40.5% of all registered voters, the highest since 2009 when 47% of those registered—or 2.45 million—voted in the race between Chris Christie and Jon Corzine. The official tally showed Gov. Phil Murphy defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli by 3.2%, with the incumbent garnering 1,339,471 votes to Ciattarelli’s 1,255,185. NJ Spotlight News
A new pilot program is being launched in New Jersey that pairs mental health professionals with law enforcement officers to respond jointly to behavioral health crises. Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew Bruck said the ARRIVE Together program, which stands for Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence & Escalation, is designed to address the relationship between mental health and policing. The program will partner a plain-clothes New Jersey state trooper with a licensed mental health clinician to respond jointly to mental health crisis situations. NJ1015.com
The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) said three in four business owners in the Garden State reported they were challenged to find appropriate staffing in 2021. That’s according to NJBIA’s 2022 Business Outlook Survey, which found 48% of business owners reported being considerably challenged by the current labor situation. Twenty-five percent said those challenges were manageable. The report also found nearly the same amount of businesses raised wages, with some doing so considerably. According to the report, only 13% of New Jersey businesses increased hiring this year. In contrast, 34% said their hiring decreased in 2021. North-JerseyNews.com
Bloomfield is refining its retail cannabis ordinances ahead of the start of legal retail sales next year. The first would prohibit cannabis retailers from operating within 250 feet of another cannabis retailer. A second ordinance would allow cannabis to be sold within the commercial corridor of the Bloomfield Center Redevelopment District and the third amends the redevelopment Phase One plan to permit recreational and medical marijuana retailers. In August, the township approved up to six cannabis retailers to set up shop in the central business district and neighborhood business district. The Record
The Jersey City Council has introduced a new inclusionary zoning ordinance (IZO) that would provide 10 to 15% of affordable housing in new developments based on income census tracts on where it’s created, and has no opt-outs for developers to avoid doing so. The new IZO was worked on between Jersey City and the Fair Share Housing Center after the latter sued the city last year over a previously passed IZO that contained loopholes for developers to avoid creating affordable housing and overturned by a Hudson County Superior Court judge. Hudson Reporter
A retired Rochelle Park cop can continue her gender discrimination lawsuit against the Police Department, a state appellate court recently decided, overruling a Bergen County judge who dismissed the case in 2019. The alleged harassment Donna Porcaro endured during her 14-year tenure as the department’s sole female officer was “sufficiently severe or pervasive” to create a hostile work environment, the appeals court wrote. The Record
And finally…Canada tapping into maple syrup reserve amid shortage. News12 New Jersey
