OPINION: The Conservative Supreme Court of America. It is truly breathtaking in how, in 24 hours, six unelected justices have made two decisions that both take away a state’s right to self-govern and tell women they do not have the ability to make healthcare decisions over their own bodies in a majority of the states in America. The Supreme Court backstop has been the now successful long play for Republicans, achieved with three Trump appointees turning the court to an extreme right view. The current court does not reflect the ideological makeup of America. It is a much more radical conservative one that is protected by lifelong appointments and no oversight from Congress. And it will be a path it will follow for years to come. North-JerseyNews.com
A Florida judge is scheduled to hear a challenge under state law to an abortion ban taking effect this week on June 27. Healthcare providers have asked a judge to temporarily block the state’s new ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a law signed this Spring by Gov. Ron DeSantis and set to take effect on July 1. The plaintiffs argue that the law violates the state constitution’s protection for individual privacy rights which, in previous rulings by the state Supreme Court, has been interpreted to include the right to abortion. The New York Times
New Jersey lawmakers will reportedly consider legislation this week to provide legal protection for patients traveling from out of state to terminate their pregnancies. One bill would prevent another state from extraditing someone charged with facilitating an abortion in New Jersey (S2642), while a second (S2633) would allow people charged in another state for helping providing access to an abortion to file a counter-lawsuit. NJ.com
A majority of North Jersey lawmakers expressed their displeasure with the U.S. Supreme Court after they voted in favor to allow individual states to ban abortions. The 6-3 majority opinion upholds Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The opinion is considered a complete reversal of the 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision. “This decision is not conservative, it is radical. I had hoped against hope that the decision wouldn’t be as extreme as the leaked draft. The court is rolling back a constitutional right, out of step with the majority of our country and almost 50 years of legal precedent,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill. North-JerseyNews.com
President Joe Biden on June 25 signed into law the Safer Communities Act, the most sweeping federal gun violence law in decades, saying “lives will be saved.” The bipartisan bill negotiated by U.S. Senators will toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers in the U.S., keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders, and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous. The Daily Record
Gov. Phil Murphy called for New Jersey to prohibit firearms in a wide array of “sensitive” places—including hospitals, public transit, stadiums, bars, and courthouses—as a safety precaution. Murphy signed an executive order June 23, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against New York state’s concealed carry gun law, directing state departments and agencies to review all statutes, rules, and regulations to see “what steps they can take to prevent gun violence.” That includes whether they can designate certain areas as “gun-free” and regulate how firearms are “carried, transported, or conveyed.” New Jersey Herald
Rep. Josh Gottheimer recently helped lead the introduction of the bipartisan Pathways to Policing Act, which was designed to invest in recruitment and retention efforts for New Jersey law enforcement agencies. The bill would invest $50 million for the U.S. Department of Justice to operate nationwide recruitment campaigns, and additional $50 million for “Pathways to Policing” programs supported by local and statewide recruitment efforts. “I’m helping introduce this new bipartisan legislation to make critical investments in New Jersey’s law enforcement, in recruiting and retaining the best talent, and in ensuring they have the resources they need to keep our communities safe,” said Gottheimer. North-JerseyNews.com
The FBI is warning members of one specific ethnic group in New Jersey they face an increased risk of being burglarized. Supervisory Special Agent Mike Ratta of the FBI field office in Newark said there have been a growing number of reports over the past three years of Asian-American business owners in the Garden State being targeted by sophisticated criminal groups, criminals carefully watching these businesses to determine “when they open, when they close.” NJ1015.com
The Group of Seven leaders are expected to agree to start work on a mechanism to cap the purchase price of Russian oil, with the U.S. also announcing a new round of military aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Moscow, Biden administration officials said June 27. Leaders will direct relevant ministers in their countries to work on the details of Russian oil caps, which would create a buyers’ cartel of Western nations and their allies. There is no timeline yet on when the details will be worked out. The Wall Street Journal
Gas prices continue their slow, but steady, decline in New Jersey. AAA puts the average for regular at $4.91 a gallon in the Garden State. That’s off eight cents from a week ago, but still 16 cents higher than four weeks earlier. Industry analyst Patrick De Haan from GasBuddy.com predicts a further decline with the July 4th weekend approaching, perhaps another 10-15 cents per gallon. NJ1015.com
Lawyers for NJ Transit filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking a permanent restraining order and asking the court to fine the locomotive engineers union over a June 17 job action that forced the agency to cancel hundreds of trains and temporarily suspend service. The suit filed on June 24 asks the court to grant a permanent injunction prohibiting the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen from staging future job actions and asks for unspecified monetary damages to cover costs the state transit agency incurred. The court granted a temporary order on June 19 restraining the union from any further job actions or work slow downs. NJ.com
New Jersey lawmakers appear to have struck a deal on a pared-down auto insurance reform bill after a more costly proposal for drivers stalled. A state Assembly committee last week approved legislation that would hike the minimum amount of liability insurance in the Garden State from its current $15,000 coverage to $25,000 beginning in 2023, and a minimum of $35,000 starting in 2026. If signed into law, 1.1 million New Jersey drivers — or about 20% currently on the road — could expect to pay an additional $120-$130 a year in coverage. NJ.com
Republicans put forth two measures to put income and property tax cuts to a vote in the New Jersey State Assembly in the days before a state budget must be passed. Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26) offered his legislation (A-1012), which was authored with then-Assemblyman Troy Singleton in 20212, to direct energy tax receipts back to municipalities provided the funds were used for property tax reduction. Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-21) introduced A-2058 for a vote which would index income tax brackets to rise with inflation. Both of the motions did not garner the votes necessary to move forward. North-JerseyNews.com
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) introduced a measure seeking to establish a loan program for construction work within the New Jersey Economic Development Authority last week. The $300 million program to support “transformative capital projects” would provide low-interest loans that support projects that could range from state-owned facilities and lands to authorities and public higher education institutions. It would establish it as a “revolving” program, meaning as loans and interest are eventually repaid by loan recipients, those funds would become available to support future qualified projects. NJ Spotlight News
Three Paterson high schools are getting what officials call “high tech classrooms” to allow students to take virtual courses at Passaic County Community College. The dual enrollment classes will begin in September at Paterson’s John F. Kennedy, Eastside and Panther high schools, available to any students who want to take virtual courses at the community college. The Record
About 13,000 people have been awarded money from a fund that launched eight months ago aimed at helping undocumented immigrants excluded from federal pandemic aid, according to the state agency overseeing the fund. More than $30 million in funds, about half of the money set aside for the Excluded New Jersyans Fund, have been allocated as 22,000 applications for aid still await review from community organizations or need more documents from applicants to be approved. About 330 applicants have been denied so far. New Jersey Monitor
Hoboken will host two COVID-19 vaccine clinics for newly eligible children this week. Through a partnership with Medicine Man Pharmacy & Compounding, the city will host a clinic from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old June 27. The second vaccine clinic will be held June 30 at Hudson Regional Health Commission from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering vaccines for all age groups including those 6 months old to 5 years old. The Jersey Journal
The Bayonne City Council voted down by 5-0 the second of two ordinances that would condemn the Bayonne Medical Center property through eminent domain. The ordinance was postponed until the June meeting under the guise that the council was waiting for the Local Finance Board to move on it, required before the council could act. However, the council only recently learned that the matter was withdrawn from Local Finance Board in December 2021. Hudson Reporter
Work is about to begin on a $5.87 million sewer decommissioning project in Oakland intended to provide safe discharge of wastewater from areas now served by three aging treatment plants. Contractor Pacific Construction began taking “test holes” June 20 in preparation for work to begin on sewer line installation at the intersection of Ramapo Valley Road and West Oakland Avenue, that will eventually lead to constriction on Franklin Avenue, Hiawatha Boulevard and Lakeside Avenue in the borough. The Record
And finally… Bruce Springsteen, along with Dave Grohl, again joined Paul McCartney on stage over the weekend at the Glastonbury Festival. New Jersey Herald
