Office of the Governor
Gov. Christie Whitman today
signed the following pieces of legislation:
A-2467, sponsored by Assembly Members James W. Holzapfel (R- Monmouth/Ocean) and Gerald J. Luongo (R-Camden/Gloucester), prohibits the manufacture of certain drugs -- often referred to as date rape drugs -- by a leader of a narcotics trafficking network and operation of a production facility for these drugs. Although the Governor recently signed a law criminalizing the sale of the drugs, gamma hydroxybutyrate and flunitrazepam, the law did not include a prohibition on the manufacture of these two drugs. The legislation seeks to correct that oversight and includes these two drugs among the substances to which the offenses of maintaining a drug manufacturing facility and being the leader of a narcotics trafficking network apply. The drugs are used to incapacitate victims and are often referred to as date rape drugs.
A-1300, sponsored by Assembly Members Marion Crecco (R- Essex/Passaic) and Rose Marie Heck (R-Bergen) and Senator Diane B. Allen (R-Burlington/Camden), provides additional civil and criminal penalties for deceptive consumer practices. The bill attempts to protect seniors and persons with disabilities from deceptive consumer practices as follows: (1) a penalty of not more than $10,000 if the violation caused the victim of the violation pecuniary injury and the person knew or should have known that the victim was a senior citizen or a person with a disability; or (2) a penalty of not more than $30,000 if the violation was part of a scheme, plan, or course of conduct directed at senior citizens or persons with disabilities in connection with sales or advertisements. Any penalties assessed will be dedicated to consumer education for seniors and the disabled.
S-442, sponsored by Senator C. Louis Bassano (R-Essex/Union) and Assembly Members Paul DiGaetano (Bergen/Essex/Passaic) and John V. Kelly (R-Bergen/Essex/Passaic), requires each board of education which operates a health education program for students in grades seven through 12 to offer instruction in breast self-examination. The bill specifies that the instruction shall take place as part of the district's implementation of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education, and further stipulates that the comprehensive health and physical education curriculum framework shall provide school districts with sample activities that may be used to support implementation of the instructional requirement.
A-2299, sponsored by Assembly Members Nicholas Asselta (R- Cape/May/Atlantic/Cumberland) and John C. Gibson (R-Cape May/Atlantic/Cumberland) and Senators Anthony R. Bucco (R-Morris) and John A. Girgenti (D-Passaic), permits government retirees to repay pension loans through deductions from their retirement allowances. Under previous law, pension loans taken out by an active member of the various government employee pension systems were required to be repaid upon retirement before pension payments were made.
A-1854, sponsored by Assembly Members Richard H. Bagger (R- Middlesex/Morris /Somerset/Union) and Leonard Lance (R-Warren/Hunterdon/Mercer) and Senators Robert E. Littell (R-Sussex/Hunterdon/Morris) and Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr. (R-Middlesex/Monmouth), appropriates $4.5 million to fund the creation of two new grants programs by the New Jersey Historical Commission in the Department of State. Funded with $4 million, the first program will award grants and matching grants as general operating support to public and private history museums, historical societies, historic sites, historical agencies of county or local governments or any related agency or organization. The bill establishes a second grants program with the remaining $500,000 appropriation to support research and publication projects on New Jersey history.
A-1639, sponsored by Assembly Members John C. Gibson (R- Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland) and Nicholas Asselta (R- Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland) and Senators James E. Cafiero (R- Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland) and Robert W. Singer (R- Burlington/Monmouth/Ocean), makes permanent the premium reduction rate for completion of defensive driving courses. The law providing for a mandatory reduction in automobile insurance rates for drivers that successfully completed an approved motor vehicle defensive driving course had been scheduled to sunset on Jan. 1, 2000.
S-316, sponsored by Senators Robert W. Singer (R- Burlington/Monmouth/Ocean) and Louis F. Kosko (R-Bergen) and Assembly Members Melvin Cottrell (R-Burlington. Monmouth/Ocean), Joseph R. Malone, 3d (R-Burlington/Monmouth/Ocean) and Jack Conners (D-Burlington /Camden), allows holders of the Silver Star special license plate to affix a Silver Star insignia to their license plates. The Silver Star is a medal awarded by the armed forces for gallantry in action. The insignia affixed to the Silver Star special license plate highlights the achievement on holders' license plates. The bill authorizes the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue regulations governing the insignia.
AJR-51, sponsored by Assembly Member LeRoy J. Jones, Jr. (D-Essex) and Senators John O. Bennett (R-Monmouth) and John J. Matheussen (R-Camden/Gloucester), recognizes the "Code Adam" program and commends and encourages adoption of such programs by retail and business establishments. Code Adam is a program developed and utilized by Wal-Mart stores and SAM's Clubs throughout the nation, as well as Shop-Rite stores in New Jersey and New York, to prevent child abductions. Specifically, the Code Adam alarm signals a missing child and alerts all sales personnel to begin a coordinated and pre-arranged search effort to ensure that the child is not removed from the store.
AJR-61, sponsored by Assembly Members Barbara Wright (R- Mercer/Middlesex) and Paul Kramer (R-Mercer/Middlesex) and Senator Peter A. Inverso (R-Mercer/Middlesex), designates certain roads as the Washington Victory Trail. The bill provides that the routes traversed by General George Washington and 2,400 solders of the Continental Army during their historic nine-mile march from their landing site in New Jersey to Trenton in 1776 shall be designated as the Washington Victory Trail. In addition, the resolution directs the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the New Jersey Historical Commission, to identify and designate these routes of march with appropriate signs.
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