03/31/2008
Paid family leave bill stalls in Senate
After passing the Assembly by a vote of 46-32-2, the amended paid family leave legislation, which will provide up to six weeks of paid family leave to employees at all businesses, was stalled when it returned to the Senate for a concurrent vote. During the voting session a procedural issue was raised that precluding the Senate from approving the legislation during the last voting session before the budget break. Legislative leadership and the governor continue to tell the business community that they are committed to seeing this bill become law this spring.
We continue to strongly oppose this measure and encourage members to contact their state senators and tell them to vote "no" on A-873 (Albano/Oliver).
Proposed universal health insurance bill
Last week, Sen. Joe Vitale, chairman of the Senate Health Committee; with Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee; Assemblyman Neil Cohen, chairman of the Assembly Banking and Insurance Committee; and Sen. Robert Singer, a Republican member of the Senate Health Committee unveiled the first phase of a plan to ensure that more residents in New Jersey have access to affordable healthcare coverage.
As outlined in a recent press conference, healthcare would be expanded in two phases. The first phase would expand the existing New Jersey FamilyCare program, which provides health insurance subsidies for lower income children, and then mandate that all parents purchase health insurance for their children. Sen. Vitale stated that the proposal is the "first phase" of a comprehensive reform of the healthcare system in New Jersey, which when fully implemented, will ensure universal healthcare coverage for all residents of the state. "Phase 2" of the program will mandate coverage for every eligible adult by 2011.
The legislation aims to make health insurance more affordable for small business owners and younger insurance purchasers. We are reviewing the senator's proposal and have concerns that New Jersey cannot afford such a comprehensive and costly plan at this time. Additionally, we have concerns about "Phase 2" of the program which mandates coverage for every eligible adult and how it would impact our membership.
FY2009 budget season has begun
Acting State Treasurer David Rousseau delivered testimony last week before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee outlining Gov. Jon Corzine's FY 2009 Budget and acknowledged a slumping economy is likely to pinch state revenues in coming weeks. He estimated that unless the economy takes a major nose-dive, the reduction would most likely be no more than "a couple hundred million dollars." The Corzine administration had projected total revenues at $32.5 billion for the budget year. Rousseau suggested that the shortfall will be manageable because the state has maintained a $600 million surplus.
Acting Treasurer Rousseau made it clear that this year's budget proposal is fundamentally different than past years because it closely balances recurring revenues with actual spending and is $500 million less than the one signed into law last June. He also reiterated that the balance comes with several cuts in programs and the elimination of three state departments, including the Department of Agriculture.
NFIB/New Jersey will continue to closely monitor the budget process.
