Today’s Good News: NJ Gets Goodies From Needle Exchange to Expanded EITC
New Jersey’s recently completed legislative session had a number of progressive victories.
Highlights include:
Clean Energy: The legislature enacted the Global Warming Response Act, which dramatically reduces the amount of greenhouse gases to pre-1990 levels by 2020.
Social Equity: The state established gay civil unions and prohibited discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
Health Care: They voted to fund the state’s SCHIP program at 350 percent of the poverty line and implemented a clean needle exchange pilot program .
Workers Rights: Lawmakers moved to close loopholes in the prevailing wage laws, prevent construction companies from classifying full time employees as independent contractors to avoid paying taxes ), and expand the state’s earned income tax credit.
Election Reform: New Jersey also implemented verifiable paper ballots and expanded the Clean Elections pilot programs.
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