Legislative Update – June 2010

Now that the flowers are blooming and the trees are green, everyone wants to be outside.  What wonderful spring days these are!

There is a lot of activity in Trenton these days.  Our new Governor has rocked a lot of boats.  A new economic development group has been established with the goal of making New Jersey highly competitive for new technology companies.  Governor Christie is shaking up school budgets around the state and he has cut substantial money from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, all in the name of fiscal soundness for our state.  Regardless of Governor Christie's ax, the legislature is still working and the LAC is still reviewing bills introduced in committee.

• S1683 – Maintains affordability controls on low and moderate income housing in perpetuity. This bill was introduced by Senator Rice in the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee.  It has been introduced in previous sessions without being moved to the Senate so we don't expect any action on it. 

• S1479 – Requires 25 percent of affordable housing be reserved for very low income households.  This bill was introduced by Senator Turner in the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee.  LAC will review.

• S1853 – Creates non-State funded dispute resolution program for common interest community associations.  This bill was proposed for introduction by Senator Singer.  LAC will review.

• S1860 – Requires installation of automatic rain sensors on lawn sprinklers.  This bill was introduced by Senator Kyrillos.  LAC will review.

The Manager's Licensing Task Force continues to work on refining language and drafting a bill for review by the LAC.  The next, and possibly final meeting of the Task Force is May 14, 2010.  After that meeting, we hope to have a final draft to present.  It is going to be a long haul to get this bill introduced in committee, but we are commiteed to raising the bar for the managers in New Jersey.