TRENTON – The Assembly has scheduled votes on a series of controversial bills Thursday, including ones affecting the embattled Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, tanning bed restrictions for minors, using mobile devices to place bets on horse races, and increasing the minimum wage to $8.50.
The minimum wage hike proposal, A2162, a priority of the Speaker, Sheila Oliver, (D-34), East Orange, would hike the minimum wage from $7.25 on July 1, and then mandate that starting next year it be adjusted annually.
In January, Gov. Chris Christie said he would not be inclined to sign such a bill, but did not completely close the door on the idea. Since then, the state’s revenue projections have fallen off, and the fates of three different tax-cut plans – offered by the governor, the Senate Democrats, and the Assembly Democrats – remain in limbo as the budget season drags on.
A2142, the tanning salon bill, is an attempt to update earlier legislation that restricted tanning bed use by those under 14, but allowed it for those ages 14-18 with written parental permission. The new bill would ban it for those 14-18, but still permit spray tanning.
The legislation gained momentum after the well-publicized case of a Nutley woman who was accused of taking her daughter into a booth. The allegation has been denied, and industry witnesses have asked lawmakers to not react to the so-called “hysteria’’ surrounding that case by banning what they maintain is a safe practice.
Their testimony has been countered by physicians and melanoma survivors who told of the increased risk of skin cancer and of the dangers being faced by uninformed teenagers.
A2610 would allow bettors to place wagers via mobile devices on in-state or out-of-state races being simulcast at an in-state racetrack. Its backers say such a measure would modernize the industry in New Jersey.
There are three Port Authority-related measures.
A699 would institute payments in lieu of taxes on tax-exempt Authority-owned property.
A1011 is a transparency act that among other things would mandate an independent auditing of the agency as well as set out requirements for open public meetings. That latter measure became a sore spot last year when critics blasted the Authority for scheduling toll-hike hearings at locations and during times that they alleged were deliberately inconvenient for commuters to attend.
And A1247 would impose restrictions on Authority commissioners and officers regarding expenses for use of a personal vehicle, on exemptions from tolls, and on providing drivers for commissioners, as well as a host of other restrictions.
