Nia Gill Archives - Page 2 of 9

Senate approves early voting

February 22, 2021 10:40 amFebruary 22, 2021 5:06 pm

The New Jersey Senate today approved a bill that would establish early voting in New Jersey next year by a vote of 27-10. The proposal would require counties to establish early voting centers, with the number dictated by a given...

Lawmakers running short on time to introduce marijuana measures

February 3, 2021 3:14 pmFebruary 3, 2021 4:50 pm

Negotiations on marijuana legalization are threatening to brush against another procedural deadline as lawmakers in the upper chamber continue talks on a cleanup bill creating penalties for underage users. No breakthrough has come since the Assembly advanced a new cleanup...

Trailblazer: Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver

January 18, 2021 12:12 amJanuary 17, 2021 2:14 pm

Sheila Oliver is the first Black to serve as Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, the first Black woman to win a statewide election in New Jersey, and was the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of the New Jersey...

Ruiz, Scutari pull names from marijuana cleanup bill, back up objections from Legislative Black Caucus

January 8, 2021 2:38 pmJanuary 8, 2021 5:49 pm

State Sen. Teresa Ruiz and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari have removed their names from a bill to clean up the state’s yet-unsigned legal marijuana enabling legislation after objections from the black and Latino legislators, a move that will...

Vitale still backing bill to eliminate vaccine religious exemptions

December 9, 2020 12:13 pmDecember 9, 2020 1:12 pm

State Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Woodbridge) hasn’t abandoned a bill that would eliminate religious exemptions for vaccinations, but the measure still doesn’t appear to have the support needed to pass a vote in the legislature’s upper chamber. “Still happy to have...

Senate advances decriminalization bill, but mushrooms stall movement in Assembly

November 16, 2020 8:32 pm

The New Jersey State Senate approved a bill decriminalizing the use of marijuana on Monday, but amendments removing criminal penalties for possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms added in a committee meeting last week stalled its movement in the Assembly. “For the...

The O’Toole Chronicles: My Experiences from Legislative Redistricting

October 13, 2020 12:01 amOctober 12, 2020 9:16 pm

As I filled out my vote-by-mail ballot this year and got to Ballot Question #3, it brought back a flood of memories related to Legislative Redistricting – both as a member of the Legislature deeply affected in 2001 and as...