News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Murphy targets gun control

Friday, October 8, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Murphy targets gun control

Oct 08, 2021

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By Daniel Han and Katherine Landergan

Presented by the Consumer Action Network

Good Friday morning!

Gov. Phil Murphy wants to talk about gun control.

Yesterday, Murphy announced he's entering a pact with New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania to share gun crime data across state lines.

Hours later, Murphy campaigned in Burlington County to rally against gun violence. He was joined by gun control advocate Gabby Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was severely wounded in an assassination attempt in 2011.

Gun violence has risen in New Jersey, mirroring a nationwide uptick in shootings and homicides nationwide in the past year. (Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli has capitalized on that, adopting a tough-on-crime image.)

New Jersey already has very restrictive gun control laws on the books. By some measures, it's second in the nation for strict gun control laws — something Murphy pointed out in Burlington. He hinted that passing a third gun control package would be a priority once the Legislature reconvenes in November.

"We're gonna win this thing and when we do win it, we're going to go to gun safety package 3.0," Murphy said. "We're going to continue to make New Jersey the strongest gun safety state in America."

WHERE'S MURPHY? Meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris as she visits New Jersey to tour a child care facility and a Covid-19 vaccination site.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I have an accent, but that was uncalled for. That was a low shot. It was demeaning. The fact that you have an accent doesn't make you any less of a human being." — Business Administrator Adam Cruz after Trenton Councilwoman Robin Vaughn asked him if he spoke English

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Assemblymember Annette Chapparo, BPU Commissioner Upendra Chivukula, former Christie staffer Matt O'Keefe, former Assemblymember David Russo. Saturday for state Sen. Kip Bateman, state Sen. Jim Holzapfel, Bergen County's Michele DiIorgi, Pou COS Carol Cuadrado, former MacArthur campaigner Jeff Hein. Sunday for Kivvit's Vin Ciniello, Bordentown Mayor/Treasury spox Jennifer Sciortino, GOP operative Pete Sheridan. Monday for Assemblyman David Wolfe, Hudson County GOP Chairman Jose Arango, Democratic consultant James Devine, Lambertville Councilman Ward Sanders, NJCASA's Patricia Teffenhart

PROGRAMMING NOTE — There will be no Playbook on Monday due to the holiday.

TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email Katherine at klandergan@politico.com. HATE MAIL? Email Matt at mfriedman@politico.com.

A message from the Consumer Action Network:

New Jersey families deserve access to health care that works best for them. The state legislature unanimously passed a bill that would allow patients to keep seeing their providers in a way that works best for them. The bill requires that doctors and nurses keep getting paid fairly, just as they have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Tell Gov. Phil Murphy: Sign the telehealth bill today. Make your voice heard.

WHAT TRENTON MADE

RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH — Rabner picks former judge as legislative redistricting tiebreaker, by POLITICO's Katherine Landergan: State Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner has appointed former Judge Philip S. Carchman as the tiebreaking member of the state legislative redistricting commission. Background: Rabner said he had asked the five Republican and five Democrat appointees to the commission to come up with a consensus candidate whom he could then name as the tiebreaker. Neither side was able to reach an agreement. In a press release announcing Carchman's appointment, Rabner said the former judge has held "multiple positions of trust," including as deputy state Attorney General and a presiding judge in the Appellate Division, and has served as acting Administrative Director of the Courts, a position he held under three chief justices.

MAKE IT STOPPP — "New models predict COVID spread uptick in New Jersey around Thanksgiving," by The Record's Scott Fallon: "After seeing its fourth surge of COVID over the summer, New Jersey has been sitting in a stubborn holding pattern for almost a month with such key metrics as hospitalizations and cases plateauing or rising and falling slightly, depending on the day. Now the latest modeling from the state Health Department indicates that New Jersey will likely experience an increase in COVID transmission and illness around Thanksgiving as the weather forces more activities indoors and holiday gatherings occur. 'Right now we expect an uptick,' Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said at a briefing Wednesday. 'We expect it to occur ... between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But we do expect it to be in a range that the capacity can be handled very well by our hospitals.'"

ATTORNEY GENERAL — "Acting A.G. takes aim at law criminalizing sexual activity by people with HIV," by the New Jersey Monitor's Dana DiFilippo: "Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck told county prosecutors Wednesday they should exercise caution before using a decades-old state law that criminalizes certain sexual activity by people living with HIV. The 1997 law makes it a third-degree crime for someone living with HIV to engage in an 'act of sexual penetration' without the informed consent of their partner. Relatively few people are charged under the law, but Bruck issued a set of guidelines to prosecutors because he said they have 'significant discretion' in enforcing it. Bruck said LGBT rights group Garden State Equality brought the issue to his attention. 'Even if not a lot of these cases are charged, the presence of the law still creates a stigma for folks living with HIV,' Bruck told the New Jersey Monitor. 'We want to have some assurance that prosecutors wouldn't be bringing these cases in inappropriate circumstances.'"

IN OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT NEWS — Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation on Thursday that bars police departments from considering the number of arrests during a police officer's evaluation performance. Police departments are already banned from requiring quotas, but the number of arrests could have previously been grounds for promotion, denomination or reward. But what's catching our eye is that the bipartisan legislation was signed during a private ceremony with the state's largest and powerful police union, the Police Benevolent Association, according to a release from the union. The union endorsed Murphy in 2017 but is expected to stay neutral in the governor's race.

TAX TIME — "NJ governor's race: Murphy's moves on taxes, budgets," by NJ Spotlight News' John Reitmeyer: "The size of New Jersey's annual budget has grown by more than 30% since Gov. Phil Murphy took office in early 2018, easily outpacing the rate of inflation. To help support the big spending increase, Murphy has worked with state lawmakers to raise several taxes, including those levied on wealthy individuals and top-earning businesses. But the state has also seen tax receipts grow in areas where rates have remained unchanged during Murphy's tenure. And much of the big increase in spending is helping fund increases in aid to K-12 schools and record-high public-worker pension contributions after years of governors and lawmakers having shorted those payments."

— Mulshine: "Lt. Gov. debate: As taxes multiply do they also divide?"

BRIBES — "Judge was wrong to throw out bribery case in infamous corruption sting, prosecutors say," by NJ Advance Media's Ted Sherman: "A Superior Court judge got it wrong earlier this year when she threw out a high-profile bribery case against a former Bayonne mayoral candidate in what had been one of the state's biggest corruption operations in years, prosecutors said. In a filing before the Appellate Division, the state Attorney General's office sought to reverse the ruling of Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez, who dismissed a criminal indictment against Jason O'Donnell in June. He had been charged in connection with allegations that he took a cash payoff from a Morristown attorney in exchange for promises of lucrative tax and real estate work if he won his election. Galis-Menendez concluded that O'Donnell had committed no crime under the state's corruption statutes, finding that he had no influence to offer because he was not a public official when he was ensnared in the sting operation. … But in a 161-page brief filed with the Appellate Division late Wednesday, the Attorney General's office said the state's bribery statutes were clear about the illegality of the payment allegedly accepted by O'Donnell."

HOUSING — " Opinion: Why is homelessness not up for debate between Murphy and Ciattarelli?," by Saladin Ambar for NJ Spotlight News: "I was dismayed to see that in New Jersey's first governor's debate, the words homeless and homelessness were not uttered once. To be sure, the problem of homelessness is more acutely felt in some cities than others — and New Jersey is faring comparatively better than its Washington state cousin where, despite fewer residents, it has more than twice the number of homeless people. Yet, New Jersey's estimated 10,000 homeless deserve better, and greater attention to the issue ought to be paid by the candidates, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, and his Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli."

— "The newest member of the Ciattarelli entourage? Murphy's campaign tracker"

— "N.J.'s first early in-person voting starts soon. Here's a list of polling places in all 21 counties"

— "Jim Johnson, Murphy's 2017 opponent, joins Clarke Senate campaign"

— "Jack Ciattarelli discusses business, schools, infrastructure and more at Jackson Town Hall"

— Snowflack: "Bramnick trumpets Musella and slaps Murphy."

THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2021 IS HERE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the largest and most influential gatherings of experts reinventing finance, health, technology, philanthropy, industry and media. Don't miss a thing from the 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, from Oct. 17 to 20. Can't make it? We've got you covered. Planning to attend? Enhance your #MIGlobal experience and subscribe today.

BIDEN TIME

CLIMATE CHANGE — "Federal officials link climate change concerns to North Jersey gas pipeline compressors," by NorthJersey.com's David M. Zimmer: "Federal officials have tied a certain, yet undefined concern over climate change impact to a proposal to develop and upgrade natural gas compressor stations in North Jersey. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff said in an environmental impact statement that compressor station upgrades along the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company's 300 Line in New Jersey and Pennsylvania would not result in significant environmental impacts, 'with the exception of climate change.' The pipeline project as proposed would develop a new electric-driven compressor turbine facility in a former quarry near the Monksville Reservoir in West Milford. Turbine upgrades are also planned at existing stations in Wantage and Pennsylvania. All three would pump 115,000 dekatherms of natural gas each day into Westchester County, New York, to end a Con Edison moratorium on new gas connections."

REFUGEES — "On a military base in South Jersey, an Afghan woman plans a new life. 'I'm starting from zero, like a newborn,'" by the Inky's Jeff Gammage: "Today about 50,000 Afghans are living on eight U.S. military installations, and it's uncertain when they may start moving to permanent homes. Immigration processing is taking time, and the nationwide housing crunch has limited the availability of affordable apartments. Chakhansuri doesn't know where she'll go, which state or city. But hopes she gets there soon. She hasn't stepped off the base since she arrived on Aug. 26. If you leave, she said, you can't come back. When she looks around, she sees parking lots, tents, trees, buildings, soldiers. She's alone, not married, doesn't have a partner or family members with her. She lacks what in humanitarian circles is called an 'American tie,' that is, a close contact in the United States who will assist in her resettlement. 'I came somewhere I have never been,' she said."

A message from the Consumer Action Network:

LOCAL

ICE — "Bergen County commissioners unanimously vote to end ICE jail contract at county jail," by The Record's Steve Janoski: "Bergen County has formally ended its controversial agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allowed it to hold federal immigration detainees at the county jail in Hackensack. The county commissioner board unanimously approved the move at its Wednesday night meeting. Now, federal authorities have 45 days to remove the remaining two dozen or so detainees from the Bergen County Jail, the Sheriff's Office said. 'Having seen federal enforcement priorities change and large fluctuations in the number of detainees in the jail, it is no longer the county's best interest to continue housing ICE detainees,' Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton, a Democrat seeking reelection next month, said in a statement. 'I believe that this is the right way to move forward.'"

MONMOUTH COUNTY — "Monmouth County commissioner election focuses on COVID-19, spending and raises," by The Asbury Park Press' Susanne Cervenka: "Leading the county through COVID-19 and efficiently spending taxpayer money have been among the top issues for candidates vying to be a Monmouth County commissioner. Incumbent Commissioner Sue Kiley, a Republican, faces Democratic challenger Mike Beson for the next three-year term on the Monmouth County Board of Commissioners. Kiley, 67, of Hazlet, was a registered nurse before moving into health care sales and marketing. She also previously served on the Hazlet Township Committee before running for the county office in 2018. She is seeking her second term."

BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now.

EVERYTHING ELSE

SOLAR POWER — "Popular solar program goes full time," by NJ Spotlight News' Tom Johnson: "The state is planning to make permanent a pilot program that delivers electricity from community solar projects to low- and moderate-income communities that mostly have not benefited from solar's cheaper power. Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso announced the extension of the program Wednesday at a bimonthly meeting of the agency, setting in motion a proceeding before the board during which it will determine the parameters and scope of the new program and canceling the third year of the pilot. The pilot proved to be surprisingly popular during its two years. In its second year, the agency received more than 400 applications from solar developers seeking to build 800 megawatts of solar projects to deliver solar energy to customers."

— "Hotel Trades Council supports Solomon after endorsing most of Team Fulop in Jersey City"

— "John Hogan, Bridget Anne Kelly to square off in Bergen County Clerk debate"

A message from the Consumer Action Network:

The COVID-19 pandemic proved that expanding access to care is critical for reaching medically underserved communities and making sure overburdened health systems can meet the needs of New Jersey families. That includes telehealth visits for low-income individuals, people of color, and others who have difficulty getting to a physical facility for their care. It's clear that New Jersey families deserve to have access to health care that works best for them. The state legislature has already unanimously passed a bill that would make this a reality, it's time for Gov. Phil Murphy to sign the bill into law. No state has vetoed a bill supporting expanded access to telehealth services since the pandemic began. New Jersey should not be the first. Tell Gov. Murphy: Sign the telehealth bill today. Make your voice heard.