New Jersey just won a big Supreme Court case allowing the state to unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission over New York’s objections. Now it looks like the U.S. Supreme Court precedent may soon overrule New Jersey’s Supreme Court on a much different issue. You may recall that in 2018, the state Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for religious institutions to get public historic preservation grants, ending Morris County’s awarding of the grants to churches. But since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has gotten more conservative, and has backed some positions that draw a less strict line between church and state, like this one (h/t to Noah Rasumssen). Indeed, even though the Supreme Court declined to take up this specific case in 2019, three conservative justices indicated they needed to revisit the question. “At some point, this court will need to decide whether governments that distribute historic preservation funds may deny funds to religious organizations simply because the organizations are religious,” they wrote. So last week, a California law school clinic and two conservative organizations announced a lawsuit against Morris County in an effort to overturn that ruling. And based on what we’ve seen so far, it looks like they have a good chance at succeeding. I don’t know what public opinion would look like on public grants to churches. I do know that New Jersey’s strict gun control laws have been popular in the state, and are on their way to being loosened substantially thanks to U.S. Supreme Court precedent. But hey, at least the court has Jersey representation in Hamilton native son Samuel Alito Jr., even if his opinions tend to cut against the more widely held ones in his native state. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “When I say to students, some of the crops grown at Monticello and Mount Vernon were hemp, their eyes open up and they're like 'cool dude.'”- Assemblymember Gerry Scharfenberger during a budget committee hearing with Ag Secretary Doug Fisher. THE MOST NEW JERSEY MYSTERY EVER — Who dumped hundreds of pounds of pasta in Old Bridge? HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Rachel Arndt, Gabriel Villa WHERE’S MURPHY? No public schedule.
|
AIN’T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD? — “How did the NJSEA steer $3.5M in pandemic relief to an MMA event at the Prudential Center?” by The Record’s Katie Sobko and Melanie Anzidie: “Less than 10 days before a major mixed martial arts competition was to return to Newark, a New Jersey agency approved use of federal pandemic relief funds to support it. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority last week approved $3.5 million ‘for use in support of sporting events, attractions and promotions’ at the Prudential Center in Newark. A resolution passed by the NJSEA's board of commissioners on April 27 specifically identifies one of these “marquee events” as UFC 288, a mixed martial arts competition, set to be held Saturday. The resolution made no mention of other major sporting events, like the New Jersey Devils' historic turnaround season and their run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. … The current president and CEO of the NJSEA, Vincent Prieto, who is set to retire in just a few months, quoted the resolution in a statement. ‘Attracting large-scale sporting events is critical to helping revitalize the tourism, hospitality and travel industries in Newark and the surrounding communities, which were severely impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency,’ Prieto said.”
—“Devils searching for Rangers fan who appeared to sucker-punch team employee in viral video” FIRST LADY BUT NOT LADIES FIRST? — “Did State Police – and NJ’s First Lady – refuse to accommodate a breastfeeding cop?” by The Star-Ledger Editorial Board: “A female state trooper assigned to guard the home of Gov. Phil Murphy has filed a troubling lawsuit that claims First Lady Tammy Murphy rejected a request for her to pump breast milk in the family’s carriage house during her breaks, and that she was promptly kicked off the executive detail by State Police. This charge, if true, is pretty stunning: After all, it was Gov. Murphy who emphasized the importance of accommodating women in the workplace with measures like this, and the First Lady has done good work on maternal health. … When asked by the head of the governor’s executive detail, Major Joseph Torres, if this young trooper returning from maternity leave could use the Murphy’s carriage house for pumping, ‘Tammy Murphy’s response was that it was not encouraged because of optics by guests who may be on the premises,’ the lawsuit claims." The trooper in question, Claire Krauchuk, is now suing State Police along with three other officers, alleging gender discrimination. … Tammy Murphy’s deputy press secretary, Tyler Jones, would not answer directly, citing the litigation. “The First Lady – a mother of four children herself – has always supported working mothers who wish to pump in the workplace,” he said in a statement this week.” 44 MORE UFC TOURNAMENTS— $153 million in federal pandemic relief funds on fast track for passage, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: The Murphy administration is asking the Legislature to appropriate approximately $153 million in federal pandemic relief funds, with the requests put on the fast track for approval this Friday. A Department of Treasury memo shared with POLITICO from the governor’s office lists over 40 spending requests to use the federal money allocated to the state from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The state has wide latitude on how to spend the funds, such as maintaining public services amidst declining revenues due to Covid-19 and helping long-term “growth and opportunity” post-pandemic, according to the U.S. Treasury. The funds up for a vote vary from $4 million for spotted lantern fly mitigation to $10 million to help open an “exhibition space in Jersey City” — presumably a nod to the French art museum slated to open in the state’s second-largest city. WOMP WOMP THAT’S THE SOUND OF THE POLICE — Most police websites don't comply with reporting misconduct requirements, comptroller says, by POLITICO’s Caroline Petrow-Cohen: Most police departments do not meet the state's requirements to encourage public reporting of misconduct, a State Comptroller's review has found. The agency's review of 100 municipal police department websites across New Jersey found that 80 percent did not include a standard internal affairs report form, which was required to be done three years ago. That requirement, issued by the Attorney General in 2019 as part of an effort to increase public trust, said police websites must include a publicly available complaint form in 11 languages and an information sheet describing the internal affairs process and the role of a complainant. The Attorney General's office even provided the complaint form and the information sheet in 11 languages on its website for local departments to use. But only five police departments surveyed — Hoboken, Monroe Township, Neptune City, Oceanport and Spring Lake — met the Attorney General’s mandates, the comptroller's office said. GIL MORE MONEY — Gilmore being paid by two Spadea groups, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: Ocean County GOP Chair George Gilmore is earning money from two political organizations tied to far-right radio host Bill Spadea, the latest rebound for the powerful insider whose political career was briefly dashed by three federal tax-related convictions. The groups — an independent expenditure organization called Common Sense Wins and a political action committee called Elect Common Sense — both filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission this year and have so far paid or owe Gilmore $2,500 and $5,000, respectively. The groups also employ campaign operative Bill Stepien, the manager for former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign and both of former Gov. Chris Christie’s campaigns. Common Sense Wins reported owing Stepien’s firm, National Public Affairs, $27,000 for polling and $12,803 for strategy consulting. …Gilmore, who as of 2021 owed almost $3 million to the IRS, has along with his wife been steadily accumulating politically connected work following his conviction, including joining a Trenton lobbying firm. WIND DOWN — “Calls for wind development moratorium abound at Senate GOP hearing,” by New Jersey Globe’s Joey Fox: “Why have so many whales died along the Jersey Shore this year? No one has a conclusive answer to that question, at least so far. But at a virtual hearing today, New Jersey Senate Republicans still found a chorus of voices pushing for the same solution: pause the ongoing development of major wind projects off the New Jersey coastline. ‘We’re here today to seek information, not to perpetuate previously held beliefs and not to confirm anything,’ State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver) said at the start of the hearing. … There’s no consensus on what exactly has caused the spike. Republican politicians and other offshore wind opponents, however, have found a clear culprit in the hundreds of wind turbines currently under development along the Jersey Shore, arguing that the sonar and noise caused by the turbines’ construction have contributed to the deaths. In addition to their supposed impact on the whale population, the wind farms were also blamed for a number of other ills at today’s hearing, including the disruption of New Jersey’s fishing industry and of tourism along the Shore.” CLEARLY WEED CURED THEM ALL — “NJ legal weed: Medical marijuana numbers plummeting, so where are patients going?” by The Asbury Park Press’ Mike Davis: “New Jersey spent more than a decade growing its medical marijuana community — slowly at first, and then all at once. But one year after recreational marijuana sales began, those patients are starting to fall off the rolls at a quickening, snowballing pace. In the year since New Jersey dispensaries began selling legal weed for personal use, the number of medical marijuana patients dropped under 129,000 in March, a decrease of nearly 15% since the program's peak in May 2022. The number of registered patients grew exponentially beginning in 2019, when new laws went into effect that significantly expanded the qualifying conditions to get a medical marijuana card and loosened costs and restrictions associated with registering and renewing it." —“How bad is N.J.’s nursing shortage? It has 13,000 openings and counting”
|
LOCAL SUPER PACS SUDDENLY GET $104 MILLION IN ANONYMOUS DONATIONS — “New nonprofit CarePoint Health seeks more than $104 million in federal grants to operate hospitals,” by The Jersey Journal’s Teri West: “When the owners of a group of Hudson County hospitals turned over the business to a newly created nonprofit group, executives described it as a financial win, in part because the facilities would become eligible for new grant funding. Now, the nonprofit, CarePoint Health Systems, is applying for $104.6 million in federal grants, and the requested funds are not just for additional programming. The funds would help cover key operating expenses for Christ Hospital, Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center, the three former for-profit CarePoint Health hospitals.”
PLATKERSON — “NJ attorney general first considered Paterson police takeover in 2022,” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico: “Attorney General Matthew Platkin started planning his state takeover of the city Police Department last fall by launching a secret search for someone to put in charge, he told Paterson Press on Tuesday afternoon. Platkin’s account of his planning of the state intervention runs contrary to widespread public perception that his office's takeover stemmed from the fatal Paterson police shooting of community activist Najee Seabrooks on March 3, an incident that sparked multiple protest rallies. When Platkin announced the takeover on March 27, his office already had in place his selection for the new officer-in-charge, Isa Abbassi, who at the time was working for the New York City Police Department as chief of strategic initiatives. “For some time, we quietly engaged in a national search for someone who has the experience that Isa Abbassi has,” Platkin said.” —“Hill highlights Toms River Jewish Community Council’s endorsement…of his opponent” —“Teacher can keep pension after criminal conviction, N.J. appeals court rules” —"Teacher’s aid sexually assaulted high school student over 2 years, prosecutors allege" —“Hoboken 1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco announces he won’t seek a third term” —“Bound Brook paid $675,000 to settle a man’s claim that he was “viciously assaulted” by police in 2015”
|
No comments:
Post a Comment