Philadelphia

KARCHER URGES COMMUTERS TO LET THEIR VOICES BE HEARD

FREEHOLD - Senator Ellen Karcher today urged NJ Transit commuters to attend Statewide information sessions about a proposed rate hike to voice their opposition to any plans which place the burden of infrastructure upgrades on riders.

"New Jersey as a whole benefits from a well-maintained mass transit system," said Senator Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer. "Mass transit serves as an invaluable safety valve for roadway congestion, and serves to promote greener modes of travel. Drastic rate hikes, which make our trains and buses an unaffordable option for our State's commuters, should be avoided at all costs."

BODINE AND CHATZIDAKIS SCORE HAT TRICK WITH THREE BILLS APPROVED BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

BILLS INCLUDE MEASURE REQUIRING THE DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES BY STATE POLICE FOR MISSING PERSONS AND A NEW CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW

KARCHER OPPOSES PLANNED NJ TRANSIT FARE HIKE

TRENTON - Senator Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, issued the following statement today on announced plans to increase NJ Transit fares on buses and trains by 10 percent, beginning June 1, to raise $60 million to cover the costs for new services:

"The planned fare hike on NJ Transit customers is the absolute last thing that should be considered, particularly at a time when New Jersey families are being squeezed by skyrocketing property taxes and face some of highest cost-of-living expenses in the nation. With the proven impact of greenhouse gas emissions on global warming, we should be doing all we can to draw riders to mass transit, not turn them away.

COMMITTEE RELEASES ROBERTS BILL PROMOTING
PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE WIRELESS INTERNET NETWORKS
Measure Would Empower Counties to Build Wi-Fi Systems

(TRENTON) -- Legislation Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., sponsored to clearly authorize the ability of counties to build and operate publicly accessible wireless Internet networks was released today by an Assembly committee.

Former Governor James E. McGreevey helped Oprah Winfrey gain huge ratings yesterday: a 9.0 rating and a 22 share in the New York City media market -- twice what Judge Judy got and nearly four times Ellen DeGeneres' share. The show received a 25 share in Philadelphia and Chicago.

PRIETO/MAYER/MORIARTY LAUNCH PUSH
FOR NEW HOMEBUYER PROTECTIONS
Comprehensive Bill Tightening Oversight of Builders, Construction Officials;
Measure Would Fix Home-Building Shortcomings Highlighted in 2005 SCI Report

(TRENTON) -- Seeking to protect new home buyers from the unanticipated financial consequences of shoddy workmanship, Assemblymen Vincent Prieto, David Mayer, and Paul Moriarty today unveiled comprehensive legislation that would improve state oversight of the housing construction industry and give consumers increased protections against home-building ripoffs.

KYRILLOS SAYS SHRINKING GOVERNMENT KEY TO PROPERTY TAX REFORM

Senator Joe Kyrillos, (R-Monmouth/Middlesex), a member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Shared and Consolidated Services made the following remarks during today's opening session.

New Jersey has been a great place to live with a strong economoy that offered plenty of good jobs, fine public schools, and easy access to New York, Philadelphia and the shore. Whether it reamins a great place to live hangs in the balance.

Unfortunately, we can no longer ignore the fact that our state has become a bureaucratic nightmare.

Government has become the growth industry in New Jersey. State spending has increased 37 percent in the past five years and spending at the local level has almost matched that pace. During the past five years government payrolls have swelled, adding nearly 50,000 people, while New Jersey businesses shed nearly 120,000 high-paying business services and manufacturing jobs.

There is considerable speculation among Democrats that State Senator Frederick Madden will not seek re-election to a second term in 2007 and that Assemblyman Paul Moriarty will run for the fourth district Senate seat.

Madden, a former Acting State Police Superintendent, entered politics in 2003 when he defeated GOP incumbent George Geist by just 63 votes out of more than 41,000 cast in one of the most expensive legislative campaigns in state history.

Some insiders believe that Geist, now a state Administrative Law Judge, is actively mulling a possible bid for his old seat. Sources say that Geist, who served in the Legislature from 1992 to 2004, could be the beneficiary of a coalition of labor unions and North Jersey Democrats who are offering to raise money for a Geist campaign.

Moriarty, a former consumer affairs reporter for a Philadelphia network television station, entered politics in 2004 when he upset incumbent Washington Township Mayor Randee Davidson in the Democratic primary. He won an Assembly seat in 2005 when incumbent Robert Smith declined to seek re-election.

Governor Jon Corzine may seek to address voters directly on the shutdown of state government by self-funding an advertisement to be aired on New York and Philadelphia network television. His media consultant, Mike Donilon of Shrum, Devine and Donilon is in Trenton now, and a senior Democratic source confirmed that "the idea is being kicked around."

SENATE APPROVES REVIEW OF NEW JERSEY'S HERITAGE TOURISM INDUSTRY

TRENTON - The Senate approved legislation today sponsored by Senator Barbara Buono that would establish a task force to develop plans to strengthen New Jersey's heritage tourism industry.

"Expanding our heritage tourism can be a tremendous gain for New Jersey," said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. "People are eager to be engaged by history and feel what it was like to live in the past. New Jersey has a proud and rich history that spans more than three centuries that can provide a solid base for a strong heritage tourism industry."