Senate passes package of bills on third reading; housing-priority measure held

The New Jersey Senate on Jan. 14, 2025, moved a series of bills on third reading to final passage and took several procedural steps, including substitutions under Senate Rule 17:3 and returning select bills to second reading for amendment. Most measures recorded unanimous or near-unanimous affirmative tallies on the floor.

Among the bills the Senate passed: Senate Bill 199, which requires an environmental sustainability plan for the State House complex, passed with 36 votes in the affirmative and 0 opposed after Sen. Smith moved the bill. Senate Bill 3466, expanding the expiration of a special appraisal process for the Green Acres and farmland preservation program and providing aid for watershed lands, was carried and recorded as passed. Senate Bill 3695, which requires a cell phone and social media policy to be developed by the Department of Education and adopted by schools, passed after Sen. Moriarty moved the bill. Senate Bill 3746, establishing a presumption against pretrial intervention for certain persons, passed with a recorded 34 affirmative votes and 0 opposed after Sen. Singleton moved the measure.

Several Assembly bills were also called and passed on third reading. Assembly Bill 1672 (substituted for Senate Bill 1285), which makes certain…