4-03-2025 3:09pm

Governor Murphy Enacts Dozens of New Laws in New Jersey in Early 2025

Legislation signed this year addresses education, public safety, infrastructure, election procedures, and economic recovery; several bills were also vetoed or conditionally returned to the Legislature.

NEW JERSEY — Between January and early April 2025, Governor Phil Murphy and Acting Governor Tahesha Way have signed more than two dozen bills into law, spanning a wide range of policy areas including economic recovery, student safety, healthcare, elections, and criminal justice. Several other bills were conditionally or absolutely vetoed.

Below is a summary of legislative actions taken by the Governor's office so far this year, including bill sponsors and outcomes.

Public Health and Healthcare

January 30: S-684/A-2334 (Singer, Diegnan/Tully, Swain, Sampson) - Requires telecommunications, cable television, and Internet service providers to allow for service contracts to be paused or canceled following the service recipient’s admission to a long-term care facility.
January 30: S-720/A-4168 (Burgess, Vitale/Reynolds-Jackson, Atkins, Stanley) - Requires DCPP to consult with the Division of Developmental Disabilities following a finding of child abuse or neglect to create a services plan for a person with a developmental disability under certain circumstances.
February 3: A-1899/S-1981 (Conaway, Speight/Vitale, Mukherji) – Expands the authority of pharmacy technicians to administer drugs and vaccines; allows certain pharmacists, interns, and externs to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
March 6: A-4091/S-2874 (Speight, Sampson, Hall/Diegnan, Polistina) – Expands services provided by audiologists and hearing aid dispensers.
March 6: A-1672/S-1285 (Lampitt, Karabinchak, Hutchison/Beach, Mukherji) – Allows disabled individuals receiving federal Railroad Retirement Act disability payments to qualify for homestead property tax reimbursement.

Education and Student Safety

January 30: SJR-76/AJR-101 (Ruiz, Turner/Lampitt, Matsikoudis, Rodriguez) – Establishes the second Friday in December as “PSRPs in Our Schools Day”, recognizing paraprofessionals and school-related personnel.
February 3: A-3414/SCS for S-2245 (Murphy, Lampitt, Speight/Ruiz, Turner, McKnight) - Modifies regulation of student permits by NJ State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling and establishes oversight of individuals seeking employment as shampoo technicians.
March 6: S-3825/A-4992 (Burzichelli, Testa/Bailey, McClellan, Hutchison) – Allocates $7.65 million in grants under the Securing Our Children’s Future Fund for career and technical education expansion.
March 31: S-1548/A-1028 (Turner/Munoz, Reynolds-Jackson) – Requires school districts to adopt policies regarding student use of sunscreen and sun-protective clothing at school and school-sponsored events.

Criminal Justice and Public Safety

January 30: S-3179/A-2941 (Cryan/Schaer, Wimberly) - Concerns certain emergency operations plans required to be submitted to law enforcement agencies.
February 3: A-3894/S-2580 (Murphy, Quijano/Bucco, Singleton) – Updates fire safety regulations related to licensing, equipment, liability, and fees; expands the Fire Protection Equipment Advisory Committee.
March 6: A-4684/S-3564 (Quijano, Park/Vitale, Turner) – Removes certain legal limitations on recovery for victims of specific sexual offenses.
April 3: S-4144/A-5411 (Scutari/Murphy, Carter, Reynolds-Jackson) – Clarifies the process for installing ignition interlock devices in cases involving driving while intoxicated (DWI).

Transportation and Infrastructure

January 30: S-3308/A-4513 (Scutari, Greenstein/Speight, Karabinchak, Wimberly) – Requires electric utilities to improve interconnection processes for grid-supply solar and energy storage facilities.
January 30: S-3879/A-5123 (Timberlake/Morales, Carter, Miller) – Updates the list of eligible environmental infrastructure projects for NJ Infrastructure Bank loans in FY2025.
January 30: S-3880/A-5124 (Lagana/Swain, Park, Freiman) – Revises the list of hazard mitigation and resilience projects for funding through the NJ Infrastructure Bank's Community Hazard Assistance Mitigation Program.
January 30: S-3881/A-5122 (Cruz-Perez, Beach/Rodriguez, Bailey, Bagolie) – Amends approved DEP project lists under the FY2025 Environmental Infrastructure Financing Program.
January 30: A-4571/S-3472 (Calabrese, Lopez, Verrelli/Zwicker, Johnson) – Makes changes to the powers and responsibilities of the NJ Infrastructure Bank.
January 30: A-4968/S-3839 (Calabrese, Carter/Diegnan, Mukherji) – Modifies the list of transportation infrastructure projects eligible for NJ Infrastructure Bank loans in FY2025.
March 6: A-3904/S-2954 (Moen, Spearman, Miller/Cruz-Perez, Beach) – Requires geotechnical testing and specific monitoring for transportation infrastructure projects.
March 6: A-4948/S-3819 (Lopez/Vitale) – Permits the City of Perth Amboy to use unspent FY2024 funds for pedestrian safety projects, including the Convery Boulevard Pedestrian Bridge.

Economic Development and Recovery

January 6: S-3969/A-5126 (Cruz-Perez/Spearman, Moen) – Extends the economic recovery period under the Municipal Rehabilitation and Economic Recovery Act.
January 23: S-1323/A-2076 (Pou/Sarlo, Pintor Marin, Park, Wimberly) – Updates provisions related to the New Jersey Aspire Program and tax credits under the Economic Recovery Act of 2020.
January 30: S-3921/A-5090 (Sarlo/Calabrese) – Redirects standardbred horse racing purse subsidies from Freehold Raceway to Meadowlands Racetrack under certain conditions.

Government Operations and Elections

February 3: A-5117/S-3994 (Greenwald/Beach, Sarlo) – Adjusts the required number of petition signatures for various election candidates; mandates annual publication of nominating forms by the Secretary of State.
February 28: S-4136/A-5343 (Sarlo, Bucco/Atkins, McCann Stamato) – Authorizes the continued use of newspapers for public notices until a set future date; requires submission of subscription and publication data.
March 6: A-5116/S-4142 (Wimberly, Barlas/Scutari, Bucco) – Overhauls primary election ballot design and processes; shifts to office-block format and removes State committee members from the primary process; mandates election reporting.

Land Use and Environment

January 30: S-3922/A-5120 (Zwicker, Turner/Peterpaul, Verrelli, Moen) – Appropriates $18.5 million from Corporate Business Tax (CBT) revenues to the NJ Historic Trust for historic preservation grants.
January 30: S-3936/A-5119 (Singleton, Johnson/Drulis, Sampson, Murphy) – Allocates $60 million in CBT revenues to DEP for capital projects in state parks and recreational areas.
January 30: A-5121/S-3943 (Katz, Egan, Collazos-Gill/Vitale, Diegnan) – Appropriates $49.5 million in CBT funds for land acquisition through Green Acres and Blue Acres programs, and related administrative costs.
March 6: A-4707/S-3516 (Moen, Murphy, Pintor Marin/Scutari) – Authorizes the sale of surplus State-owned real estate in the City of Camden.
March 17: S-3466/A-4627 (McKeon, Greenstein/Collazos-Gill, DiMaio) – Extends the expiration date for a special appraisal process used in the Green Acres and farmland preservation programs; includes support for watershed lands.

Juvenile Justice and Corrections

March 17: S-2423/ACS for A-3678 (Pou, McKnight/Reynolds-Jackson, Wimberly, Moen) – Renames the Juvenile Justice Commission to the Youth Justice Commission.

Veterans, Seniors, Families, and Community Affairs

January 30: S-2331/A-3517 (Ruiz, Vitale/Speight, McCoy, Haider) - “Equitable Outcomes in Child Support Collection Act”; establishes procedures regarding the collection of child support on behalf of children in the custody of DCPP.
February 28: S-3735/A-4904 (Holzapfel, Scutari/Stanley, Karabinchak) – Extends provisions from P.L.2022, c.9, regarding local governance.
March 6: A-4757/S-3456 (Danielsen/Scutari) – Permits nonprofit organizations to be issued licenses for operating amusement games.

Awareness and Commemorative Bills

March 6: AJR-120/SJR-110 (Conaway/McKnight) – Designates the first full week of May as Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week in New Jersey.
March 17: AJR-159/SJR-109 (Sumter, Verrelli, Wimberly/McKnight, Mukherji) – Establishes Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day annually on November 14.
March 31: SJR-140/AJR-202 (McKeon/Bagolie, Collazos-Gill, Reynolds-Jackson) – Declares March as Amyloidosis Awareness Month.
March 31: AJR-217/SJR-46 (Reynolds-Jackson, Carter, Spearman/Turner, Zwicker) – Recognizes April 9 each year as Paul Robeson Day.

Vetoed Legislation

February 10 – Conditional Veto: A-5039/S-3851 (Coughlin/Scutari) – Would have required SHBP reporting on fund transfers and assets. Returned with recommended changes.
March 17 – Conditional Veto: A-3881/S-2513 (Quijano, Park/Stack, McKnight) – Would have prohibited sharing of certain criminal history data. Returned for revision.
March 17 – Absolute Veto: A-3667/S-1138 (Freiman, Park/McKeon) – Proposed allowing dental service corporations to become subsidiaries of nonprofit parent companies. Vetoed outright.
March 17 – VETO (Conditional): ACS for A-3540/SS for S-2544 (Conaway, Greenwald, Park/Moriarty, Corrado) – Would have created criminal penalties for producing or sharing deceptive audio/visual media ("deepfakes").

This legislative period highlights a continued focus on strengthening New Jersey’s economic foundations, expanding public health authority, modernizing election processes, and addressing community needs through both funding and regulatory reforms. Residents across New Jersey, including those in Morristown, can expect changes stemming from these laws in areas ranging from healthcare access and school safety to election reform and public infrastructure.