Cherry Hill Sun

Tag: Gov. Phil Murphy

  • ‘Important milestone’ for state’s young learners

    New Jersey is on track to provide free, universal preschool and full-day kindergarten a reality for all.

    Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills on July 9 to bolster early-childhood education in the state, building on a multi-year, administration-wide effort to expand access.

    “Expanding access to high-quality, early-childhood education has been the cornerstone of my administration’s approach to setting our children on a path to lifelong success,” Murphy said.

    Over the past seven years, funding for public preschool has increased by nearly $600 million, with the state now spending $1.2 billion to build and sustain programs in communities across the state. Since year one of the administration in 2018, 229 districts have been added to state-funded preschool programs, meaning now, more than half of New Jersey’s elementary-serving school districts offer free, high-quality preschool, whether through partnerships with child care providers or in elementary schools, according to a press release through the governor’s office.

    The first bill signed by Murphy codifies the state’s preschool funding formula into statute. It also modifies various statutes governing early-childhood education to help build and sustain universal access to preschool programs.

    This includes, but is not limited to:

    • Requiring the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) to provide annual preschool expansion grants
    • Codifying and revising the requirements for preschool education aid
    • Establishing a three-year Preschool Cost-Sharing Pilot Program
    • Establishing a Universal Preschool Implementation Steering Committee composed of representatives of various state agencies and the New Jersey Legislature
    • Requiring the DOE, the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Department of Human Services (DHS) to maintain and annually update certain information regarding preschool and child-care providers on their respective websites
    • Requiring the DOE, the DCF and the DHS to annually submit a report to the legislature on the status of preschool education in the state and the efficacy of the mixed-delivery method of preschool education
    • Requiring state agencies to publish guidance on a variety of topics related to expanding preschool education in areas of greatest need.

    The bill also sets the state firmly on course to provide free, full-day kindergarten for all New Jersey families by 2030 by requiring each elementary-serving school district in the state to establish a free, full-day kindergarten program no later than the beginning of the 2029-2030 school year. Districts that don’t meet that deadline can satisfy the requirement by entering into a send-receive relationship with an adjacent district.

    The second bill permits the awarding of contracts for certain preschool-education services by resolution of a board of education and extends the maximum contract length for preschools to three years. The third bill amends the Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act to revise various language provisions concerning preschool aid to align that language with legislation that modifies an aid allocation.

    “By prioritizing access for low-income students, fostering collaboration with community partners and ensuring all students have access to full-day kindergarten, these bills codify the administration’s longstanding efforts to expand preschool access and strengthen our state’s commitment to early childhood education,” said Department of Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer.

    “This step marks an important milestone in advancing New Jersey’s dedication to families and the long-term success of our youngest learners.”


  • ‘Changing the culture of driving’ one law at a time’

    Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation that strengthens requirements for driver education and testing to teach drivers about sharing the road with pedestrians and cyclists.

    The legislation builds upon the governor’s previous efforts to make New Jersey’s roads safer. Earlier this year, he established the Target Zero Commission – a 13-member group charged with identifying and implementing strategies to eliminate serious roadway injuries and fatalities in the state by 2040. 

    “Today’s legislation marks another essential step toward reducing roadside fatalities and making our streets safer,” Murphy said during a ceremony in Maplewood on July 17. He was joined by vehicle-crash victims, advocates, community members and local and state leaders.

    The law requires that both driver’s education curriculums and driver’s exams include information about a driver’s responsibilities when approaching a pedestrian operating a bicycle or personal conveyance. From 2023 to 2024, traffic fatalities increased by 14%. The overall increase was largely due to a 36%-increase in pedestrian fatalities. As of July, traffic fatalities are down 17% and pedestrian fatalities are down 31%, compared with the same time period last year.

    “It’s crucial for drivers to exercise caution and vigilance whenever they’re behind the wheel,” explained Latrecia Littles-Floyd, acting chief administrator of the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission. “By cultivating careful driving and passing practices, we aim to make our roads safer for everyone. Let’s all commit to driving responsibly and protecting each other.”

    “In a state as densely populated as New Jersey, it’s especially important that drivers remain aware that they are sharing the road with pedestrians and cyclists,” noted Michael Rizol Jr., safety director for the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety. 

    “After the most dangerous year for pedestrians since 1986, New Jersey is grappling with a heartbreaking safety crisis that affects every community throughout the state,” said Zeke Weston, policy coordinator at New Jersey Future. “… Driving isn’t just about controlling your vehicle, it’s about being responsible for the safety of everyone around you, especially vulnerable road users like pedestrians, seniors, and cyclists.

    “This legislation addresses a critical gap in the current driver-education system and is a significant step toward making New Jersey’s roads safer for everyone.”





  • Governor declares State of Emergency for South Jersey ahead of snowstorm

    Gov. Phil Murphy declared that New Jersey will enter a State of Emergency effective at 10 p.m. due to significant and severe storms causing hazardous winter weather conditions, including heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain, high wind gusts, and freezing temperatures, according to the governor’s office.

    Executive Order No. 374 declares a state of emergency across Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties, allowing resources to be deployed throughout the state during the duration of the storm.
     
    “Throughout our state, we are experiencing severe winter weather resulting in hazardous conditions, with snowfall expected to reach a high of six to eight inches in our southern counties,” said Murphy. “These dangerous outdoor conditions may impact the morning or evening commutes and make travel very difficult. Drivers should stay off the roads if possible, remain alert, and follow all safety protocols.”
     
    The governor encourages New Jerseyans to visit ready.nj.gov for important weather updates and safety information. Residents should also pay attention to local forecasts, warnings, and watches.
     
    For those living in Northern New Jersey and the New York Metro area, visit the U.S. National Weather Service New York, N.Y. at http://www.weather.gov/okx/
     
    For those living in Central and Southern New Jersey, visit the U.S. National Weather Service Philadelphia/Mount Holly at https://www.weather.gov/phi/

  • ‘Smolder, smoke, burn’

    Courtesy of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

    The state has elevated its drought watch status to a drought warning.

    Gov. Phil Murphy and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette joined state and water utility officials at a virtual press conference on Nov. 13 to update residents on the state’s record-breaking dry spell and wildfire response.

    “This is not just in New Jersey, but across the entire Northeast,” Murphy said. “As a result of these unseasonably dry conditions, we have seen a series of wildfires break up and down our state, and the numbers are frankly staggering.”

    Since early October, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has responded to 537 fires, 500 more than the state saw during the exact same period last year.

    Murphy said he has been speaking to and communicating with the same representatives who attended the press conference and with mayors, most recently from Pompton Lakes, Evesham and West Milford. While fires in the first two are under control, West Milford “is still in the thick of it,” the state indicated.

    In Evesham, a 14-year-old boy was charged in connection with a forest fire that burned 52 acres of land near Sycamore Drive and the Berlin Township border on Oct. 30, according to police. The blaze was one of two wildfires that erupted in the area – the other was reported on Nov. 7 – and fire officials are investigating if the two are connected. The fires burned more than 400 acres of land, according to reports.

    “We have been fortunate that no structures were consumed by the fire and no one was seriously injured or killed as a result of these fires,” Evesham Police Chief Walt Miller noted in a township message.

    The governor recognized the state forest fire service and members of local fire departments for providing an “incredibly dangerous” service. That came to light on Nov. 9, when an employee of the New York State Parks System, Daniel Vasquez, died while fighting the wildfire in West Milford.

    “I speak for all New Jersey in sending our condolences and prayers to his family,” Murphy said. “We are incredibly grateful for his service and for his willingness to protect both New York and New Jersey from these deadly fires.”

    Given the drought warning, the governor explained that residents need to conserve water, since unseasonably dry conditions are expected to stretch into the winter months.

    “This is not the time to be lighting more fires either; we simply cannot risk it,” Murphy emphasized, adding the state’s drought is just one example of how a changing climate is impacting the state today. “Please leave outdoor fire pits and grills untouched for the time being.”

    A drought warning condition is an administrative tool that impacts supply side actions, not sewer side actions, LaTourette explained.

    “The warning enables DEP to order changes to passing flows and streams, reservoir releases and other actions by water utilities to preserve and balance supplies between systems and prevent the need to restrict on the consumer side,” he pointed out. “We are not yet at the most severe status; that would be a drought emergency.

    “We are trying through these actions to prevent that.”

    The drought warning indicates the clear actions the state is taking to preserve available supplies and better position itself to help reservoir systems fill back up to meet demands in the warmer months.

    “It is so critical … our residents take extra care to conserve water,” LaTourette warned.

    The last state drought watch issued was in August 2022. There hadn’t been a drought warning condition since October 2016, and it persisted for more than a half a year, LaTourette said.

    Greg McLaughlin as state administrator of Natural Lands and Forests, oversees the forest fire service under the leadership of state fire warden and Chief William Donnelly. He said the conditions faced by the DEP’s Forest Fire Service this fall “are unprecedented.”

    “The drought is affecting ground moisture and impacting fuels on the forest floor of leaf litter and the pine needles,” he noted. “In terms of how that relates to wildfire, (the fire service) uses a national standard called the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) … This scale measures the dryness of the fuels on the forest floor, which includes pine needles, branches and twigs.”

    The scale reaches 800 at its maximum; the (drought index) now measures 748.

    “These numbers have never been seen by the forest fire service in our 118-year history,” McLaughlin said, noting the 800-scale maximum indicates the soil is dry 8 inches into the ground. It would require 8 inches of water to bring that same soil back to complete saturation.

    And although the state welcomed some rain on Nov. 10, officials said it was nowhere enough to ease the state’s drought.

    “The impact of this dryness on wildfires cannot be overstated,” McLaughlin observed, while noting the Tea Time Hill Wildfire at Wharton State Park in Burlington County caused by July fireworks continues to “smolder, smoke and burn.”

    “This fire will continue to burn through this leaf litter, through roots, and when the opportunity comes for the fire to find an air pocket or perhaps a dead tree, it comes back above ground again,” he added. “This a big concern for our agency, as we have to monitor these fires for periods of weeks and months.

    “Thus, while we may declare a fire 100% contained, it doesn’t mean the fire is completely out.”

    The state has had almost 550 wildfires since 2000. The annual number has been exceeded this year by almost 30%.

    “If we look at the acres burned, during that same average period since 2000, it almost tripled the number of acres burned from 4,000 to 11,000,” McLaughlin said.

    The NJDEP has 10 simple steps for residents to save water:

    • Reduce usage by 65% and use a commercial car wash instead of washing your car at home.
    • Postpone water intensive yard work, like reseeding your lawn, until conditions improve.
    • Sweep patios, driveways and sidewalks; never hose paved surfaces.
    • Fix leaks around your home and with your irrigation system.
    • If you are still watering your plants, lawns and gardens – since they require less water – use a rain barrel or watering can.
    • Install low-flow showerheads, faucets and toilets.
    • Take 5-minute showers.
    • Turn off water while brushing teeth.
    • Run your washing machine and dishwasher only when full.
    • Raise lawnmower blades to at least 3 inches to promote deeper grass roots that better hold water.

    For additional water conservation tips, visit dep.nj.gov/conserve-water/. For more information on the drought status, go to dep.nj.gov/drought.