Today is Reorganization Day in Trenton. By the time New Jerseyans leave their offices, a new General Assembly will have sworn in, Governor Corzine will have delivered his final speech in office, Speaker-elect Oliver and Senate President-elect Sweeney will have lost their hyphenated titles, and thousands of pieces of legislation will have been re-filed. It's like a high school graduation on steroids.
And like any high school graduation, there was a flurry of last-minute activity to get to this point. Here is a quick rundown of some of the business-related bills passed during yesterday's legislative session.
- A-2491/S-1539- Changes specific terms in the Franchise Practices Act. In our view, it is an unnecessary intrusion by the government into defining terms in private contracts. Passed both houses
- S-2773 - Allows the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development to suspend business licenses, including a permanent revocation, for companies that "knowingly and repeatedly" violate state wage and benefit rules.
- S-2905 - Requires chain restaurants to post calorie information within the context of a menu and provide other nutritional information upon request.
- A-4347/S-3137 - Extends the life of building permits extended as part of the "Permit Extension Act of 2008" through December 31, 2012




