This week's COVID-19 cases reached over 2,500 in NJ, with 7 additional deaths confirmed. The seven day average in NJ is up 21% from a week ago. This week Moderna requested FDA approval for their vaccination for children under six years old, making them the first drug manufacturer to make this request. 

Starting next week NJ's single-use plastic bag ban will go into effect. On Thursday, May 4th plastic bags, paper bags, and styrofoam products (cups, plates, and to-go containers) will no longer be permitted. Non-grocery stores and retail stores will still be permitted to provide paper bags. To learn more about the law and exceptions to the ban, click here. 

Last week, select NJ dispensaries began selling recreational marijuana, with sales totaling nearly $2 million in just the first day. Since a memo was released by the NJ Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin stating that police officers are permitted to consume cannabis, there have been concerns from local leaders and state legislators that led to some towns banning police from consuming cannabis off-duty, citing federal law. Several members of the Legislature in both Chambers have expressed interest in introducing legislation to address the issue. 

This week, public hearings on the State's Fiscal Year 2023 budget continued in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Budget Committee. Departmental and agency hearings will continue on throughout the next week:

• May 2nd: Assembly Budget Committee, 10:00a Department of Transportation/New Jersey Transit/Motor Vehicle Commission; 1:00p Department of Law and Public Safety, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex.
• May 3rd: Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, 10:30a Higher Educational Services; 1:00p Department of Health; 3:00p Department of Law and Public Safety, 1st Floor, Committee Room 4, Annex.
• May 4th: Assembly Budget Committee, 10:00a Department of Labor and Workforce Development; 1:00p Department of Children and Families, 4th Floor, Committee Room 11, Annex.
• May 5th: Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, 10:30a Department of Labor and Workforce Development; 1:00p Department of Transportation/New Jersey Transit/Motor Vehicle Commission; 3:00p Department of Agriculture, 1st Floor, Committee Room 4, Annex.

FY 2023 Budget Information

In The News

• Most Off-Duty Cops Can Smoke Weed In NJ, But Maybe Not For Long
• N.J. legal weed’s opening day crowds topped 12,000 — and they spent big
• State agency probing why 200 died in N.J. veterans homes during pandemic, top official reveals
• Report: NJ hospitals pump $62B into state’s economy
• NJ Transit riders petition for a mask-only car after federal mandate overturned
• State outlines plans to put $2.4B into public health, hospital care and facilities
• State divesting any state pension funds with links to Russia
• Offshore wind leaders say NJ making the right moves
• A $1 billion boost pitched for health services
• FDA issues plan to ban menthol in cigarettes, cigars
• The ‘pandemic phase’ of COVID is over, Fauci says. So what’s next?
• N.J. spending $21M on projects to fight climate change
• N.J. public worker pension fund loses billions on investments in rocky first quarter