By Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt

For nearly 20 years, Lilly Ledbetter went to work as a supervisor at a Goodyear Tire plant in Alabama. She worked hard. She played by the rules. She did her job.

And yet, over two decades, she was paid less than male supervisors who performed substantially similar work. In an act repugnant to the spirit of America, she was continually discriminated against during her career. She was paid less because she was a woman.

When she sued Goodyear, the U.S. Supreme Court held that her claim wasn’t timely, a legal technicality because she hadn’t discovered the pay discrimination and sued within the statute of limitations. Legislation was quickly introduced in Congress to correct this technicality.

And so, three years ago, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama said of that very first piece of legislation in his administration: “You see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work.”

What a simple concept: a woman should earn equal pay for equal work. And yet, pay equity and the wage gap continue to be a serious problem both nationally and here in New Jersey, despite the Ledbetter Act and federal measures barring pay discrimination going back as early as 1963.

A 2010 report from the U.S. Census Bureau reported that for every dollar a man earned, a woman earned only 77 cents for equal work production.

By Senator Jim Beach

Sending our children off to school is traditionally a nail-biting experience for most parents. Entrusting their care and well-being to strangers is a difficult fact of life that all parents must come to terms. Now, imagine that you are the parent of a special needs child, whose health is so fragile that failure to provide immediate emergency intervention when needed may result in permanent damage or worse. Unfortunately, this scenario is being played out by hundreds of families in New Jersey who depend on individualized nursing care in order for their children to attend school.

One such family, Amy and Eric Sutter of Collingswood, recently contacted me and described the impact that cost saving measures have on the critical care needed for their son to attend school. Isaiah, one of three triplets born fifteen weeks premature, requires one-on-one nursing care to attend school due to a seizure disorder resulting in respiratory arrest. In the years since the birth of their triplets, the Sutter’s have relied on the services of over 200 nurses to help care for their children, and are extremely discerning of the skills needed to adequately care for their children’s special needs.

By Senator James Beach, Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, and Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt

When it comes to education, our state has reached a critical crossroads.

Far too many children in New Jersey are trapped in chronically failing schools. Far too many of our kids are denied a true shot at opportunity, at breaking the cycle of poverty, simply because they grew up in the wrong ZIP code. One thing is clear: we can and must do better.

That’s why we have supported innovative ideas and new approaches to student learning, like charter schools, to help give children in chronically-failing schools the tools they need to succeed. When New Jersey began to allow charter schools, the focus of the debate was on assisting these children, who are some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens. We believe the goal of charter schools should be to help those kids who need it most, rather than approving charter schools in some of our highest performing and successful school districts.

Unfortunately, though, Regis Academy’s plan to create a charter school in Cherry Hill misses the mark.

In its current form, Regis Academy would draw students from Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Lawnside and Somerdale. Given the importance of funding our public schools and the 2% cap on property tax growth, the approval of charter schools in higher performing districts like Cherry Hill and Voorhees would result in undue hardship—both to students and taxpayers.

(CHERRY HILL)—A day after legislation sponsored by Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden) to promote education over child pornography prosecutions in cases of teen “sexting” was signed into law, anti-“sexting” and anti-bullying advocates praised the measure. Assembly Bill 1561, now law, creates a diversionary program designed to educate teens on the dangers of “sexting” instead of automatically criminalizing the behavior.

“With advancing technology and smartphones bringing the world to kids’ fingertips, it’s important to educate teens who make a foolish decision, instead of labeling them as sex offenders and ruining their futures,” said Lampitt. “This law takes a common-sense approach and brings our laws into the 21st century.”

“Assemblywoman Lampitt’s law will help make sure that kids caught ‘sexting’ in New Jersey get the education they need, instead of being tagged as sex offenders,” said Allyson Pereira, an outspoken anti-“sexting” and anti-bullying advocate. “I’m proud to have worked with Assemblywoman Lampitt on this issue, and I hope this law becomes a model for states around the nation.”

NewJerseyNewsRoom.com
September 28, 2011
Tom Hester Sr.

“Sexting” for most children under age 18 will no longer be a crime in seven months but an issue that will be addressed through education, under a law signed by Acting Gov. Kim Guadagno.

The law (S-2700), would limit admission to the educational program to cases where the juvenile has not been previously convicted of sexually-related crimes; was not aware that his or her actions could constitute a crime and did not have the intent; the offense is related to a condition or situation that would be conducive to change through participation in the educational program, and the benefits to society in admitting the juvenile to the educational program outweigh the harm done to society by abandoning criminal prosecution.

The state attorney general, in consultation with the state courts, will develop the educational program. The program will include information regarding the legal consequences of “sexting”, the non-legal consequences, the long term impacts of engaging in the activity, and the possible connection between bullying and cyber-bullying and juveniles sharing sexually suggestive or explicit materials.

The law will take effect the first day of the seventh month following enactment.