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Channel: Declan O’Scanlon – MoreMonmouthMusings

O’Scanlon: Stop the Madness. No More Throwing Taxpayer Money in the Street

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Senator Declan O’Scanlon

After seeing salt covering New Jersey roads today, despite the fact that temperature is not supposed to drop below 37 degrees Fahrenheit over the next few days, Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) said that “enough is enough” and demanded that the State put an end to the practice of unnecessary brining.

“It’s time for someone to challenge Governor Murphy’s assertion that this is a pennies per mile cost: it’s not. There was simply no way that a .17 per mile number was an accurate reflection of the cost to brine our roads when you account for labor, gas, and equipment. After speaking with a few of local officials we were able to confirm that the actual cost in totality is in excess of $12 or $13 per mile locally – and that is for areas that are more conservative with their usage of salt and brine,” O’Scanlon said.

“The administration has publicly stated that they use 65 gallons of brine per mile. It seems more likely that .17 is the cost per gallon of the brine materials alone. But with the amount of gallons the State is using, at that rate, it actually costs $11.05 per mile in materials alone, not .17 cents. That is a hugely misleading statement to our taxpayers, whether it was knowingly misleading or not. In fact, the overall total cost per mile with materials and labor is almost a 7,000 percent increase from what the Governor is on record as saying.

“There is no question that the State is over-brining the roads. People around New Jersey praise Monmouth County for managing and mobilizing their storm response the right way and being conservative with salt usage. Yet there have been at least a dozen times this winter so far that Monmouth County wasn’t brining roads, when the state was. There is obviously something wrong there.

“We can’t be out here making jokes about New Jersey being the ‘Brining Capital of America’ when we are continuing to add to our structural deficit with this cost. Last year, our winter weather response it cost us more than $100 million, and that was before we started this new policy of dumping resources every time the temperatures drop below 40 degrees.

“My goal is not to criticize the attempt to prepare. Obviously we should be preparing and responding to winter weather for the safety of our residents. But this level of waste isn’t preparation. When we mislead people about the rate at which the administration is setting taxpayer funds on fire by nearly 7,000 percent, that is not a joke. That is tragic.”


O’Scanlon Clarifies His Position On Legalized Marijuana

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By Senator Declan O’Scanlon

In the ill-fated recent rush to pass legislation that would legalize, tax, and regulate recreational adult use of marijuana, my position on the legislation, and the issue, has been misunderstood and mischaracterized by some New Jersey media outlets.

With regard to the bill package that Senate President Sweeney removed from the Senate calendar on March 25, I was a hard ‘NO’ vote. It has been reported that I was willing to trade my vote for funding for projects or causes specific to my Monmouth County district. It has also been reported that I was a “soft ‘yes’” vote.  Those reports are fake news that were published by outlets that either did not speak with me or misunderstood/mischaracterized what I told them.

I want to firmly destroy and denounce these false, offensive assertions. Those that know me know I’m not for sale – not for personal gain and not for political-favor-purchasing bacon brought back to my district. Not once have I, and never will I, make such trade-offs. The only way to earn my vote is to give me good policy.

What is true is that there are conditions under which I would vote to support the legalization of recreational marijuana use. Let’s stipulate that legalization is virtually inevitable. Either through referendum or via the backroom-revenue-squandering type of deal making I outline above, it’s going to happen. Aside from the inevitability argument, there are fair arguments on both sides of this debate. A diligent legislator must consider all these aspects and take action that’s going to result in the best outcome for New Jersey. Burying one’s head in the sand, even though it might be politically expedient, is an abdication of responsibility.

On the facts, prohibition doesn’t work. The status quo doesn’t work. If your kid is in middle or high school, he has access to all the pot he can buy – laced with God-knows-what, sold to him by someone connected somehow to a cartel with an incentive to up-sell him into harder, more profitable, and more poisonous drugs. None of this should surprise us, it’s exactly what happened with alcohol prohibition.

On the flip side are genuine concerns of legalization proponents. Safety, local control, tax structure (both rates and dedications), potency are all of significant concern. I will be a firm “no” vote on any legislation that doesn’t address the legitimate concerns raised by my constituents, my Sheriff, and local mayors and officials.

In order for me to vote to legalize recreational cannabis use, the legislation will have to accomplish the following:

1.     Break the back of the black market. We’re never going to completely eradicate evil, but if we are going to do this we must to it in a way that cripples the cartels and dealers who want to sell poison to our children and vulnerable adults.

2.     Train and empower law enforcement/DUI enforcement.

3.     Dedicate all tax and fee revenue generated by the cannabis industry to reduce our $4 billion structural deficit and in a way that invests in the things most critical to residents.

I have let the Governor and the Senate President know that in order to accomplish these goals, I would support and sponsor legislation that:

1.     Provides for the funding of Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) statewide. We cannot saddle our municipalities and counties with an unfunded mandate of bearing the cost of keeping our roads safe from drivers impaired by marijuana. This also addresses the traffic safety concerns raised. We must send a clear message that driving under the influence of any substance is both dangerous, and unacceptable. We need to mandate body cameras for our DRE’s to make them more effective. Also, we need to empower DREs’ and permit them to properly conduct a search in the event of an accident or a death; just as we already do when someone is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol in an accident.

2.     Increases funding for drug addiction treatment and education. While I don’t agree that marijuana is a “gateway drug,” the current illegal market is a gateway market.

3.     Trenton needs to stop “stealing” money from municipalities and counties.

*   The 9-1-1 fees we all pay monthly on our cell phone bills needs to be used for its intended purpose of improving public safety and technology. Trenton is currently diverting over $100 million per year of this money. The diversion must stop.

*   The energy receipts tax that we pay on our utilities bills every month was originally intended to compensate municipalities in lieu of property taxes on rights of way for power lines. Trenton has glommed that money for too long.  We need to return that money to municipalities to reduce property taxes as intended.

*    We need to restore homestead rebates and the senior freeze of property taxes.

All of the above items I include in my widely accepted $4 billion structural budget deficit. Funding these items gets us double value – we reduce our deficit and we fund critical things people care about. Funding for these items is also easy to bench mark so as to avoid diversion and hold everyone accountable.

Legislation that accomplishes all of these goals through the legalization of recreational marijuana will have my vote.

Senator O’Scanlon discusses the storm and JCP&L’s response

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By Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

For those who didn’t lose power, or see the fury of Monday night’s storm, be thankful. Your lives went on like a normal summer day with a thunderstorm in the background.  For those who were in the micro-bursts…it was the scariest thing many have seen since Sandy..and more than many of us have ever seen. It lasted 20 minutes through the area…but left more immediate wind devastation than Sandy. Sandy spent hours piling water into our Bayshore and bays and oceanfront. This unnamed…moment…tore down trees and utility poles and the wires near, or attached to, them. And it was block-by-block, neighborhood by neighborhood.  Which made it even harder on those without power. Many neighbors had no inconvenience at all.  I can say now, it was a miracle no one was seriously injured or killed.  For those that didn’t see it, trust me, this isn’t hyperbole.

In the end over 200,000 people had no power. Trees were down. JCP&L on the scramble, tested again.  By Thursday night, all but just over 200 customers in Monmouth County had their power restored.

photo courtesy of JCP&L

I spent several hours on Tuesday in the JCPL command center in Holmdel – dealing with local officials pinpointing areas of most immediate concern . We met again on Thursday to begin the assessment process of the response to make things better next time.  There is plenty of room for improvement.  But there was also significant, almost dramatic improvement over the Sandy response. The local area liaisons were fully engaged and the corporate leaders of the company were in touch with me and local officials. Our local input was actively included in response priorities. My constituents weren’t irritants, we together were welcomed partners in response priorities. Big steps forward.
All that said, there’s a long way to go. More active communication between the company and individual customers through a a high quality app or some other creative online communication is way overdue. More timely and more granular estimated time-to-restoration projections must be possible, and must be delivered. We need a resiliency project and investment plan that demonstrates the company cares about quality, dependable service as much as it does profits.

photo courtesy of JCP&L

Today I was heartened to see that there is a sincere interest and effort on behalf of the company to invest in the network and implement the improvements we all need to see. I know people are frustrated, trust me, as exhausted as I am after this last few days, so am I. But I promise you, as the Senator from the area hit hardest by these two storms, I won’t relent until we get the communication and network resiliency improvements that we need, and that we deserve.
Senator Declan O’Scanlon represents the 13th legislative district, northern Monmouth County and the Two Rivers area, in the State Senate.

O’Scanlon and DiMaso: Murphy’s repeal of Shore Rental Tax is “Too little, too late”

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Aseemblywoman Serena DiMaso and Senator Declan O’Scanlon

With three weeks left in the summer tourist season Governor Phil Murphy finally signed legislation repealing the tax and surcharge of Jersey Shore short term summer rentals.

Monmouth County legislators Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso say Murphy’s action today is “too little, too late.”

“The Governor made the right call in repealing this short-term rental tax–and we acknowledge that–however it comes way too late,” said O’Scanlon. “We are in August at this point, summer is nearly over and most of the damage of this ill-conceived aspect of this tax has been done. The Governor and his policy folks need to recognize when something is emergent and do their homework up front, so they’re ready to take action the minute such bills land on his desk. This was a total failure of administrative planning and it likely, needlessly, cost the New Jersey economy millions of dollars.”

“While I applaud the Governor signing this bill, it’s been on his desk since June 27th, and it is now August 9th,” DiMaso continued. “Many families have already been deterred from renting down the shore, and the number who might do so in the next three weeks of summer surely cannot make up the amount of revenue lost this tourism season.”

“Tourism contributes $44 billion annually to the New Jersey economy, particularly tourism at the shore. Tying the hands of our local shore economies with this short-term rental tax was irresponsible and completely, easily avoidable. I praise the Governor for seeing the light on this issue, but that won’t bring back the millions that shore economies have lost this summer in potential revenue,” said O’Scanlon.

“I’m happy our voices were heard, it’s just unfortunate that the Governor didn’t elect to sign this repeal before he set off for his Italian vacation in July,” DiMaso concluded.

Short term rental activity on the  Jersey Shore is purportedly off 30% so far this season,

O’Scanlon: Aberdeen Officials Need to Atone for False, Political Mailing Sent on Taxpayer Dime, Threats to County Officials

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Councilman Greg Cannon threatened  County Officials

Taxpayers paid for political mail

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) today sharply criticized Aberdeen Township’s taxpayer-funded distribution of flagrantly misleading information regarding the municipal record on taxes.

In July, Aberdeen’s governing body sent out a mailing to residents blatantly, and falsely, claiming that there was no increase in municipal taxes. The mailing blamed tax increases on schools, Monmouth County, and assessment methodologies.

“I’ve worked well and in good faith with Aberdeen during all my years in the legislature. Our good relationship makes my having to make this statement all the more difficult. But the Aberdeen administration failed its constituents on so many levels revolving around this demonstrably misleading, blatantly political, taxpayer-funded communication that I simply cannot let it stand,” said O’Scanlon

“The letter sent by the Aberdeen Administrator, presumably at the direction of the governing body, is deeply troubling on many levels. First, it consistently and purposefully misrepresents the budget and tax actions of the municipality. Second, it attempts to place blame solely on Monmouth County and school administrators for tax increases that the municipal governing body is itself responsible for. Third, when County Tax Board officials called out the governing body for its misrepresentations, Councilman Gregory Cannon openly threatened Tax Board members and administrators,” O’Scanlon continued.

Monmouth County’s award-winning Assessment Demonstration Program is in line with the rest of the country as the gold standard for fair and accurate property assessments.

“There can only be two underlying causes of the blatant factual errors contained in the letter. Either the Aberdeen Administrator and governing body do not understand how property taxes and assessment methodologies work, or they purposefully chose to lie to the public. There is no third option. It would be unfathomable for anyone to believe that the Aberdeen officials in question were unaware of their own budgets and tax levy increases, therefore it is a fair assumption that the misrepresentations were intentional.”

Aberdeen Councilman Greg Cannon

Documentation obtained through an Open Public Records Act request shows the full scope of this misinformation campaign as well as bringing to light threats made by a local official–Councilman Cannon–against the Monmouth County Tax Board when the County Tax Board discussed providing residents with factually accurate information.

“These documents show that Aberdeen’s suggestion that Monmouth County is responsible for local tax increases is outrageous. Monmouth County government has one of the best, most conservative tax records in the state of New Jersey. From 2018 to 2019, the local levy increase imposed by the Aberdeen Mayor and Council went up at a rate 2.5 times faster than the County rate (3.69% vs 1.35%). Over the last 6 years, the Aberdeen rate went up by an average of 4.1% versus under 1% for the County. Aberdeen’s local tax levy increased at a rate of over 30% faster than the average municipality in the 13th Legislative District. There are many components to taxes that impact an increase or decrease in an individual tax bill—local, school, county, or assessment changes can all have an impact. But to imply that Aberdeen’s municipal levy has not had any influence on local tax increases is simply false.”

“Equally as disturbing as the blatant misstatements in this document, is the behavior of at least one elected official. During discussions with County Tax Board members and administrators, Councilman Cannon threatened the County Tax Board members with retribution for doing their jobs. It is deeply concerning that we have a public official on record making statements of intent to use his political position in an attempt to cause harm to the careers of members of our County Tax Board and administrators who are trying to fulfill their official, administrative duty to the residents of Aberdeen and Monmouth County.“

“Additionally Councilman Cannon openly admitted that the taxpayer-funded mailing was political, and only issued because political control of Aberdeen was up this year,” O’Scanlon stated. “A public servant using public money, for a solely political purpose, is totally unacceptable. The mailing adds insult to injury by pushing demonstrably false information to the people that paid for it–Aberdeen’s taxpayers.”

As a direct result of this misleading mailing, the Monmouth County Tax Board is creating a FAQ page to help residents understand their property taxes and guard against this type of false and irresponsible misrepresentation.

“At the very least, the elected officials who authorized this series of misrepresentations and this misuse of funds must public apologize to their constituents for misleading them and using their tax dollars to do it. Councilman Cannon must apologize to the County Tax Board members and staff he threatened and an appropriate investigation should be conducted to ensure accountability if laws were broken. Additionally, the mayor and council should personally repay the municipality for the cost of the mailing. Lastly, it would appear that some remedial education for all the officials involved in this mess is in order. Starting with a crash course on how various taxes, tax levies, and tax rates work and interact,” O’Scanlon concluded.

Video: O’Scanlon discusses his position on the vaccine bill

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In the face of passionate opposition and push back, Senator Declan O’Scanlon issued the following statement regarding the controversial legislation that alters the religious exemption for mandatory vaccines.

The original bill, which removed the religious exemption was pulled from the legislative docket by Senator Steve Sweeney last month because it was one vote short of passing. On Thursday, the bill was amended to allow private schools and daycare centers to admit unvaccinated children, in order to win O’Scanlon’s vote.

The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Senate on Monday, the last day of the “lame duck” session of the legislature.  The amended bill will also have to pass the Assembly, where it has already passed, 45-25 with 6 abstentions,  in it original form.

O’Scanlon’s Bill To Protect Seniors From Scammers Advances

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Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Legislation sponsored by Senator Declan O’Scanlon that would make scamming a senior citizen or disabled person a more serious crime than it already is advanced through the NJ Senate Law and Public Safety Committee last week.

O’Scanlon’s bill (S-601) would make the fiscal victimization of a senior or disabled person a crime. Under the measure, a person would be guilty of fiscal victimization for committing, attempting to commit, or conspiring with others to commit theft against a senior citizen or a person with a disability.

“Seniors have always been prime targets for criminals who prey on their trusting nature and easy demeanor,” said O’Scanlon (R-13). “As technology has developed, it has become easier to find victims and raid their life savings. This can be devastating for people living on fixed incomes.”

The crime of fiscal victimization created by the bill would be an additional charge for suspects accused of theft of money or valuables. The new offense would be a crime of the fourth degree, or one degree higher than the most serious underlying crime, and the courts would be authorized to impose separate sentences for each conviction.

“These crimes are becoming more common, and they often go unreported because the victims feel embarrassed or don’t know where to turn,” O’Scanlon noted. “Not only will this bill make it easier for the courts to punish the criminals, it will also shine light on the growing problem and may discourage scammers from exploiting vulnerable residents.”

Companion legislation in the Assembly has not yet been assigned to a committee.

 

O’Scanlon’s Legislation Protecting Seniors Property Tax Break Advances

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Legislation sponsored by Senator Declan O’Scanlon that would allow senior citizens to continue to enjoy their “senior freeze” benefit if they downsize to a smaller home was advanced by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee today.

“The Senior Freeze provides needed property tax relief for older homeowners, including many who are struggling to make ends meet on fixed incomes,” said O’Scanlon (R-13). “While the majority of senior citizens live in one- or two-person households, only a small percentage of them reap the savings provided by selling their family home and downsizing.

“This measure will ensure if an eligible homeowner does move to a smaller, more affordable home, it will not jeopardize their reimbursement,” O’Scanlon explained.

Enacted in 1997, the homestead property tax reimbursement program, also known as the Senior Freeze, provides property tax relief to eligible seniors and homeowners with disabilities by reimbursing eligible claimants for property tax increases that occur after the claimant becomes eligible for the program.

Eligible seniors must be 65 years old, have lived in-state for at least 10 years, and owned and occupied their primary residence for at least three years.

Currently, when a claimant moves to a new homestead, they become ineligible for the reimbursement for up to three years. O’Scanlon’s bill would eliminate the penalty for moving to a new homestead for most claimants.

“The intention of the Senior Freeze is to provide assistance with New Jersey’s sky-high property taxes to vulnerable seniors who deserve a break,” O’Scanlon said. “They shouldn’t be penalized for moving into a more affordable residence. The current system actually incentivizes people to pack up and move out of state.”

Companion legislation in the Assembly has been referred to the State and Local Government Committee.


O’Scanlon: Minimum Wage Increase Has Created Budget Challenge. What to Watch For In Proposed Budget

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Direct Support Professionals Asking for $16.5 Million to Cover Minimum Wage Increase

When the Democrats in Trenton passed legislation in 2019 to increase the state minimum wage incrementally until it reaches $15 per hour in 2024, Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Republicans in both houses warned of the consequences for New Jersey taxpayers, those providing essential services and those that depend on those services.

Two months after the implementation of the second annual increase raising the state hourly minimum from $10 to $11, O’Scanlon’s cautions are being proven.

“There isn’t any level of government or a single taxpayer that will be spared from paying in one way or another for higher wage costs fueled by the Democrats’ minimum wage increase,” said O’Scanlon (R-13). “I raised this issue early on in the debate and it was ignored. The Governor stunningly ignored the increases in costs inflicted on government-dependent entities, on which our most vulnerable depend, in last year’s budget. Now we see the next dead canary in the coal mine with this notice from DSP services.

“If the budget presented tomorrow doesn’t preemptively include additional funds, to pay for the impact of the policy the Governor himself advocated for, it will be a shocking display of short-sightedness, and a devastating blow to these dedicated third party providers of basic, life altering/saving services to our most vulnerable.  This has to be a priority and the funds must be found within the budget. The vital need to provide these funds can’t simply be used to justify a tax increase. We already have gross unfunded debt obligations with the public employee pension and health benefits systems,” O’Scanlon added.

Recently, it was revealed that pay increases for non-skilled private sector jobs has created a crisis among Direct Support Professionals (DSP) who provide crucial assistance to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

As salaries for retail employees have eclipsed the $12 per hour rate for DSP workers, the turnover rate has reached 40 percent and almost one third of the job slots are unfilled.

“It’s a textbook lesson of the ripple effects of minimum wage hikes on the economy,” O’Scanlon said in a Sept. 13 press release after Murphy increased appropriations for childcare by $54 million to compensate for higher cost of providing services due to a law the he enacted beginning the process of raising the minimum hourly wage to $15.

The hourly rate for any industry that receives Medicaid reimbursements is set by the federal minimum wage of $7.25. If a state sets a minimum wage exceeding $7.25, the state must either absorb the costs or abandon those services.

“Each year as the minimum wage rises and costs escalate, you can be certain these providers of essential services will rightly claim we are strangling their ability to function,” O’Scanlon said. “The Governor will try to demand higher taxes and more government spending to compensate for the very policy he advocated. Quite frankly, it’s a mess, for the providers, for those they care for and for taxpayers. It’s outrageous that this seems to be an afterthought.  The administration needs to step up, meet with those entities impacted, assess the added costs that are looming, be totally transparent and project these impacts across the board and throughout the next several years,” said O’Scanlon.

Now advocacy groups supporting the DSPs are calling for $33 million over two years in state funding, plus $33 million in matching federal money, to accommodate January’s increase, plus an increase to $12 per hour scheduled for Jan. 1, 2021.

“This is yet another example of how the Governor’s minimum wage increase is exerting pressure on the state budget and the taxpayers,” said O’Scanlon. “The higher cost of labor is driving up expenses across the board and challenging these essential service providers’, and those that depend on them, ability to survive.“

A member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, O’Scanlon said the DSP staffing challenges is a serious issue, but it is just one of many minimum-wage-connected dilemmas facing the state.

“Higher labor costs are an inevitability following the minimum wage increase, and if there’s no more money for labor in the budget, it will mean laying people off and cutting work hours,” O’Scanlon said. “This crisis must be handled within the context of the larger state budget.”

O’Scanlon: COVID-19 is cause for diligence, not panic

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Senator notes that current pandemic is a historical reminder of the pre-vaccine world

Senator Declan O’Scanlon issued the following statement in response to the announcement that the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has reached two communities within his district, Little Silver and Hazlet:

“We have been told for several weeks that the coronavirus would likely spread to most communities and, unfortunately, it appears to now have reached Monmouth County,” said O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). “Today’s announcement should not serve as a cause for panic, rather it should reinforce our diligence in adhering to the hygiene recommendations from public health officials to help slow and limit the spread of coronavirus within our community.”

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised people to cover coughs and sneezes, avoid touching parts of your face, clean and disinfect frequently touched objects, stay home if you are sick except to get medical care, and wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

The CDC maintains an informational website on COVID-19 with a fully array of advice for healthcare professionals, families, and businesses.

O’Scanlon noted that modern society has largely been shielded from highly contagious diseases such as the new strain of coronavirus due to the success of vaccines in recent decades.

“For anyone who’s wondering, this is what the world looked like pre-vaccine,” added O’Scanlon. “People today are not accustomed to living in a world where highly contagious pathogens are a problem, and that’s because vaccines have successfully minimized the threat of dangerous diseases like measles and polio that once were a major threat. I have no doubt that a vaccine for COVID-19 eventually will be deployed with similar impact.”

“At this point we all need to avoid panic, work together, be responsible if we feel sick and follow health officials’ recommendations. We, and our economy, will get through this with diligence and teamwork,” O’Scanlon added.





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