Daily Newsletter Template

Good morning! After a combined 10 hours of voting sessions in the Statehouse Tuesday — and more time caucusing behind closed doors — state legislators have headed off for the beaches and mountains, or their day jobs, or whatever it is state lawmakers do when they recess for the summer. We took a look at what they got done before they departed. Let’s start there today …

Trenton: Via Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, Nikita Biryukov, and me, “New Jersey legislators pondered and passed more than 100 bills in voting sessions that stretched into the night Tuesday on their race to summer recess. Many of the bills have cleared both chambers and now head to Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s desk for a signature. The legislation passed touched on matters small and large, from toughening the state’s limousine laws to passing the state’s $60.7 billion annual budget.”

Emergency care: Via Lilo Stainton, Newark’s University hospital last year launched a prehospital blood program for ambulances it operates in Newark, Orange, and East Orange, and through its partnership with the State Police’s two air rescue units, Southstar and Northstar. The program, one of at least a half dozen in New Jersey, has treated close to 50 patients so far with prehospital transfusions that are meant to save lives by more quickly helping people with knife wounds, gunshots, crash injuries, and other trauma.

Mental health in schools: Via Lilo, “New Jersey lawmakers approved a plan to strengthen school-based mental health services, connect more districts with behavioral health providers in their communities and, eventually, link them all with a centralized team of psychiatrists. Gov. Mikie Sherrill outlined one aspect of the program in her budget speech in March and is expected to sign the legislation, which passed both houses of the legislature Tuesday with near unanimous support.”

Great American State Fair: Via Sam Gauntt in our DC Bureau, “The Great American State Fair on the National Mall has all the trappings of a classic state fair: food vendors, merchandise, a Ferris wheel and scores of activities. But on Tuesday, just days before the nation’s 250th anniversary, one thing was, for the most part, notably absent. The crowds.”

Great American State Fair, Part II: Via AJ McDougall at NJ Advance Media, “New Jersey is among the 11 or so states that declined to send official delegations to the fair, a 16-day, White House-adjacent extravaganza that opened last week to ostensibly celebrate America’s 250th birthday … But the state’s loss is Cape May County’s gain.”

Data centers during the heat wave: Via Christine Condon in our partner newsroom Maryland Matters, “The nation’s largest electricity grid — which includes Washington D.C., New Jersey and a dozen other states — received a green light from the Trump administration on Tuesday to require data centers and other large customers to turn on back-up generators during this week’s heat wave. The order, signed by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, allows PJM Interconnection to tap into diesel back-up generators, battery arrays and more as a last resort’ to prevent power shut-offs as temperatures climb to dangerous heights in the latter half of the week.”

Curfews: Via Amanda Watford in our partner newsroom Stateline, “As communities prepare for crowded July Fourth celebrations, cities and towns across the country have revived juvenile curfews and increased police patrols in response to an apparent uptick in large teen gatherings and fights organized through social media … Research on youth curfews has generally found little evidence that they significantly reduce crime or victimization. Critics also argue the policies can lead to unnecessary interactions between police and young people who are not committing crimes, which may disproportionately affect children of color.”