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.
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.
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
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.” Read the rest of this entry »
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.
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. Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Senator Declan O’Scanlon, (R-Monmouth), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, make the following remarks in response to Governor Phil Murphy’s proposed budget:
Watch O’Scanlon deliver his remarks:
“This budget won’t lift up the middle class. It will leave generations of New Jersey residents with no hope for a prosperous future.
“Even if the Governor’s rosy projections – of both revenue and savings – are accurate, we are still only a fraction of the way out of the hole we’re in.
“We can’t tax our way out of this mess. Without major reforms, it is a very real possibility that young public workers won’t even have a pension by the time they retire.
“I urge Governor Murphy to come to the table and hammer out a compromise with us. There is no other option,” Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) said.
Senator Declan O’Scanlon today announced his plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit State entities from entering into civil settlements for less than the amount that has been stolen from social safety net programs and offering immunity from criminal prosecution. The legislation comes as a direct result of recent investigations into Medicaid fraud settlements in Lakewood.
“The notion that people who have knowingly received benefits they were not entitled to would only be required to pay back half of that amount of money is completely ludicrous. It’s basically like letting someone get away with stealing from taxpayers. That’s unacceptable.”
Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso have introduced legislation that will increase certain animal abuse crimes to the second degree level. Convictions for second degree crimes carry penalties of five to 10 years imprisonment and fines of up to $150,000.
The legislation is named for River, a pitbull/mix that was rescued by a Good Samaritan, Jennifer Vaz of Highlands, who discovered the dog caged and left to drown on the banks of the Shrewbury River at Veterans Memorial Park last June.
