O’Scanlon slams Murphy for holding up Monmouth Park sport betting.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, blasted Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Racing Commission for standing in the way of Monmouth Park from taking sports bets this weekend.

“There are two aspects to the administration’s actions. The first is that they are taking their time to sign the legislation, and the second is that they are standing in the way of Monmouth Park opening while taking that time,” said O’Scanlon said in a press release this afternoon. “The Governor claims he needs to review this legislation before signing it, but there is no practical reason why Monmouth Park cannot start accepting wagers while that’s happening–the sky won’t fall, lions won’t roam the streets, locusts won’t ravage our fields. There is absolutely zero likelihood of any negative impact of Monmouth Park opening today. That being the case, one has to wonder about the motivation here. It’s disturbing.”

“The legislature came together in a bipartisan manner to get this done correctly and quickly. All of that bipartisan effort has been brought to a screeching and frankly irrational halt by the actions of the administration.”

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O’Scanlon and DiMaso Urge Removal of Punitive Language From Sports Betting Bill

The William Hill Sports Race & Sports Book at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (both R-Monmouth) today urged the Legislature to remove punitive language which would discourage sports betting from commencing operations prior to the approval of regulatory framework legislation.

“We understand the motivation to level the playing field which was the apparent goal of this language in the bill, however that goal was achieved already—sports betting has been held off for weeks,” said O’Scanlon. “This language only serves to enable sports betting to get caught up in the complicated—and apparently contentious—budget battle. The Legislature needs to amend, move, and pass this legislation by tomorrow without any unnecessary punitive language.” Read the rest of this entry »

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DiMaso calls on Menendez to resign

Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (R13) called upon U.S. Senator Bob Menendez to “do the right thing” and resign.

“Now that Senate Ethics has confirmed that Senator Menendez broke federal law and exploited his office to help Dr. Melgen instead of helping New Jerseyans, he should do the right thing and resign from office,” DiMaso said in a press release this afternoon.

DiMaso pointed to the highlights of the four page letter of admonishment issued by the U.S. Select Committee on Ethic yesterday.

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What if Menendez resigns?

It’s not considered likely that Senator Bob Menendez will resign as a result of the bi-partisan admonishment he received from the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics.  NJ and Washington Democrats have become a much more forgiving people since Senator Bob Torricelli was forced out of office after his admonishment 16 years ago.

As Bret Stephens wrote in a Trump bashing piece in the NY Times yesterday, America’s standards have declined over the years.   Menendez’s admonishment for trading the power of his office for luxury travel and massive campaign contributions will likely blow over as the Democrats and their media partners continue their mission to destroy the Trump presidency.

But what if the Russian collusion with the Senate Ethics Committee works and Menendez decides to take a job running Dr. Salomon Melgen’s port security business in the Dominican Republic while looking over his luxury villa?

If Menendez resigns, Governor Phil Murphy gets to appoint someone to fill the vacancy until January. That person would run in Menendez’s place for a six year term in the November election. Who would Murphy choose? Read the rest of this entry »

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DiMaso proposes school safety legislation

Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso

Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (R-Monmouth), along with her colleagues Assemblywomen Nancy Munoz (R-Union) and Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen), today called on the legislature to take action on a 10 bill package they introduced last week to address school safety in light of the recent shooting in Parkland, Florida and other tragic incidents.

The proposed legislation is based on recommendations from two panels of experts that were set-up in the wake of the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn, DiMaso and Munoz said in a joint statement.   The groups included government officials, education leaders, law enforcement, community members, school officials, teachers and parents. Read the rest of this entry »

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