State Legislature

A bill co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) designed to expand health insurance coverage for behavioral health care services and enhance enforcement and oversight of mental health parity was approved March 26 by a vote of 73-3. The bill, A-2031, would require plans to provide coverage for medically necessary behavioral health care services and to meet the requirements of …

A local state legislator looks to play a role in what promises to be groundbreaking marijuana legislation due later this year. State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) is working to include key segments of medical marijuana legislation he introduced into the final bill, which is now being formed in a Democratic caucus. What’s expected to emerge from that caucus – Danielsen …

If the March 5 hearing before the committee he chairs is any indication, state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen is going to have an interesting Spring. Danielsen (D-17), chairman of the Assembly’s Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee, held the first of what are planned to be several public hearings on cannabis regulation. To say interest in the topic was intense wold …

State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) is one of three state legislators spending the weekend in Cuba, at the invitation of the Cuban government. Danielsen is joined on the trip by state Assemblyman Gordon Johnson and state Senator Loretta Weinberg, both (D-37). Also on the trip is Somerset County Democratic Party chair Peg Schaeffer and former state Assemblyman Joe Roberts. During …

State Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) has been named chairman of the Assembly’s Regulatory Oversight/Federal Regulation Committee. Danielsen, who was recently sworn in to his second full term as an Assemblyman, was named to the post by Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D-19). “I am both honored and humbled by the trust shown to me by Speaker Coughlin in naming me …

Legislation co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen that would ensure hospital staff is well informed to deliver proper care and oversight for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia advanced in the legislature on Nov. 30. An Assembly panel sent the bill, A-918, on to the fill Assembly. The measure is also co-sponsored by Assembly members Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Daniel Benson, …

Legislation sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) that would expand medical parole for non-violent inmates and cut costs at jails was signed into law Sept. 13 by Gov. Chris Christie. The new law supplants one that granted limited medical parole for inmates who were deemed to have six month sor less to live. Under the new law, inmates who …

Two pieces of legislation co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) have become law, and a third awaits Gov. Chris Christie’s approval. The first is part of a legislative package sponsored by Danielsen and Assembly Democrats Lou Greenwald, Gordon Johnson, Bruce R. Land, Bob Andrzejczak, Vince Mazzeo, Eric Houghtaling, Dan Benson, Patricia Jones, and Raj Mukherji to provide mental health …

Legislation co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) that would support workers who are attacked while supervising inmates or detainees is now law. The measure was also sponsored by Assembly members Daniel R. Benson, Raj Mukherji, Elizabeth Muoio, Jamel Holley, Shavonda Sumter, Joann Downey, Pamela Lampitt, Sheila Oliver, and Benjie Wimberly. Under previous law, a corrections officer or juvenile detention …

A raft of bills co-sponsored by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17) moved through the state Legislature during June. Among the bills Danielsen supported and which received either committee or Assembly approval are: A bill (ACR-13) urging Congress to enact reforms addressing sexual harassment and assault in the United States Armed Forces was advanced by the Assembly Military and Veterans’ Affairs …