The new year in New Jersey will see a swath of new laws — including higher auto insurance, more gun restrictions, longer work hours for teens, and an overhaul of unemployment claims.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed them all over the past year, but his signature doesn’t mean all of them take effect immediately.
Here are a few of them that take effect in the next 12 months:
Higher auto insurance
As many as 1.2 million New Jersey drivers will begin paying more for their auto insurance beginning in the new year after Murphy signed a law that increased the minimum amount of liability insurance drivers need to have.
Drivers affected by the controversial law (S481) can expect to pay around $125 more a year for insurance, according to industry officials.
Industry officials said at the time the bill was debated it would affect 1.1 million drivers. But the state’s Department of Banking and Insurance, which has oversight over insurers, said there’s an estimated 1.1 million to 1.2 million vehicles have the current minimum coverage.
Overall, there are 5,970,000 private passenger vehicles insured in New Jersey, according to DOBI.
Takes effect: Jan. 1
Concealed-carry gun restrictions
Six months after the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier to legally carry a gun, Murphy signed a law that overhauls and strictly limits concealed carry in New Jersey.
The law bars people from carrying guns in a wide array of “sensitive places” — including schools, courthouses, bars, and more. Other provisions include requiring people to get insurance and take training classes to get a permit.
The law is also being challenged in court by a part of gun-rights groups who claim it‘s unconstitutional.
Takes effect: Barring people from carrying guns in “sensitive places” took effect Dec. 22; other provisions slated to be phased in over the coming months. All depend on how the courts react to the gun-rights groups’ legal challenge.
Teens can work longer hours
Young and looking to make some extra cash over the summer? Good news. You can work longer hours.
A new law (A4222) will let teens who are 16 and 17 work up to 50 hours per week during the summer in New Jersey, up from 40 hours. It also clarifies the hours of the day that 14- and 15-year-olds, who can work up to 40 hours a week during the summer, are allowed to work.
It also will streamline the process of teens getting their working papers.
Takes effect: Jan. 1
Voter privacy
Out with the old and in with the new. With voters increasingly casting their ballots on a computer screen and then printing out a ballot to be scanned into a machine as opposed to pushing buttons behind a curtain, some level of privacy is needed.
It’ll be law for polling stations in New Jersey to have privacy sleeves for the printed ballot so poll workers on anybody nearby can’t see who you voted for in between the time it takes to slide your ballot into the scanner. The law (A3817) also lets registered voters update their name and address online.
It was part of more than a half-dozen voting reforms bills Murphy signed into law in July.
Takes effect: Jan. 1
Register that firearm
Murphy signed a law (S1204) that requires gun owners in New Jersey to register their firearms purchased from out of state. It was one of seven gun laws the Democrat signed in July.
Takes effect: Feb. 1
Track that ammunition
Another gun-related law Murphy signed will require ammunition manufacturers and dealers to keep a detailed electronic record of handgun ammunition sales in New Jersey and report them to the State Police (A1302).
Takes effect: Feb. 1
Large venues and houses of worship need active shooter plans
Large houses of worship, some movie theaters, and sports venues in New Jersey must soon set up emergency plans with local law enforcement and other first responders in the event of a mass shooting.
The law (S721) applies to places of worship capable of seating more than 500 people, movie theaters with more than 1,000 seats, sports and entertainment facilities with seating of more than 5,000 people.
Takes effect: June 1
Speed up unemployment benefits
Murphy signed a law in November designed to help out-of-work New Jerseyans get unemployment benefits more quickly in the wake of repeated criticism the state’s system doled out payments too slowly during the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure (S2357) makes a number of changes to how some unemployment payments are distributed in the state in an effort to speed them up, including extending the timeframe for appeals and increasing fines on employers who don’t give the state information about claims.
It also extends the timeframe for residents to appeal a change in their benefits from 10 to 21 days. And those residents would continue receiving the initial amount until their appeal is resolved. And it beefed up penalties on employers who don’t provide information about unemployment claims within seven days to the state Department of Labor, increasing fines from $25 every 10 days to $500 daily.
Takes effect: July 31
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
