The Legislature will vote Monday on several bills that would impact the state’s economy — from requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more New Jersey locations to post calorie counts on their menus, to giving builders a 30-month building permit extension to allow them more time to launch projects stalled by the real estate slump.
The permit bill is a further extension of the 2008 Permit Extension Act. Instead of expiring June 30, as planned, building permits would receive another extension to Dec. 31, 2012.
The New Jersey Restaurant Association opposes the calorie-posting bill, and has urged the Legislature to hold off while Congress considers national restaurant nutrition-information legislation.
Lawmakers also will consider a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition to attend public colleges in New Jersey, provided they graduated from a New Jersey high school, received a state high school equivalent diploma, or attended high school in New Jersey for three or more years.
Out-of-state tuition is significantly higher than in-state tuition. At Rutgers University, an undergraduate who is a resident of New Jersey is paying full-time tuition this year of $9,546, plus mandatory fees of $2,340, for a total of $11,886. Out-of-state tuition is $20,178, for a total of $22,518, including mandatory fees.
The medical use of marijuana also would be legalized under a bill scheduled for a Monday vote.
Also before the Legislature is a bill mandating outreach and training programs for minorities and women seeking constructions contracts, and a bill requiring prevailing wages to be paid on new construction financed by loans from the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.
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