The New Jersey Legislature will meet virtually for its sessions on Tuesday as the state continues to reel from a blizzard that dropped more than two feet of snow on parts of the state.
The state Senate and Assembly will meet virtually by phone on Tuesday at 2:30 for their first sessions under Gov. Mikie Sherrill. The sessions had been planned for Monday, but the heavy snow forced cancellations as the state focused resources elsewhere.
The COVID-19 pandemic had forced similar adjustments in procedure, and now they will return to the practice as the state digs out.
A majority of the Garden State received more than a foot of snow, according to the National Weather Service. Tens of thousands of New Jerseyans remain without electricity, mostly in Shore communities that faced the harshest winds, according to poweroutage.us. New Jersey remains under a state of emergency, though the travel ban blocking motorists from driving ended at noon on Monday.
The Assembly lightened its load in anticipation of the virtual session: it will now consider just six bills, including one that extends the deadline for Sherrill to submit her first budget message. Her budget message would have been due on Tuesday under state law, but first-year governors are often granted an extension as they settle into office. The bill would extend Sherrill’s deadline to March 10th.
After Sunday’s cancellation of the Monday sessions, both chambers of the Legislature had removed immigration-related bills from the board list. It’s unclear when such legislation could come up for a vote.
