Statehouse News

Gov. Phil Murphy has allotted billions from Washington to bolster schools, local governments and health care needs arising from the pandemic.

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

The COVID-19 pandemic loomed large in Gov.

TRENTON, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy has signed three bills to legalize recreational marijuana use and establish a regulated cannabis market within the next six months.

The legislation allows for adults to legally possess as much as six ounces of marijuana and offers relief for anyone previously subject to arrest for petty marijuana possession. The third measure removes criminal penalties ...

TRENTON, NJ — New Jersey residents still awaiting their extended unemployment benefit payments can expect to receive them by Friday, February 12.

Since an 11-week extension in federal benefits was approved at the end of December, there has been a lapse in payments for some 75,000 residents whose jobless benefits had expired prior to the signing of the new COVID-19 relief ...

TRENTON — Although federal unemployment benefits were extended for 11 weeks more than a month ago, there still are tens of thousands of New Jersey residents who have not been able to claim those weekly benefits — a delay that has come under fire by state lawmakers representing Belmar and Lake Como.

In a joint statement issued on February 2, Sen. Bob Singer, and Assemblymen Sean ...