LAST CALL FOR LAME DUCKS IN TRENTON

State lawmakers return to Trenton today to close out a lame-duck
session with debate on bills to legalize medical marijuana, relax
prison sentences for some drug offenders in school zones and allow
towns to stave off property tax hikes by postponing pension payments.

Although chances are dwindling for Democrats to enact laws before
Republican Gov.-elect Chris Christie takes office Jan. 19, lawmakers
said most of their grand plans -- with the exception of medical
marijuana -- have fizzled, many with gut-checks over the state's
fiscal crisis. In addition, the transition from Democratic Gov. Jon
Corzine to Christie has focused more on Corzine's nominations of
allies to state entities than last-minute legislative moves.

"Lame duck's becoming so anticlimactic," said Senate Majority Leader
Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who will become Senate president when
the new session begins Jan. 12. "There are very important pieces of
legislation that are going to move through, but the energy level in
past lame ducks seems different." Many bills faded because they would
have required new spending without the state revenue to support them,
Sweeney said.

Other bills have generated controversy at the expense of votes.
Same-sex marriage legislation seems unlikely to pass at this time,
and another politically charged issue -- changing the way New Jersey
fills vacant U.S. Senate seats -- was dropped after Democrats failed
to agree on a way to ensure Christie would appoint a Democrat if
either of the state's current senators resigns. Christie dismissed
the notion as "garbage" and Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex)
ultimately killed the move.

But lawmakers are clearing a path for seriously ill residents to
legally use marijuana to ease their pain. The qualifying illnesses
are cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorder,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and "any other medical condition"
approved by the state Health Department, according to the latest
version of the bill (S119).

Although legislators still need to reconcile the Senate and Assembly
versions -- which differ over restrictions such as whether patients
may grow their own marijuana -- top Democrats predict New Jersey will
become the 14th state to legalize the drug for medical use, with
safeguards in place.

"We won't have what's going on in California," Codey said last week.

Encouraging News

Nancy Fedder, a 62-year-old Hillsborough resident who has testified
in favor of medical marijuana, said she and other patients are
encouraged the drug is on the verge of becoming legal. She uses the
drug to help her cope with severe leg and back pain caused by
multiple sclerosis and said she consumes a modest amount through an inhaler.

"It's proven. It works. I don't get high. I don't have to get high,"
she said. "We've got to get this done."

Fedder said she's worried skittish lawmakers -- put off by
comparisons to California, which has been widely criticized for being
too lax with access to the drug -- have placed too many restrictions
onto the bill. Among the provisions that trouble her are a limit of
one ounce a month and the lack of an exception allowing a caregiver
- -- such as her daughter -- to pick up the drug on a patient's behalf.

But any bill would be better than nothing, because then "I'm not a
criminal anymore," she said. "There's right ways to do it, and you
don't have to not do it at all because of California. Not doing it is
the wrong thing." Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), sponsor of
the legislation, said the Senate and Assembly have negotiated an
agreement on "95 percent" of their differences but declined to be
specific about what restrictions will remain in the bill.

Probation Over Prison

Another major bill (S1866) that appears likely to pass would change
mandatory-minimum sentences for some drug offenses in school zones,
giving judges leeway to dole out probation instead of prison to
nonviolent drug offenders. Supporters say the law would be more fair
to minorities living in urban areas where schools are more
concentrated and it would save money by directing people to treatment
rather than incarcerating them. Opponents say it shows New Jersey is
going soft on crime.

Lawmakers also are expected to take up a bill (S3136) that would
allow cash-strapped local governments to put off paying part of their
pension contributions this year. The legislation would extend by a
year a controversial measure that Corzine proposed and signed into
law as a way to prevent property tax increases during the recession.
Christie opposes the bill.

Other bills under consideration would extend prevailing wage
requirements on publicly funded projects and require the governor's
annual budget address to include information about how much New
Jersey is spending on tax credits, deductions and exemptions.

Corzine has committed to signing the medical marijuana and gay
marriage bills if they reach his desk. Corzine will give his final
State of the State speech on Jan. 12, and he may make other moves on
his way out the door, including issuing pardons and commuting prison sentences.

Lawmakers have scheduled committee hearings today and voting sessions
for Thursday and Jan. 11. The new Legislature will be sworn in at
noon Jan. 12, and bills that do not make it to Corzine's desk for his
signature before he leaves office would have to be re-introduced for
consideration. Christie will set his own priorities, and he already
has said he will not sign a gay marriage bill.

Codey said same-sex marriage legislation (S2898) appears to have lost
momentum after a whirlwind December that saw the bill clear the
Senate Judiciary Committee and then be tossed to the Assembly when it
lacked enough votes to pass the full Senate. Assembly Speaker Joseph
Roberts (D-Camden), who is retiring Jan. 12 and supports gay
marriage, on Thursday handed the measure back to the Senate and said
his members would consider the measure after the upper house.