Senator Sean T. Kean questioned whether Governor Corzine has a new plan to lease New Jersey toll roads to a foreign business. Just hours after the New York Times reported that Governor Jon Corzine discussed in an interview reviving his massively unpopular plan to sell the New Jersey Turnpike and raise tolls by 800%, a spokesman for Corzine quickly claimed that the Governor was actually referring to a toll road in Indiana. When discussing monetization, the Times quoted Corzine as saying, “This idea worked.”

“Governor Corzine’s comments to the New York Times seem pretty clear, I don’t see any mention of Indiana,” said Kean. “In either case, if the Governor has a new secret plan to lease the New Jersey Turnpike to a foreign operator, he should disclose the plan immediately.”

Read the rest of Corzine’s Spokesman Says Governor Supports Indiana Toll Lease Plan (255 words)

Senator Sean Kean introduced a Senate resolution opposing the federal six-month ban on black sea bass fishing beyond three miles of shore. As of October 5, 2009, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has imposed a ban on the recreational fishing sector harvest in response to a report release by the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey that suggested the 2009 federal quota for black sea bass would be surpassed.

“It is unfair to take such a drastic measure and restrict fishermen when other conflicting reports show that the quota for black sea bass will not be exceeded,” he said. “Local anglers should not be punished as a result of this flawed data.”

Read the rest of Senator Sean Kean Introduces Resolution to Oppose Ban on Black Sea Bass Fishing (208 words)

Senator Sean Kean has sponsored legislation in honor of Monmouth County military families that would authorize a special Gold Star Family license plate for families of servicemen and women who have lost their lives while on active duty for the United States. According to the Office of Legislative Services, there are currently thirteen families in Monmouth County who have lost family members in combat.

“Nearly every state in the nation offers the Gold Star license plate to its residents, but New Jersey does not,” said Kean. “It is crucial that we honor the local families who have lost loved ones who were fighting for our country. It is time that we give back in whatever way we can.”

Read the rest of Senator Kean Sponsors Gold Star Legislation In Honor of Monmouth County Families (274 words)

Last month’s appeals court decision forcing a community to build affordable housing units beyond their legal obligation is the latest in a long line of grievances suffered by localities in dealing with the state’s affordable housing regulations.

The latest drama in the tortured history of the state’s onerous Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) rules came when a developer sued Eastampton Township in Burlington County to build affordable housing, even though the town already submitted an affordable housing plan that was approved by COAH itself.

Read the rest of Court Ruling Shows COAH Provides No Protection from Lawsuits (466 words)

“As a prime sponsor of legislation that would authorize Gold Star plates, I welcome the Star-Ledger’s call to stop stalling and start honoring the parents of our fallen service men and women,” Senator Kean said. “These license plates will allow parents to express both their grief at heartbreaking losses and pride in the courage and honor of their sons and daughters.”

Read the rest of Sean Kean Joins in Call for Release and Passage of Gold Star Parents Bill (135 words)

Senator Sean Kean, Assemblyman Dave Rible and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini blasted the raids of the Shore Protection Fund by the Corzine administration and called for safeguards to prevent future raids of this fund at a press conference held today in Asbury Park.

“The Shore Protection Fund is essential to our economic well-being and important in maintaining a healthy shore,” said Kean. “We need to ensure that these funds are solely used for projects that will enhance and preserve our beaches.”

Senator Sean Kean, Assemblyman Dave Rible and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini listen to Margot Walsh, President, The Jersey Shore Partnership Foundation, at a press conference on shore protection held on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

Read the rest of Kean, Rible & Angelini Blast Raid of Shore Protection Fund (445 words)

Read the rest of Sean Kean Bill Would Double Penalties for Beach Polluters (243 words)

Senator Sean Kean denounced a recent Appellate Court ruling that will allow the developers of low income housing to bypass existing municipal zoning laws and affordable housing plans.

A recent ruling by the Superior Court, Appellate Division, found that the Township of Eastampton could not deny an application to construct affordable housing based on the fact that the town had complied with COAH. 

Read the rest of Sen. Sean Kean Slams COAH Court Ruling (426 words)

In a decision that one local official called “bizarre,” the appeals court said that the millions of dollars spent by cities to comply with state ‘affordable’ housing rules provide no protection from lawsuits demanding more housing be built beyond what the Corzine administration has required.

Read the rest of Sean Kean: Governor Corzine Needs to Say Now How He Intends to Prevent Housing Ruling from Causing Harm (234 words)

In 1776, Americans declared their independence in large part because they objected to being subjected to unfair taxes imposed upon them without representation. Today, a similar scenario is playing out in New Jersey, where a new school funding law empowers State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy with the ability to decide where the children of small non-operating school districts attend school and how local taxpayers will pay for it.

Read the rest of Trenton Centralizes Power at Expense of Small Towns (601 words)

Senator Sean Kean said New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) has given him assurance that roadwork on 18th Avenue in Lake Como will be done after Labor Day to reduce traffic tie-ups.

Kean said he has received constituent complaints about the condition of the roadway following construction work.

Read the rest of Sen. Sean Kean Works to Address Complaints Regarding 18th Avenue Roadwork (167 words)

Senator Sean Kean and Assembly members Dave Rible and Mary Pat Angelini will meet with the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation (DOT) to discuss traffic in the Neptune area and the need to widen Route 66.

The lawmakers said a proposal to locate a Lowe’s home improvement store on the corner of Route 66 and Jumping Brook Road in Neptune made the widening of the highway increasingly urgent.

Read the rest of Kean, Rible & Angelini to Meet with DOT Regarding Route 66 Widening (237 words)

Legislation sponsored by Senator Sean Kean and Assemblymembers Dave Rible and Mary Pat Angelini that seek to save taxpayer dollars by eliminating duplicate government inspections of beaches have been approved by the full State Senate and the State Assembly and are now awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Read the rest of Kean, Rible & Angelini Bills to Revise Seaside Bathing Sent to Governor’s Desk (205 words)

Senator Sean Kean and Assembly members Dave Rible and Mary Pat Angelini are calling on COAH to revise the affordable housing obligations of towns in Monmouth County in light of reports that COAH used flawed data that resulted in inflated estimates of buildable land.

“It is becoming increasingly evident that the COAH Third Round Rules are based on faulty data that do not reflect reality,” said Kean. “This is one more reason why COAH should scrap these rules and devise a realistic approach to affordable housing in New Jersey.”

Read the rest of Kean, Rible & Angelini Call for Monmouth COAH Numbers to Be Revised (728 words)

Senator Sean Kean, Assemblyman Dave Rible and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini will make the 11th district legislative office computers available to constituents for the purpose of filing for unemployment benefits online.

“Due to the record number of people filing for unemployment benefits, many people have been experiencing difficulties in their attempts to get through to the Department of Labor,” said Kean. “Our goal is to assist the public to help them file their unemployment claims in a timely manner.”

Read the rest of Kean, Rible & Angelini Offer Assistance To Those Filing Unemployment Claims (141 words)

The Governor signed into law a bill sponsored by Senator Sean Kean, Assemblyman Dave Rible, and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini that would allow dates provided for certain elections to be rescheduled when they coincide with a religious holiday.

Read the rest of Kean, Rible & Angelini Bill Banning Elections on Religious Holidays Signed into Law (192 words)

Senator Sean Kean and Assembly members Dave Rible and Mary Pat Angelini are urging Governor Corzine to push back a deadline for towns to submit their affordable housing plans.

In a letter to Corzine, the legislators stressed the need to give towns more time to devise a plan to construct state- mandated affordable housing.

Read the rest of Kean, Rible & Angelini Urge Governor to Delay COAH Deadline (308 words)