Medications for opioid use disorder such as buprenorphine are the best available treatment and prevent against relapse, overdose, and death. This report examined emergency room policies related to buprenorphine treatment for reducing opioid overdose risk in #NJ: policylab.rutgers.edu/publication/...

🚗 Happening now 🚘 Researchers Bob Noland & Hannah Younes are presenting on their work examining automobile crash data availablility at the #NJ State House in a new seminar hosting by the NJSPL & Rutgers Gov Relations.

🏘️ The #NJ Assembly introduced a bill to restrict the sale of single-family homes to corporate investors; 🩺 the Senate advanced a bill to enshrine reproductive health care protections for patients and medical professionals; Read more here:

⚡🔋⚡When new #electricity generation methods are proposed—such as Gov. Sherrill's recent executive order to pursue new #nuclear power plants—extensive studies are required to ensure the project does not disrupt grid reliability:

🤰🤰 In 2020, #NJ enacted an expansion of its existing paid family leave program, increasing the maximum leave from 6 to 12 weeks and the wage replacement rate from 66% to 85% of weekly earnings:

🌾@mikiesherrill.bsky.social signed a new executive order addressing potential #farm #crop losses after a series of extreme temperature swings in April; 📱 the state Assembly has introduced a bill to require an #AI label for all LLM-generated content. Read these stories and more here:

On this Memorial Day, we honor and remember all those who served and sacrificed for our freedom. 🇺🇸🗽

🩺💵 Gov. Sherrill's first budget proposal provides an early look into the admin's healthcare affordability agenda. Without state action, rising prices from hospitals and elsewhere in #NJ will continue to drive costs exponentially: @njspotlightnews.org @newjerseymonitor.com

👩‍🎓🎓🧑‍🎓The NJSPL was honored to have some of the students who participated in this year's Policy Collaboratory with SPIA in NJ share the presentations they prepared on improving higher education access to @njhighered.bsky.social featuring students from #Rutgers, Princeton, Montclair, & Seton Hall:

🏫 The #NJ Assembly introduced a bill to address transparency in #school construction bids and lease agreements; 🏳️‍⚧️ the Assembly #Health Committee advanced a bill aimed at shielding patients and providers from civil and criminal penalties related to gender dysphoria treatment. Read more today:

🚑🚑 #Rutgers researchers have analyzed over 13,000 ARRIVE Together reports documented from May 2023 to March 2026, finding that of the 9,962 (72.2%) of interactions for which law enforcement outcome data was recorded, more than half (54.7%) ended with community-based outcomes:

🍾🥂On April 23rd, the New Jersey State Policy Lab marked its five-year anniversary with a celebratory dinner and networking event. The evening was a festive success as guests learned more about our work, gained insights from policy leaders, and fortified connections:

🍝 Gov. Sherrill signed a new law banning restaurant reservation scalping ahead of the #FIFA World Cup; 🔗 @vingopal.bsky.social introduced new legislation in #NJ intended to strengthen transparency requirements surrounding the state's clemency and pardoning system; Read more today:

Researchers with the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, with funding from NJSPL, have been examining how public AI initiatives in #NJ can better align with the evolving needs of small businesses in the state:

Building on the initial set of interviews with child welfare professionals, #Rutgers researchers are continuing to engage participants to understand how the recent #NJ Department of Children & Families certificate program on family interpersonal violence is experienced in practice.

In order to better understand New Jerseyans' opinions on various prison reform options, researchers surveyed 1,529 residents and asked them to identify how much they did or did not support adopting four specific kinds of reform.

🗺️ Researchers have been in the process of creating digital representations or features of historical water bodies in #NJ to map and identify problem areas with a history of flooding and sewer overflow problems:

🍾🎉Last week, the New Jersey State Policy Lab celebrated our 5th anniversary with our very first fundraiser and celebration in which we honored the contributions of four of talented policy-minded individuals: Brian K. Bridges, Christiana Foglio, Sen. Vin Gopal, and Sen. Andrew Zwicker:

🪫 Five bills to limit the #AI #datacenter industry's impact on the electricity grid and ratepayers' bills have advanced in #NJ; 🎰 lawmakers introduced bills to the Senate & Assembly that would regulate prediction markets like #Polymarket & ban markets tied to elections, death, or catastrophic events

👮🚔 #AI, predictive #policing, and data-driven technologies are described by some as the future of policing, but many of these same tools and methods have faced growing scrutiny:

🧑‍🎓 Executive Director Elizabeth Cooner and Research Manager Kevin Majewski are presenting now at the Rutgers Democracy Lab at the Eagleton Institute of Politics Showcase discussing outcomes from our Policy Collaboratory event with SPIA in NJ.

⏰🗓️ It’s coming together 🎉 The New Jersey State Policy Lab 5th Anniversary Celebration is happening tonight at the Rutgers University Inn and Conference Center… we can’t wait to see you there!

🎂🎁🎉 In celebration of our 5th anniversary, all of us at the New Jersey State Policy Lab are excited to release our 2026 Annual Report, which is available to read and download today: policylab.rutgers.edu/publication/...

👶🍼 Gov. Sherrill announced that her proposed FY2027 budget includes nearly $49M in funding to expand Family Connects #NJ statewide, which provides free nurse home visits for new parents; 💵⚖️ the Assembly Budget Committee has been holding hearings on #health and #education over the upcoming #budget:

🍃 The average property tax bill in #NJ reached about $10,570 in 2025, the highest in the nation, leading some policymakers and residents curious in whether new revenue sources, like #cannabis taxes, could offset high #propertytaxes: @njspotlightnews.org @bflanagannj.bsky.social @newjerseymonitor.com

Through a partnership with the New Jersey State Policy Lab and SPIA in NJ, the third annual Policy Collaboratory brought together graduate students, faculty, and policy practitioners from across the Garden State to discuss and brainstorm solutions to challenges related to higher education access.

Rapid Response Programs take the core principles of tactical urbanism and apply them to deploy quick safety countermeasures immediately after an automobile crash. This post from @policylab.rutgers.edu and photos from @njbikeped.org explain the process. bloustein.rutgers.edu/njspl-how-de...

🔋 Gov. @mikiesherrill.bsky.social signed a new law removing a key regulatory barrier to developing #nuclear power generation in #NJ; 🎓 a bill has advanced to the Assembly #HigherEd Committee that would require state universities to collect and publicly report #college graduates' employment outcomes:

🚜🌾🚜🌾With nearly 10,000 farms generating more than $1 billion annually in economic activity, #NJ is one of the most agriculturally productive states in the U.S. #Rutgers researchers analyzed data from a recent survey conducted for farmers in the state: policylab.rutgers.edu/publication/...

This is great data of a generous policy (relative to other states). Still, they find Black claimants gained the least in utilization of paid family leave suggesting we must do more to reach true equity in leave policies.

As part of the state's expansion of paid family leave, the #NJ Department of Labor began collecting demographic/socioeconomic characteristics of claimants & released this data as part of their annual reports. Researchers used this data to identify changes in New Jerseyans' use of paid family leave:

🧑‍⚕️ Gov. Sherrill signed a new law lifting restrictions for APN nurses in #NJ to provide primary #health care without a collaborating physician; 🏘️ the Assembly passed a bill to create state funding incentives for municipalities to support new #housing development; Read more policy #news today:

🚗🚗Rapid Response Programs take the core principles of tactical urbanism—speed, flexibility, and community-centered design—and apply them to deploy quick safety countermeasures immediately after a fatal or serious injury #automobile crash:

🔎 Bloustein Research Day 🔍 is underway, and NJSPL Research Manager Kevin Majewski presented on his work charting NJ’s #highered landscape. The half-day research lightning talks began with opening remarks from @bloustein.rutgers.edu Dean @stuartshapiroblou.bsky.social.

In 2018, the New Jersey Attorney General established the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA), intended to strengthen public confidence and act as a watchdog agency to investigate official misconduct, handle wrongful conviction claims, and provide accountability for corruption:

📣Don't miss out📣 The fifth annual @bloustein.rutgers.edu Research Day is happening Friday, April 3rd. Research faculty and staff will be presenting ⚡lightning talks⚡ on their recent #research projects, & students will present research posters with the chance to win a Best Poster Award!

🏛️Gov. Sherrill signed three #immigrantion protection bills into law, including codifying the 2018 #Immigrant Trust Directive; 🍃both chambers of the #NJ Leg voted to pass a bill that would extend restrictions on certain hemp-derived products through Nov. 2026. Read more legislative news here:

In response to an invitation from the Douglass Residential College & the Institute for Women's Leadership to host programs focused on women's issues at #Rutgers in honor of #WomensHistoryMonth, the NJSPL convened a panel of recent graduates on March 11th:

🏡 Researchers Eric Seymour, Stephen Danley, and Katharine Nelson met with #housing officials with @mikiesherrill.bsky.social admin to discuss recent work investigating corporate investor ownership in #NJ.

🔌⚡With changes in federal #energy policy scuttling the Garden State's plans to add 11 gigawatts from offshore wind by 2035, building new nuclear plants in #NJ to add to the 40% of the state's electric power is an environmentally friendly alternative to building new natural gas plants.

📚 🍎 Happening now 🍎 📚 The third annual Policy Collaboratory, a collaborative effort between the New Jersey State Policy Lab & SPIA in #NJ, with support from the Rutgers Democracy Lab. This event is hosting graduate students to work together & brainstorm solutions to the issue of #highered access

⚖️ An Assembly Committee advanced a bill to impose three separate #taxes on private prison & #detention centers in #NJ; 🗳️ The Legislature launched public hearings for residents & advocacy groups to testify and respond to @mikiesherrill.bsky.social proposed fiscal year 2027 budget. Read more here:

⛽🛢️⛽ In 2005, researchers Bob Noland with @vtc.rutgers.edu & Lewis Fulton with @ucdavis.bsky.social worked with the @iea.org to release analysis & policy recommendations to address concerns over "peak #oil" & rising oil prices. More than 20 years later, this work is more relevant than ever:

Graduate students in #NJ interested in #education can sign up for the Policy Collaboratory on 3/25 from 11:30am-5:00pm. Hosted by the NJSPL & SPIA in NJ at @princeton.edu, with support from #Rutgers Democracy Lab, this will offer students a chance to learn more about higher education access:

Over the past several months, researchers have conducted interviews with child welfare professionals who participated in a certificate training program on family interpersonal violence developed by the #Rutgers Center for Research on Ending Violence with the #NJ Department of Children and Families:

⚖️ Gov. Sherrill proposed a record $60.7B in spending for the upcoming 2027 fiscal year budget; 🩺 the Women's Affairs Assembly committee advanced an amended bill that would expand consumer fraud protections against #healthcare providers:

Researchers have been working to create a dataset of historical water bodies in #NJ, which began by georeferencing these water bodies. The next step is to trace historic water body features in ArcGIS Pro after identifying 5 feature classes of water bodies: bay, lake/pond, river, stream, & wetland.

This week, we were so proud to hold a #Rutgers #WomensHistoryMonth event with five of our student alumni as they discussed their respective careers in policy making and advancing women’s equity in #NJ. Executive Director Elizabeth Cooner moderated the panel, and we’re grateful for all who attended.

Researchers conducted a survey of 1,529 New Jersey residents to gauge their support regarding various areas of sentencing reform, which included reform relating to financial penalties assessed by courts at sentencing.

🏠 Today #Rutgers researchers presented at the State House in Trenton discussing their recent and ongoing research into affordable housing and the corporate acquisition of property in #NJ. @stuartshapiroblou.bsky.social @bloustein.rutgers.edu @ericseymour.bsky.social @willbpayne.bsky.social