Education
Assemblywoman Quijano is a firm believer that education is a crucial investment for every individual. Seizing an opportunity to make the best “you” that you can be is only made possible by the educators and educational institutions in our State. Quijano fights for all three: taking action to make college more affordable, securing the proper resources for teachers, and fighting for grants for our schools and universities across New Jersey.
Assemblywoman Quijano has sponsored legislation to promote health and safety in schools, such as evaluating schools for mold hazards, keeping lead out of the water in our colleges, and creating a commission to improve our prevention and response to campus sexual assault. In addition, Quijano is promoting legislation to ensure that all students have individual textbooks, and to study outmigration of high school students to out-of-State colleges.
Economic Growth
Assemblywoman Quijano knows that a healthy economy is one in which workers get a living wage, businesses have employees who can get the job done, and entrepreneurs can achieve their dreams. By listening to her constituents, and sponsoring legislation that addresses their needs, Quijano effectively represents the 20th legislative district.
Recently, Quijano’s legislation to prevent wage theft was signed into law. It is the strongest such provision in the country. Learn more below:
Public Safety
Assemblywoman Quijano is known as a champion for public safety in the State of New Jersey. She served as Chairwoman of the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee from 2011-2018, and homeland security continues to be at the top of Quijano’s agenda. Quijano maintains strong relationships with the first responders, law enforcement, fire fighters, and all who contribute to the public safety of New Jersey.
One of her landmark legislative priorities calls for New Jersey to grant driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. The bill is designed to improve public safety on New Jersey roads since it will make certain that all people on the road are appropriately tested and licensed and are driving vehicles that are registered and insured.
More recent public safety legislation that Assemblywoman Quijano sponsored includes:
- The Non-Profit Security Grant Pilot Program, which grants vulnerable religious communities money for surveillance equipment, security barriers, and cybersecurity programs to protect themselves against hate-based attacks.
- Making operating weaponized drones a fourth degree crime.
- Requiring new homes to be built with fire suppression systems.
Armed Forces and Veterans
Assemblywoman Quijano has the utmost respect for our armed services and veterans because of the sacrifice they make to our country. She recognizes that veterans and military families often face circumstances that other people don’t usually have to confront, so her legislation for veterans is focused on making life just a little bit easier for them.
Her most recent sponsored legislation for veterans include:
- A2451 excludes Armed Services combat pay from gross income taxation.
- A3427 allows military service as an acceptable excuse from jury service if the member is unavailable due to deployment or duty assignment.
- A2457 allows a $3,000 gross income tax deduction for the surviving spouse of certain veterans.
Womens’ Rights and Domestic Abuse
As the first woman to ever represent the 20th Legislative District, Assemblywoman Quijano takes women’s issues and domestic abuse very seriously.
One of the top women’s issues that Quijano championed and was signed into law is her legislation establishing a commission to examine sexual assault on college campuses. For many students, college is a rite of passage to entering the professional world. Sadly, many of them will become victims of sexual assault during their college years. To Quijano, this is unacceptable, and looks forward to the Campus Sexual Assault Commission’s report and recommendations on how to make it easier to report abuse, and prevent it in the future.
Another bill that demonstrates Quijano’s commitment to women’s issues is her legislation to mandate the disclosure of the ingredients in menstrual products like tampons and pads. In response to national recalls of feminine products, she introduced a bill that would require companies disclose not only what the products are made of, but also the chemicals that are used in production, some of which may cause cancer or other health issues.
Workers’ Rights
Assemblywoman Quijano believes that government has an important role in ensuring that workers have a fair and safe workplace, receive the wages and benefits that they are owed, and new programs are created that afford greater social safety nets for workers and Assemblywoman Quijano recently passed legislation to expand the paid family leave program, which will allow more workers to take time off of work to care for a loved one who needs it.
In addition, she is working on legislation to prevent wage theft, which is an unscrupulous business practice that deprives working people of their agreed upon wages.
Quijano was also a co-sponsor on recent legislation, now law, that will put wages in New Jersey on a path to $15 per hour for most workers, creating an earned sick leave program, and the Secure Choice Savings Program, which will create a state sponsored mobile retirement plan for workers in jobs that do not offer retirement savings plan.