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Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills in a room packed with immigrant advocacy groups in the Statehouse in Trenton Friday. 

This was the second bill signing ceremony the governor held Friday, though it was much bigger than his morning event. With about 70 people in the audience of the media room, the governor appeared stunned when he entered. 

He greeted the lawmakers sitting in the front row and shouted out some advocates in the audience of about 70 people. 

He detailed the three bills he prepared to sign, calling them part of the “people’s agenda.” He also noted that his administration is highlighting just 11 bills out of the 109 passed during lame duck.

The first bill Murphy signed at the event changes how data is collected on residents who identify as members of the Asian-American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The law requires state agencies to break down data collection into groups including Native Hawaiian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Indian. 

Murphy said the bill will "give folks the ability to stand up and be proud with a much more specific designation." 

The second bill he signed was the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which was greeted with cheers and applause from the crowd. New Jersey's 50K domestic workers will have new standards for working conditions, wage protections, and required meal time and paid breaks. 

“It’s fair to say this is an overused phrase, but it’s certainly true. I think they’ve been treated as second-class citizens, within the labor realm,” Murphy said about domestic workers. 

Dozens of advocates joined him at the desk for the bill signing, along with state officials like Sen. Richard Codey, prime sponsor of the legislation, and Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. 

With the bill signed into law, New Jersey is the 11th state with a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Murphy said he was told this is the strongest Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in the country. 

“This is now the law of the land,” he said, holding a copy of the bill while taking photos with the advocates. 

And New Jersey agencies and departments will be required to translate documents into the seven most spoken non-English languages in the state, under the third bill Murphy signed into law at the event Friday. 

State agencies, departments, commissions, boards, bureaus, divisions and other officers providing direct services will now be required to translate “vital” materials. The law requires those materials be translated into languages including Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Arabic, Korean,and  Gujarati. 

Murphy joked he wanted the people receiving pens to thank him in different languages. People responded in Spanish, French, American Sign Language, Portuguese, Korean and more. 

Following the signings, people lined up to take photos with him. The event lasted around 40 minutes. 

According to the governor's office, the following people received pens: 


Data disaggregation (A-3092wGR/S2415):

Assemblyman Sterley Stanley

Erik Cruz Morales, Policy and Advocacy Manager, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice

Anjali Mehrotra, 2023 Agent of Change, American Association of University Women of New Jersey (AAUW)

Dr. Jesselly De La Cruz, Executive Director, Latino Action Network Foundation
 

New Jersey Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act (S723/A822)

Senator Britnee Timberlake

Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson

Robert Asaro-Angelo, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Jenn Stowe, Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance

Jennifer Garcia Pelaez, Organizer and Outreach Strategist, New Labor

Diana Mejia, Founder, Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center

Steve Way, Actor and Founder, Hand in Hand

Narbada Chhetri, Director of Organizing and Programs, Adhikaar


(S2459/ACS for A3837)

Senator Teresa Ruiz

Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer

Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez

Assemblywoman Ellen Park

Amy Torres, Executive Director, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice

Amol Sinha, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ)

Charlene Walker, Executive Director, Faith in New Jersey

Nicole Rodriguez, President, New Jersey Policy Perspective

Amber Reed, President, AAPI Montclair

Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, NJ Monitor

PHOTO 

Phil Murphy | Flickr

Rich Hundley, New Jersey Governor's Office