OCEAN TOWNSHIP - Senator Vin Gopal and Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey are calling for Governor Murphy to permit curbside pickup at New Jersey public libraries in order to promote public education and expand access to resources and educational materials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - Senator Vin Gopal introduced new legislation this Thursday protecting health care whistleblowers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - This Tuesday, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Vin Gopal aiming to protect New Jersey restaurants from rising takeout and delivery service fees charged by some third-party food delivery services similar to Grubhub, DoorDash, and UberEats. Under the bill, during the COVID-19 state of emergency, these service fees cannot exceed 20 percent of the price of the original order, or 10 percent of the price of the original order if the restaurant is using its own driver for the delivery.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The Senate on Thursday approved legislation introduced by Senator Vin Gopal that would codify a recent administrative order by Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Paul Rodriguez that allows licensed pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests that have been authorized and approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - This Thursday, the State Senate passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Vin Gopal aiming to protect New Jersey restaurants from rising takeout and delivery service fees charged by some third-party food delivery services similar to Grubhub, DoorDash, and UberEats. Under the bill (S2437), during the COVID-19 state of emergency, these service fees cannot exceed 10 percent of the price of the original order if the restaurant is using its own driver for the delivery, or 20 percent of the price of the original order otherwise.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The State Senate today approved legislation introduced by Senator Vin Gopal that would allow licensed restaurants and bars to sell alcoholic beverages through takeout and delivery and allow distilleries to sell alcoholic beverages through takeout during the current state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The Senate today approved legislation sponsored by Senator Vin Gopal that would establish a New Jersey Hospitality Emergency Loan Program, which would provide immediate financial assistance for struggling hospitality businesses during the COVID-19 emergency. The program would be based on the Delaware program of the same name.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today approved legislation introduced by Senator Vin Gopal that would allow licensed pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests authorized and approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today approved legislation introduced by Senator Vin Gopal that would allow licensed restaurants and bars to sell alcoholic beverages through takeout and delivery and allow distilleries to sell alcoholic beverages through takeout during the current state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TRENTON - New bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Vin Gopal and Assemblyman Ron Dancer would establish a Long-Term Care Facility Infectious Disease Preparedness and Home Health Care Study Commission that would analyze the ability of long-term care facilities to respond to an infectious disease outbreak and determine new methods to encourage home health care in New Jersey.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - Legislation introduced by Senator Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch) this Monday aims to prevent a shortage of medical providers due to COVID-19 by prohibiting a hospital from including a non-compete clause in a contract with a nurse or doctor who leaves that hospital to work for a group of fewer than 30 doctors, such as an independent practice or small physician group.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Senator Vin Gopal (S2371) that would establish a New Jersey Hospitality Emergency Loan Program, which would provide immediate financial assistance for struggling hospitality businesses during the COVID-19 emergency. The program would be based on the Delaware program of the same name, announced on Wednesday by Delaware Governor John Carney.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - Monmouth County legislators Senator Vin Gopal and Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey announced today the formation of a new 11th Legislative District COVID-19 Economic Recovery Advisory Council, which will bring together representatives from a diverse array of industries and communities to advance efforts to re-open New Jersey’s economy, improve public health outcomes, and expand access to resources for municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and local small businesses.