Legislative Update By Jon Bombardieri
NEW JERSEY ELECTION RESULTS 2019 Republicans fared better than expected on election night when all 80 seats in the General Assembly were at stake, plus one in the state Senate. New Jersey was one of the few election contests in the country Democrats did not win. Republicans picked up a state Senate seat in the 1st District, where Michael Testa, Jr., unseated incumbent Bob Andrzejczak in a special election for Representative Jeff Van Drew’s seat. The new Democratic majority in the Senate is now 25-15. Republicans picked up two Assembly seats in the 1st District, where incumbents Bruce Land and Matthew Milam were defeated. The new GOP legislators are Lower Township Mayor Erik Simonsen and Ocean City Councilman Antwan McClellan. McClellan will become the first African American Republican legislator in 17 years. The Democratic majority in the Assembly is now 52-28. Democrats were unable to win any Republican Assembly seats, despite targeting four districts. Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick won easily. So did Anthony Bucco, who ran for and won his Assembly seat in the general election but will decline the seat to succeed his father in the state Senate. Instead, 25th District Republicans named Aura Dunn as his replacement. The failure to pick up seats in the lower house comes one year after Democrats flipped four congressional seats.
VIRGINIA ELECTION RESULTS 2019 Virginia Democrats won the House of Delegates and the state Senate. All 140 legislative seats were on the ballot, and Democrats took full control of state government for the first time since 1994. Democrats had a significant fundraising advantage in the legislative races, while Republicans had hoped to hold on to suburban seats that have sent GOP lawmakers to Richmond for decades.
Democrats won 21 seats in the Senate, while Republicans won 19. This gives the Democrats the net gain of the two seats they needed to take the chamber. Democrats won 55 seats, enough for a majority, while Republicans won 45 seats. State Legislative Reports
NEW JERSEY Legislation to Restructure Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Assembly Bill No. 6062/Senate Bill No. 42961: This legislation provides for reorganization of a health service corporation into a mutual holding company system, which would allow New Jersey’s largest health insurance company to broaden its business portfolio and gradually reduce its tax burden. Legislation introduced by Assemblyman John McKeon and Senator Nellie Pou would allow Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) to reform its corporate structure, enabling the insurance company to modernize and improve care for its current policyholders, save on healthcare costs over time and provide economic and public health benefits to the state in general. Further, the proposed law would allow Horizon to become a not-for-profit mutual holding company and create for-profit subsidiaries in businesses outside commercial insurance. The Legislature intends to move this bill quickly and get it on the Governor’s desk before the end of this lame-duck session. Assemblyman McKeon released the following statement: “Increasing access to healthcare, bolstering affordability, and ensuring the delivery of quality care throughout New Jersey has always been a top priority for the state. By moving Horizon toward a not-for-profit mutual holding structure, this legislation expands the corporation’s opportunities for investment in new technologies and other healthcare avenues. With an increased flexibility to provide its policyholders with more innovative products and services, Horizon would become more competitive, putting it on equal footing with industry competitors. It’s a win-win for Horizon policy holders and all NJ residents to assure access to affordable, quality healthcare.”2 Horizon is currently a not-for-profit health services corporation. This corporate form imposes specific limitations that include caps on the size of investments the company can make, a ceiling on business outside core commercial insurance services and an inability to use a modern holding company structure commonly used by health insurers and important to facilitating investments
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