Senator Joe Vitale, the Senate Deputy Majority Leader and a Democrat serving his third term, took office on January 14, 1998 and represents the 19th Legislative District in Middlesex County.  Senator Vitale has taken a very active role representing the citizens of New Jersey, including:

• Senate Deputy Majority Leader
• Chairman, Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee
• Senate Economic Growth Committee, Member,
• Senate Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee, Member
• Board of Directors, Middlesex County Habitat for Humanity, Member
• Board of Directors, Visiting Nurses Association of Central Jersey
• Governor’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and Related Blood-Borne Pathogens,  Member
• Mandated Health Benefits Advisory Commission, Member
• Advisory Commission to Promote the Profession of Nursing, Member
• Middlesex County Children’s Commission, Member
• New Jersey-New York Clean Ocean and Shore Trust (COAST) Committee, ex oficio Member
• New Jersey Council on Armed Forces and Veteran’s Affairs, ex oficio Member

Background Information:

Senator Vitale has been actively involved in the life of his community for many years.  As a Deacon with his church and as a church youth group leader, he successfully organized sister church relationships and projects between parishes in the Dominican Republic and the United States.  This included raising funds for and participating in school construction projects in small Dominican villages and a hospital, the first medical facility of any kind, in a remote area of the island.  This facility now serves tens of thousands of people from the village and surrounding mountain communities.  The Senator has donated and arranged donation drives to assist victims of the hurricanes and floods that have devastated Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the past years.  Also, Senator Vitale is a founding member of the Middlesex County Habitat for Humanity and is an Honorary Chairman of Parents for Autistic Children. 

Accomplishments:

During his tenure in the Senate, Senator Vitale has established a solid record of working in support of various public interest initiatives.  Highlighted below are some of Senator Vitale’s legislative initiatives that he has authored and that have been signed into law. They represent some of his most important achievements over the past six years as a State Senator:

• The establishment of the New Jersey FamilyCare Health Coverage Act for working families.

• The Patient Safety Act, which establishes medical errors reporting systems in all health care facilities.

• The Express Enrollment Pilot Program, which allows certain schools to automatically enroll children who qualify for the free or reduced lunch program into NJ FamilyCare health insurance.

• New Jersey’s new gun safety law that prohibits gun ownership for anyone convicted of child abuse, stalking or domestic violence.

• The Health Care Worker’s Protection Act that prohibits the use of forced mandatory overtime in health care facilities.

• The Establishment of the Domestic Violence Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board to research death and near-death domestic violence incidents, and to develop methods of prevention through collection of data.

• Appropriating $2.3 million to Rutgers College of Nursing to expand facilities and improve the development of the nursing workforce to address New Jersey’s critical nurse shortage.

• New Jersey’s new Bias Crimes Law.

• The Patient Protection Act. This new law is comprehensive reform of New Jersey’s medical malpractice liability insurance industry, including tort reform and insurance reform.

• The Homelessness Youth Act that provides an annual state contribution of $1 million to homeless youth shelters for medical care, education, counseling, food and shelters.

• “Megan’s Law” which creates New Jersey’s Sex Offender Internet Registry.

• A requirement that Medicaid covers HIV drug resistance testing.

• A bill that establishes the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing - which will create employment recruitment and retention models for nurses and other health care workers.

• The new law that prohibits insurers from discriminating against consumers on the basis of domestic violence.

• Legislation providing for instruction for elementary, middle, and high school students in the dynamics of domestic violence and child abuse.

• The creation of the State Commission of Investigation as a permanent Agency.

• State financial support for the medical expenses and rehabilitation of catastrophically injured crime victims.

• The requirement that front seat passengers wear safety belts and requires the use of child passenger restraint systems.

• Requires criminal history record checks for all certified nurse aides, personal care assistants and homemaker-home health aides.

• New Jersey Health Care Consumer Information Act, which requires the State to collect and maintain information about each physician licensed in New Jersey so that health care consumers may make informed decisions when choosing their physician.

• The creation of a Statewide Tuition Waiver Program for students under the care and custody of the Division of Youth & Family Services (DYFS) to afford them the opportunity for a college education.

• New health laws requiring hepatitis and meningitis vaccinations for high school and college students.

• Establishes Autism Medical Research and Treatment Fund.

• Establishes Domestic Violence Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board to research domestic violence incidents and to develop methods of prevention.

• Allows release of Administrative Courts’ records concerning adoption agencies

• Reduces the blood alcohol level at which a person is considered to be guilty of drunk-driving from 0.10% to 0.08%.

Priorities:

Senator Vitale’s foremost priority is protecting the health of children and working families as well as making health insurance accessible for all New Jerseyans.  To make his vision a reality, Senator Vitale has crafted numerous pieces of legislation to improve the quality and efficiency of health care in New Jersey.

For example, Senator Vitale’s landmark legislation - the Patient Safety Act - addresses the occurrences of medical errors by creating an internal reporting system within facilities and the State that will track and trend these errors in order to make systemic changes and increase the safety of patients. 

The New Jersey Medical Care Access and Responsibility Act is another critical law which the Senator created to address the medical malpractice liability insurance crisis.

Senator Vitale has also dedicated much of his energy to the NJ FamilyCare Program, which was evident during the FY 2003 budget negotiations.  His success for advocating on behalf working families and often those that are not organized in a manner to advocate for themselves is outstanding.  He recognizes real problems and creates workable solutions.  

Recognizing that the future of NJ FamilyCare was volatile, Senator Vitale has formed a working group of experts to address issues facing the uninsured and the underinsured in New Jersey. Senator Vitale also serves on the Middlesex County Children’s Health Commission that is working on the development of a comprehensive program to provide health insurance for all uninsured children in the county.  In addition, Senator Vitale has designated his district office as an enrollment site for NJ Family Care.  His trained staff assists constituents to identify programs they are eligible for and coordinates their enrollment.

Senator Vitale has also emerged as a strong leader in the fight to improve care at New Jersey’s hospitals and nursing homes.  He drafted legislation designed to limit the number of patients assigned to each nurse.   Senator Vitale was also the prime sponsor of laws that improve working conditions for health care workers by restricting the use of forced overtime and recruit more nurses by providing additional scholarships through the Collaborative Center for Nursing. 

Recently, for his efforts, both the New Jersey State Nurses Association and the New Jersey Hospital Association named Senator Vitale Legislator of the Year.  Senator Vitale was also named New Jersey’s 2nd most influential player in New Jersey’s Healthcare arena by the 2004 Annual HealthSense Listing.   Senator Vitale has been honored by New Jersey’s Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community, as Legislator of the Year, for being an ardent supporter of issues that promote the autistic community’s recognition, well-being and progress.  The Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey named Senator Vitale 2004’s “Good Guy” for his advocacy on behalf of women’s rights as well as his support of women in the political arena.  The Hyacinth AIDS Foundation honored him at their annual Gala for his vision and dedication to helping those with blood-borne illnesses.

Senator Vitale has taken on many hard issues and has been instrumental in working with physicians, patients and other interest groups to find solutions.  He hopes to continue the momentum of these groups to advocate for higher reimbursement levels for physicians through Medicare and other government financed health programs and also to ensure private insurance companies reimburse physicians for their services in a timely manner. 

Other issues that are very important to Senator Vitale include property tax reform.  He believes education funding is over reliant on property taxes, which unfairly affects seniors and other low income or fixed income groups.  Senator Vitale continues to be a strong advocate for the improvement of the education system, the protection of our environment, and the betterment of services provided to our children through DYFS and other state agencies serving vulnerable populations. 

Senator Vitale introduced a piece of legislation that reinstates the Public Advocate, so that there is a watchdog to advocate for the working families’ interests.  Another issue that remains very important to Senator Vitale is working towards a clean government that is efficient and held accountable to the people. He has worked on several bills that deter corruption and unfair granting of contracts to groups that donate to political causes. 

Senator Vitale also has an ongoing initiative to support our troops and their families.  He continues to honor the families and spouses of men and women serving in the armed forces during Operations Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom for their great sacrifices.  Senator Vitale’s district office has a myriad of information and resources available for members of the armed forces, their families as well as veterans.  In light of New Jersey’s National Guard deployment to Iraq, Senator Vitale praises the earnest soldiers and families whose hard-work and dedication are now being called upon during this trying time.