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>> Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News, " A housing crisis in New Jersey.

Legislators unavailability finally meet the need for affordable homes.

>>.

>> We have the legislation that, in our estimation, moves the needle.

>> Plus, four years after the start of the pandemic, the long-overdue report looking at Governor Murphy's response to the crisis is finally in the works.

>> That the process continues and now it looks like we will have the report by March of next year.

>> Also, combating hate, taking on social media companies' handling of the Israel-Hamas war and the rise of hate speech online.

>> They were relying on all of us to police rather than doing it themselves.

I think that that is totally irresponsible.

>> Than second chances.

Union County flows of free clinic helping residents get their criminal records expunged.

>> Doors will open that have been closed.

Opportunities will be back on the table.

Just a better future for my children and myself.

>> "NJSpotlightNews" begins right now.

♪ ANNOUNCER: from NJPBS Studios, this is "NJSpotlightNews" with Breanna Vannozzi.

>> Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Wednesday night.

I am Joanna Gagis in four Breanna Vannozzi.

Legislators are taking up dozens of bills in this final stretch of the legislative session and one of them takes on coa, the Council on affordable housing.

It was created to meet the requirements for the number of affordable housing units built in each city and municipality in the state, but this bill would create eight any system that advocates say cut the red tape that has plagued the state's progress in building housing that residents can actually afford.

Senior correspondent David Cruise has more in what these changes could mean.

>> it is not something we will solve in the lame-duck.

DAVID: a lot can happen in the mud in Trenton.

Senator Scutari didn't think much of the chances of unaffordable housing overhaul, yet with just days to go before the end of the lame-duck session, he and Speaker Coghlan and not just that, a bill to streamline the process of creating affordable housing in towns and cities who have fought a mandate from the Council on affordable housing, in court, resulting in huge affordable housing deficits across the state.

>> This bill will put together a mechanism that is functional.

The Council on affordable housing was challenged, it didn't seem to work.

The courts have been leading this effort, and I think we are looking to marry those efforts into a process that is going to work better for all those involved, municipalities, builders and most importantly, people that need places to live.

David: The bill unveiled this week puts the ineffectual Council on affordable housing out of its misery and moves it to the New Jersey housing and mortgage financing agency.

But the courts will still be in the mix, appointing special Master's determing affordable housing needs across the state.

This Natera is the Bill Parcells sponsor.

>> Where we are still short of the need of affordable housing units, the state has doubled supply in the last eight years, going from under 50,000 to nearly 100,000 units statewide.

Clearly, the need remains high.

David: The bill got its first hearing before assembly sponsor Yvonne Lopez's housing committee, where advocates lined up to show their support and local officials urged caution.

>> as an advocate, I was becoming impatient.

I didn't know if the state would come to fruition.

But here you are, you have kept true to your word and we a piece of legislation that, in our estimation, moves the needle.

We think it will provide us the opportunity to continue to see affordable housing growth here in the state of New Jersey.

David: But some municipalities and people involved in the litigation that have come with this issue expressed concern with the speed with which the legislation appeared to be moving.

"Why the rush," they asked?

His law firm represents municipalities across the state.

>> You indicated in your opening remarks that municipalities are essential partners.

I agree.

But we need more time.

We just saw this legislation for the first time less than 24 hours before this meeting.

We need more time.

There are things we can say that we would like the opportunity for you to consider.

David: It's not clear what took this oft-argued bill from the back burner to a top priority, but with about two weeks left in the session, a new affordable housing reality could be the most impactful bill to come out of this lame-duck session.

And who would have thought that a month ago?

I am David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

JOANNA: New Jersey quickly became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. with cases surging here in March of 2020.

It didn't take long for the spotlight to turn to the Murphy administration's response to the viral outbreak, in the criticism soon started, prompting calls for an investigation which Governor Murphy himself promised to launch immediately.

Well, nearly four years later, no such report has materialized although the process has begun.

We recently took a look at the latest on that investigation.

Our guest is here with us to explain it.

Great to talk to you as always.

The process of investigation has begun, but it has been a lot slower than people expected or hoped.

What can you tell us about it?

Lilo: Governor Murphy, it was November 2022 when he said they would start this process, and keep in mind, this is something he had been talking about since very early in the endemic, March or April of 2020, right, so it has been something everybody kept asking, where is this, where is this?

It started last year and it appears from the contracts that the attorney follows the back was up and working but it took longer to get a contracts signed for the Boston Consulting Group but I was told they were doing work.

But the process continues and now it looks like we will have report March of next year.

JOANNA: You just reference to the attorney and the consulting group that will be collaborating with the attorney on this investigation.

Unit reporting raise an interesting comparison of this report for the Chris Christie Bridgegate investigation where the state spent $8 million on that and in the end, it cleared Governor Chris Christie.

Is there skepticism around the outcome of this report, especially in light of that?

Lilo: There is tons of skepticism.

Not even because of that report, just because of the fact that the government investigating itself always raises eyebrows.

Governor Murphy has really stressed that this is an independent review.

It's outside.

It's not being done by the government.

And the lawyer, Mr. Zu back, said he is working on it independently.

So we can only take their word added.

I think, as far as the comparison on the cost, I thought it was interesting -- in Chris Christie's case, the lawyers' rate was six and $50.

In this case it is $400.

You talk about high-priced lawyers, that is a good deal.

JOANNA: I guess the expected cost is 3.7 union dollars?

Lilo: That is what they have spent so far,.

I did some quick math, if you do some averaging, it is a lot of hours of work already.

But my understanding is that they have more to do.

Public health people, for example, were saying they hadn't really been contacted.

My understanding is that now they have been contacted and will have a meeting with Mr. Zoubek In January.

They have plenty more people still to interview.

JOANNA: Looking at the cost further, will it be added to the state budget or go through Appropriations?

How will this handled?

Lilo: Great question.

I don't know the answer.

None of these costs were planned for, there was no public review process.

I am pretty sure is an emergency, they didn't have to.

That is a big tbd.

.

JOANNA: This was delayed several years.

Some might have speculated that that was because the governor wanted to get through the legislative election.

Now we see Tammy Murphy up for the U.S. Senate.

The you anticipate or expect any delays of this report until she is further along?

Lilo: Interesting question.

Nobody has mentioned that to me.

But I do think her husband has been attacked by people on both political parties across the spectrum for the state's response to nursing homes.

If there is bad news in the report, it isn't necessarily good news for her campaign.

So we will see JOANNA: Yeah, it has been one of the biggest points of criticism against her and could end up being very damaging to her.

Lilo: Exactly.

JOANNA: Stainton, great insight as always.

Thank you for being here.

Israel says it is close to victory in Gaza, saying they are on the verge of defeating the last remaining Hamas militants in their stronghold in the north and is covering over 1500 tunnels.

Meanwhile the Israeli government is negotiating for the release of 40 more hostages in what could be another week long cease-fire, as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening with reports coming out of people in the region carving, going days without food.

In New Jersey, Congressman Frank full-on held a roundtable with Jewish community leaders to discuss the failures of social media companies to regulate the hate speech and misinformation that has flooded their platforms since the start of the war.

Ted Goldberg was there and has more on Congressman full-on's calls.

REPORTER: The Congressman returned to the jsc of Middlesex County for a conversation with leaders in the community about antisemitic misinformation of social media.

This condo, let's holding a news conference here to chastise some media companies for not enforcing their terms of service, and allowing heat to spread.

>> These social media platforms purportedly will not allow that type of thing and they have people on staff who will take it down and prevent it from being put up, yet we found that was simply not true.

REPORTER: Last week he sent letters to Meta's, Tiktok, YouTube, formerly known as Twitter, asking them how they each moderate content two months after each representative from each platform folk with his Energy and Commerce committee.

>>.

>> We were not satisfied in any way.

In other words, the concerns we had about the lack of policing, if that is the word, the lack of people that were actually doing this, the attention being paid to it was very meager.

Reporter: In particular Pallone , Said x was very hands-off in keeping misinformation and hate from going viral.

>> They basically said they are focusing on getting your users to add as unpaid content moderators.

In other words, they were relying on all of us to police, rather than doing it themselves.

And I think that is totally irresponsible.

Reporter: viral posts have shown violence from previous conflicts and said it was filmed in Israel.

An official intelligence and videocam footage have been used to create fake videos of the war.

>> It's so easy to create a bunch of alternate reality.

And as a society, I don't understand how we can live without some sense of shared reality.

>> We know that a lot of this is being organized by our enemies, right,, we know it is being organized by Iran, by Russia?

>> They are looking to start with antisemitism enters the, OK, we can infiltrate, we can get these young people to understand this garbage and falsehoods, that is great.

Now we know how we will infiltrate the rest of the country.

Reporter: Pallone admits the First Amendment is a significant obstacle in the Glidden social media and misinformation might prove an exception to the First Amendment's broad protections.

>> The first moment is sacred, yet of the courts have found instances where it limits the First Amendment when national security is at risk.

>> We all understand where the line gets crossed into hate.

I am not sure that that is third any longer.

>> So there is a big difference, in my mind, between someone going to the street corner and lying if that is what they feel like doing, versus getting paid for it by a large media company which also profits off of it.

Lilo: Speakers also blame social media sites for not doing enough to stop harassment has only gotten worse for Jewish and Palestinian users since October 7.

>> Teenagers at large are just struggling in this time right now because everyone around them is saying, well, you are lying.

Or you aren't right.

You're in the wrong.

>> The news that they believe is fiction, that is all coming from social media.

It just makes me worry.

Reporter: She is not the only person worried, as leaders and families try to avoid toxic content of social media.

With no easy answers insight.

In Edison, I am Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

JOANNA: There are a staggering 46,000 unprocessed expungement orders in New Jersey.

That means 46,000 people who should have charges against them removed from their records are still living with the limitations of a criminal record.

And while legislation is moving forward to help rectify some of the issues around that, today the Union County Board of County commissioners held a free expungement clinic in Roselle to help pair residents who are seeking expungement with attorneys who can help them.

Melissa Rose Cooper has more on the expungement process and what it means for those impacted.

♪ >> I caught a charge some years back.

Not too proud of it.

Reporter: a past mistake he says has negatively impacted his life over the years.

>> from employment opportunities, business opportunities.

You know, kids getting older, being able to Google things, look things up.

It's a lot of things that you are not too proud of.

But I could be proud of the future that is in front of me.

Reporter: So Parker is taking steps to reach his goal, joining more than 100 others who registered for this expungement clinic in Union County.

It is the second one this year.

>> they come here and talk to a lawyer, we have lawyers on site who are working with them through the entire process and not only work with them today, but throughout the whole entire process of expungement, getting the record expunged.

They stay with them every step of the way which is one of the great things.

It's not like you just come here today, meet with the lawyer, and that is it.

No, the lawyer will stay in contact with you and making sure they are guiding you through the entire process.

Reporter: the county commissioner says the goal is to give residents a chance to achieve new opportunities that are often taken away from them, having committed low-level, nonviolent crimes in the past.

>> One of our main focuses is believing in second chances.

That is the way so many people can get jobs and move forward in certain career paths.

This is our way to make sure it is clean and dry and provide a new opportunity for them.

People here ask questions too.

It's not only about getting your record expunged.

We have lawyers here who are actually help guide you and provide you additional information that you might be beneficial to you for the future.

Reporter: the union County Board of County Commissioners teaming up with consulting firm Blaze responsibly to provide expungement services for free.

It is an initiative that hits home for the cofounder, Mr. Patel.

>> We had a lot of friends that have dealt with the situation, family members and things of that nature.

So being in law, we realized that it is $1500, $2000 to get your record expunged.

So we would tell our friends go , get your record expunged and then we'll help you get a job.

But the problem is people just don't have the extra $1500 to get it done.

So they keep pushing it off, like today, there was a gentleman here, 45 years.

They got his record 45 years ago.

He just kept pushing it off.

So our goal was, let's find organizations that can help us put this together and we can actually do the footwork and get these expungement done.

Reporter: Lawmakers are also working to make sure residents get second chances, especially given the backlog of 46,000 expungements that still need to be processed by the state.

A bill sponsored by assemblywoman annette quikano would prohibit state police from releasing someone's record during the background check after an expungement has been granted but not yet completed.

That bill advanced out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee earlier this week.

>> Doors will open that had been closed.

Opportunities will be back on the table.

Just a better future to provide for myself.

REPORTER: Parker says he wants to give back and help others like him in the future.

The county plans on holding more expungement clinics in the coming year.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Rose Cooper.

JOANNA: A Bill Move Forward this week that would set a minimum age for juvenile delinquency in New Jersey at 14.

That is the age the United Nations convention on the right of the child set in 2019 and subsequently urged all countries to adopt as their minimum age.

New Jersey currently has no age minimum for juvenile delinquency, but a bill was introduced this year that adopts the 14-year-old minimum.

It has had bipartisan support in the legislature, but it is not without controversy.

I am joined by my guest, who recently testified in support of the bill in Trenton.

Great to have you with us tonight.

What can you tell us about why the United United Nations Convention recently set the age of 14 for juvenile justice delinquency?

Why that age?

Guest: that age is a recognition of the very important developments in child psychology and in brain science of the delayed development for youth when it comes to impulse control, when it comes to decision-making and being able to appreciate the consequences of one's actions.

I mean, we have all been young people, we have all been a youth, so we understand the mistakes that we made in the past.

And for the longest time, governments and different states have been criminalizing youth conduct and misbehavior, when now there is a greater recognition that that youth misbehavior should just be treated simply as that, at misbehavior.

And not criminalized.

Joanna: I was surprised to see that some states have the age of six or seven actually set for the age that a child could be arrested for some kind of behavior.

But here in New Jersey, as the bill was considered, we heard pushback from Republican lawmakers who say they are concerned that passing this bill could allow for gangs to encourage 13-year-olds are younger to commit violent acts, or could possibly leave victims out of assistance funds and services.

What do you say to that?

Yannick: I have a few thoughts about that.

Already as it is, there are already mechanisms with which youth who have certain types of mental health issues or behavioral issues could be treated outside of the criminal context.

So I think it is a mischaracterization to say that a youth needs to be prosecuted in order for them to actually stop that misbehavior, for them to actually get that treatment.

They also have the option for out of home placements for those young people.

So I think it is important for the viewers to know that if a young person does commit some sort of violent act, they're not just going to get away with it, they are going to be given the services, whether it be substance use services, mental health services and that if they can't be at home, there are out of home placements for them to protect the public but also to protect that youth as well.

We all know that youth are impressionable.

They are susceptible to social pressures, and they should not be criminalized for that.

JOANNA: What can you tell us about the impact that making this change would have on racial disparities that exist right now in New Jersey's criminal justice system?

Yannick: Yes, I am glad you recognized the racial disparities.

In New Jersey, we like to think of ourselves as of very progressive state, but we have the worst racial disparities in youth incarceration in the whole country, where a black youth is 28.6x more likely to be incarcerated than a white youth.

So if this bill, if it is signed into law, how this will help alleviate that, is it is not going to be sending the youngest people -- elementary age people -- into that type of system.

Hopefully if we can prevent youth from entering into that system in the first place, then they could receive the treatment that they need in their own communities, and not enter into the justice system, which ends up resulting in recidivism, and then aging out of that system into adult incarceration and problems later on in life.

JOANNA: Yannick Wood from New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

Great insight.

Thank you.

Yannick: Thank you.

JOANNA: In our Spotlight on Business Report, Google will pay $700 million to settle a lawsuit brought by New Jersey's Attorney General Matt Platkin and 52 other Attorneys General in the U.S., claiming the tech giant engaged in anticompetitive conduct.

Those charges connected to the , Google Play store alleging that Google unlawfully monopolized the distribution of apps on Android phones that have paid off app developers to stop them from creating rival app stores and created barriers for customers to download apps outside of the Google Play Store.

A total of 630 million dollars will be paid in restitution to all customers who made purchases on the Google Play store between August 2016 and September 2023.

Now there's no need to submit a claim.

Those payments will be made automatically through PayPal, Venmo, Check or ACH Transfer.

Users will receive at least two dollars, although some may receive more based on their app store spending.

Turning to Wall Street, where the markets closed up for the 11th day straight.

Here is a look at the closing numbers.

♪ >> support for the business report, provided by rule one University, educating New Jersey leaders.

Partnering with New Jersey businesses.

Transforming New Jersey's future.

♪ JOANNA: Finally tonight, some sad news in the journalism community.

A news helicopter crashed in New Jersey last night, killing the pilot and camera operator on board.

The crew worked for ABC News in Philadelphia and were on assignment flying over the Jersey Shore.

The chopper crashed on its return flight after 8:00 p.m., landing in a heavily wooded section of the state forest in Washington township, which is in Burlington County.

The cause of the crash is still being investigated.

ABC News says the crew were veterans of their news team and have delayed releasing their names until all family members are notified.

Our hearts go out to the families, colleagues and loved ones of the two men who lost their lives.

That will do it for us tonight, but don't forget to download the NJSpotlightNews podcast so you can listen anytime.

I am Joanna Gagis.

For the entire NJSpotlightNews team, thanks for being with us.

>> New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

And RWJ Barnabas Health.

Let's be healthy together.

>> Have some water.

Look at these kids.

What do you see?

I see myself.

I became an ESL teacher to give my students.

What I wanted when I came to this country.

The opportunity to learn, to dream, to achieve a chance to belong, and to be an American.

My name is Julia, and I am proud to be an NJEA member.

♪