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>> Tonight on NJ Spotlight news, we break down a lame-duck session, what bills were passed and what is still on the table.

>> The thing about lame-duck is you do not know where the ducks are coming from.

>> Fallout after Former President Trump is banned from appearing on Colorado's primary ballots because of his role in the Capitol riot.

It will other states like New Jersey follow?

>> Now that the Supreme Court decision has come down, we have a pretty good idea about [INDISCERNIBLE] >> Improving maternal health.

Improving outcomes and awareness for expecting mom's.

>> Bold efforts are needed to transform the maternal health crisis, particularly for women of color.

>> Mondays rain and flooding continues to flood roads and power outages are plaguing the state.

>> New Jersey's climate is changing, getting warmer, we are seeing more large rain storms.

>> NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

Joanna: I am in for Briana Vannozzi.

Dozens of bills are trying to get pushed through that were introduced this year.

Some have great controversy and others have little attention.

It is not the final day.

New Jersey's legislator will return after the holiday break to vote on any outstanding bills and while they have more time to move languishing bills next month, many feel the pressure of the deadline and are working to get the last pieces of legislation over the finish line.

David Cruz was in the state house today tracking some of the bills we have covered throughout the year and highlighting those that passed and those that will have major impact on residents in the garden state.

>> There is a leisurely pace to the final legislation session of 2023.

Chit chatting and hanging out.

But behind the scenes, a buzz of activity and a push for bills to be passed before the end of the session.

What can we expect in this final session of 2023?

>> Nobody knows because all of a sudden out of nowhere, affordable housing pops up.

One thing about lame-duck is it is lame-duck and you do not know where the ducks are coming from.

No one talks about it until the last minute because they do not want to much opposition.

As you can see, the affordable housing came up.

The things that you think are coming up don't because people know about it and so therefore there is opposition.

>> That is kind of how it works.

The assembly housing bill that surprised everyone would turn the affordable housing process in New Jersey on its head.

>> Up relates more smoothly and gives -- operates more smoothly and gets everyone the opportunity to get to a place where we can get the most affordable housing we can.

>> It is unclear if the bill, which has not been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate, will make through the session.

>> I am hearing that affordable housing will not happen and should not happen.

Dropping a 68 page bill days before the end of the session is ridiculous and it screams anti-democracy.

It really is a bad way to make law.

>> We have not had a chance to review it yet.

It is a in-depth bill.

I have not seen it yet.

>> It is long for a lame-duck session.

>> I cannot comment on that.

I have not read any aspects of the bill.

>> You cannot say if the 68 page bill is a lot for the lame-duck session?

[LAUGHTER] >> There is talk of the bill that would reauthorize the transportation trust fund.

And another bill would raise salaries for lawmakers and other state officials.

Which could also probably wait but probably won't.

An ACLU led coalition of organizations has been promoting a people's lame-duck agenda including economic and social justice priorities like reinstating the corporate business tax surcharge to fund mass transit, a nonstarter here, and CCR B with subpoena power.

Instead, a bill to reinstate penalties for underage drinking looks like it has the votes in the Senate.

>> It is creating new fees and fines for young people who possess and consume alcohol.

We have known that it has been proven that this is not an effective way to prevent them from drinking.

>> What makes you think these guys will go for that?

>> I moved it to become a pallet.

We have the four municipalities who agreed to have it so the only thing I ask my colleagues to do is trust the process.

We have nothing right now and we know we need to keep moving forward to have more transparency and accountability >> Today session proves to be anti-climactic but there are still weeks to go before the session officially ends and a lot could happen before they turn the lights out on the 220th session of the state legislature.

David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

Joanna: Bob Menendez is seeking multiple delays in his corruption trial.

His team sent a letter today to the court where his case is being heard asking for a two month delay from May until July of next year, notably after the 2024 Democratic primary.

Senator Menendez is also asking for a more immediate delay, pushing off the pretrial motion by one week.

He and his wife are accused of taking cash, gold, and a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for political influence.

In his letter, Menendez and his team say the 15 million pages of documents presented by the prosecution is a major reason for requesting delays.

These include text messages, emails, and more.

His legal team cites the trials complex and unprecedented, saying the government has never prosecuted a sitting senator on foreign agent charges.

Lawyers say they also need time to conduct their own investigation, which might include traveling to Egypt to interview witnesses.

As of now, the trial is set for May 6.

Joining me to discuss is the former Assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

Chris, thank you so much for being with us.

We see Menendez attorneys asking for a two-month delay.

How unusual is that?

>> I think it is extremely common, especially in white-collar cases like this where there is not just a lot of discovery overall but a lot of classified information, it is really common and I do not think asking for two months is that unreasonable.

Joanna: Let's talk about the amount of evidence the prosecution produced.

15 million pages.

What goes into analyzing that content and prioritizing where the prosecution will go?

How much time will that take?

>> He has a defense team and all the defendants want to look at all of the discovery because it is in response to an obligation, the government has the obligation to turn the evidence of and they do not have to identify what they think is going to be used at trial so you almost have to step into the shoes of the prosecutor and figure out about what would you present if you were prosecuting and at the same time you look at things that are helpful to cooperate your case, anything that is potentially exculpatory or helps negate the elements the government has approved to meet their burden, so you are almost performing two functions.

You do not want to be surprised at trial that something is presented, you want to be familiar with all the materials the government has.

Joanna: And the defense team makes the case that the prosecution has had four years to build the case and they only have a matter of months and that they need to conduct their own investigation.

At some of that includes foreign players.

What would their investigation look like?

>> It depends on what they are looking for is any information that negates the criminal intent necessary to prove the child -- the charges filed against them.

Another big piece of the case is they will hang their hat on the speech and debate clause, that a lot of this is protected and that if the court agrees that speech and debate clause protects some of the senator's communications, a lot of the evidence the government might consider using at trial could fall and change the base of it.

It's a great point because they've been looking at this for a number of years and it is supposed to be tried in May 2024 and the first time Senator Menendez and his team find out about it is most likely upon return of the indictment, it's not like the government gives a heads up that this is what we are investigating.

We might get a target letter at best, but nothing more so it is fair to allow the defense to do their jobs and the defendant has a right to defend himself.

This is all coming from the obligation to try a case within 70 days of return of indictment under the speedy trial, but there are a number of an -- exceptions and one is if the judge finds -- and that is where you find yourself here.

Joanna: Menendez and his lawyers argue this is not an open and shut case and there is no precedent now for the feds to try a sitting senator on foreign agent charges.

How difficult, giving what we know, will it be for the prosecution to make this case?

>> If you believe it is alleged in the indictment, they intentionally drafted a speaking indictment with a lot of detail and they do that because what they have to demonstrate is corrupt intent, that the defendants conspired to corruptly steer things of value to the Senator in return for his official influence on certain matters to improve national security.

But they will spend that and say this has nothing to do with my obligation as a senator, I was on the arms relations committee, there is no evidence of corrupt intent.

Joanna: Thank you so much.

Mayor baraka shined a light on the need for better maternal health care.

In a roundtable, the first has champions this issue across the state and today's discussion narrow the focus to maternal health care and how it can impact the entire life of the child, including early literacy outcomes.

Melissa Rose Cooper has more.

>> The loss of a mother is an incredibly challenging experience and it becomes more difficult for a child to comprehend.

Often the impact of this loss has on children, especially girls who will one day have to decide if they wish to have children, is not discussed.

Reporter: Feelings Gabrielle Thomas knows all too well as her own mother passed away while giving birth to her.

>> My mother's experience has greatly informed -- influenced me.

All expectant mothers and their families should be equipped with the necessary tools to advocate for themselves.

Our health care system must ensure that the concerns receive the attention and care they deserve.

And -- and informs expectant mother is the bedrock of the community.

Reporter: The goal of the cradle project conference is to improve outcomes for expectant mothers.

>> Access to health care, access to primary care physicians, they have access to those around them who are able to get the vitamins they are supposed to get, the attention they are supposed to get, the information and counseling.

Reporter: Maternal care is linked to a child's educational success.

Results of the most recent assessments learn schools are still struggling with learning loss during the -- since the pandemic.

>> A lot of data tells us clearly what it is we need to do to get people to read by the third grade.

One of the most fundamental things is making sure we are taking care of their mothers.

[APPLAUSE] If we are not taking care of their mothers, we are impacting their ability to access information at higher levels.

>> When we open up the data, we realize that also Covid head impact on literacy scores but it also took another problem we are struggling with, very specifically, black mothers.

>> When my husband was first sworn in, New Jersey was one of the most dangerous to places in the United States for a mother to give birth.

Out of all 50 states, we were ranked 47th for maternal deaths.

Tragically, these deaths do not affect all mothers equally.

Black women in New Jersey were seven times more likely than white women to die from maternity related complications and black babies were three times more likely than white babies to die before their first birthdays.

For all of their medical complexities and contributing factors, these deaths come down to one single cause.

And that is institutional racism.

Reporter: A disparity that those at the conference hope to end soon so mothers and children can live the life they deserve.

Joanna: The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Former President Trump is not qualified to hold office and is therefore banned from appearing on Colorado's ballots for the 2024 presidential primary or general election.

They cited the 14th amendment of the Constitution, which says that no person shall hold any office who engaged in insurrection or rebellion.

A similar challenge was brought before the courts in New Jersey by my next gas, John -- guest, John.

His request was denied and he is here to talk about it and what comes next.

Great to have you with us.

We know the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to keep Trump off the ballot.

You had a similar challenge in the court in New Jersey.

Tell us about that.

>> Right now there has been a strategic withdrawal because we filed at the same time that Minnesota and Colorado did.

Colorado Court of Appeals cited against those who brought the suit and within a day the Minnesota Supreme Court sided with Trump so we needed to withdraw to look at how best to proceed and now that the Colorado Supreme Court decision has come down we have a pretty good idea of how to proceed.

Joanna: It's important to note that Tahitian away at the time urged the courts to dismiss it.

I believe she said it was speculative or presumptive.

Why did she do that?

>> Lieutenant governor way directed her Council, presumptive meeting she was not sure that Trump would be that nominee.

When we did this there were eight other Republicans seeking nomination, including Chris Christie and Nikki Haley who are still on the table so she was saying it was presumptive.

I do not think that is a valid argument.

Joanna: Most likely the U.S. Supreme Court will have to take this on.

How do you believe they will rule on this issue of the 14th amendment and Donald Trump not able to serve and also there has been no conviction yet, right, of an insurrection charge.

How do you think the Supreme Court is likely to rule?

>> I think they are likely to rule 5-4 in the favor of individuals trying to take Trump off the ballot.

The 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution section three shows it is self-executing.

The question is what any reasonable person believe that what happened the morning of January 6 qualify as behavior that is insurrection and I think by and large when you look at the events that transpired that day, the answer is yes.

Mr. Trump is on tape directing people to go to the N do this so it is a self executing clause, there does not need to be a conviction.

The New Jersey Constitution prevents those who have committed treason against the United States.

Joanna: So ultimately in the U.S. Supreme Court you believe there would be a truly -- a ruling in favor of removing Trump from the ballot?

>> I do.

The three liberal justices I think would be joined by Chief Justice Roberts and likely by Justice Coney Barrett.

They are fair, strict constitutionalists and I think they want to preserve the decorum of government.

I do not think they are political.

Joanna: An interesting perspective.

Thank you for coming on and sharing it with us.

This week's storm left the state's sake some places and still flooded days after the rain started in others.

North Jersey saw some of the most severe flooding with drivers needing to be rescued from cars.

Homes flooded.

Wayne, Little Falls, Lingle Park and Patterson saw the worst of it.

The mayor of Patterson said to flooding and freezing temperatures led to dangerous road conditions, enough to close Patterson schools for the next two weeks.

Reporter: Three days after Monday's rain storm and much of North Jersey is still flooded.

The river overflowed Tuesday, choking off roads and forcing more than 30 people and Patterson to evacuate.

>> I feel badly for the residents that have to endure this, especially right before Christmas.

Reporter: The mayor declared a state of emergency early this week and said the schools will be closed until the new year >>.

I do not want to put anyone in danger.

It is about students, staff, bus drivers.

We do not want them driving on back -- black ice and sliding and creating an accident or hurting someone.

>> You get a situation where you got some very cold air coming in right behind the rain, it does not have to be a flooding event, but just rain, you can get black ice.

You do not need a lot of rain for black ice to form and to have that impact travel.

Reporter: New Jersey is no stranger to flooding but experts say this storm was unusually rainy for this time of year.

North Jersey does not typically get three to 5 inches of rain in December.

>> It is sad.

Any time of year.

We are going into the holiday season and it looks like we will see flooding last through Christmas on the river.

>> This storm was a powerhouse from Florida to Maine.

Reporter: This climatologist says this was the wettest December rain storm on record with records dating back to the late 1800s.

>> The ground was saturated in the rivers were up and that exacerbated the situation.

This would have been a bad situation had it not rained for weeks before, but the fact that the ground was already saturated, the water had nowhere to go.

The ground is more moist because there is less evaporation in -- and then in the summer.

The trees don't use as much moisture.

So does not take as much rain in the winter to generate flooding as it would in the summer.

Reporter: He adds that climate change has made the storms more intense and frequent.

>> It stands to reason with this more souped-up atmosphere that that much more energy went into the storm, that much more rain fell.

Reporter: At what point, -- one point, Patterson had to close 28 streets but some have reopened.

Some areas are more prone to flooding and the city is looking at potential solutions.

>> Are there measures that we could take with state or federal funding to help Patterson mitigate the impacts these storms are having?

They are very severe.

Reporter: Whether experts say it could be a rainy winter because of El Niño in the Pacific.

>> The river is receding, which is encouraging.

When it crested it was over 10 feet and now it has gone down significantly.

At least several inches.

Reporter: In the meantime, drivers in North Jersey will have to be on the lookout for road closures.

Drivers are encouraged to turn around, do not drown, if there is too much water on the street.

Joanna: In our spotlight, the new workday bridge that connects Newark will be doubling in size.

A new project will turn the four lane bridge into two four lane bridges.

This will bring drivers to exit 14 and 14 a of the Turnpike.

The project is intended to ease traffic that plagues that stretch of roads but opponents say it will increase traffic and by extension the pollution residents will be left to suffer with.

They point to the high rates of asthma that already affects those in Jersey City.

Others cite the hefty price tag.

This is the largest Turnpike project in history.

Looking at the markets today, stocks rebounded after the biggest single day loss in months.

Here's a look at how they closed.

Joanna: That is going to do it for us tonight.

Do not forget to download our podcast so you can listen anytime.

For the entire team, thank you for being with us tonight and we will see you right back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association.

Making public schools great for every child.

And RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

♪