>> From NJ PBS studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

>> Hello and thanks for joining us tonight.

Coming up, concerns are rising about human trafficking during the World Cup games.

Brianna Vannozzi looks at how officials here are preparing for the global event.

Plus, congressional maps could be redrawn across the country.

Could we see that here in New Jersey?

But first, we talk with Democratic Assemblyman Andrew McCurdy about what he wants to shake up in his first term in the legislature.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided in part by NJM Insurance Group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

-Assemblyman Andrew McCurdy is a freshman legislator who was part of the blue wave that swept the state in last year's election.

He and his District 21 counterpart, Assemblyman Vincent Kearney, flipped the district blue, ousting longtime Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz and Assemblywoman Michelle Matsakoudis.

Now, McCurdy might be new to the legislature, but he's already taking on some tough fights, looking to reform the budgeting process and tackle one of New Jersey's toughest fiscal challenges, the health insurance plan called the State Health Benefits Program.

He's here with us now to talk about it as part of our Under the Dome series.

Assemblyman, thank you so much for taking some time to talk to us today.

We're going to talk a lot about your initiatives, but I want to just first set the stage because you have a pretty impressive resume here.

You served as the senior counsel to New Jersey Attorney General Matt Plattken, former Attorney General.

You were the assistant U.S.

attorney for the District of New Jersey.

I'm curious, why leave the law field and step into this role as a legislator?

Thank you so much for having me, Joanna.

Yeah, I served as a state and federal prosecutor here in New Jersey, and then I went to the Attorney General's office where I worked on statewide public safety initiatives, gun violence, on auto theft and work as a prosecutor was impactful, inspiring, and I really enjoyed it.

But when I went to the Attorney General's office and I got to work with the state legislature and see how laws were made, I really thought to myself, you know, a prosecutor enforces the laws as they are, but as a elected official, as a legislator, you can change what the laws are.

You can make them more efficient or more fair.

And that was a really attractive thing.

So after I left government, I got involved in some political campaigns.

And at the end of the day, jumped into the arena myself.

and you in your first attempt to change law are taking some really big swings.

And it looks like you're swinging for triples and home runs here because you're tackling one of the biggest issues in New Jersey politics, which is the budgeting process.

In particular, you have a bill that would require a long term budget outlook.

Can you just explain what that means?

What kind of change you'd like to make to the budgeting process?

Well, the end goal is that if we're doing more long-term planning, we can do better budgeting and we can make sure that we're using taxpayer funds as efficiently and effectively as possible.

So right now in New Jersey, we do budgeting one year at a time.

What I'm proposing is that we do multi-year forecasting of the budget, the same as businesses do, the same as other states do, and specifically the bill would require the treasurer to do a trajectory analysis of the governor's proposed budget and see what it looks like two, three years down the line with certain assumptions made.

And I think if we have more information, we can make better decisions now that will lead to improved outcomes down the line.

of that information that you're looking for are different ranges of projections, right?

You've got a you're calling for a baseline as well as an optimistic and a pessimistic projection.

With that in mind, I'm just curious, have you heard anything from the governor's office as to whether or not they're open to this and and if they would agree to these this adjustment?

I have had a number of conversations with the governor's office about the bill.

I believe that they are trying to take a longer term perspective on our budgeting process and everybody shares concerns about a structural deficit that's in the billions of dollars.

And the idea of the pessimistic scenario that you mentioned and the baseline and the positive, it's also called sometimes a stress test on the budget.

If we face a recession, are we ready?

Do we have enough money in reserve?

So it's a basic piece of good government to be testing that all the time and to make sure we're avoiding crises down the line.

- I did speak to Governor Sherrill after she initially proposed her budget and she did say that she is taking a longer view and she believes that strategy is important as she plans financially.

But another big swing that you're taking is another hurdle, maybe one of the biggest ones yet that this governor is going to need to face is reforming the state health benefits program.

Explain to us how you'd like to see a change to this, this health insurance program that serves many school districts and municipalities across the state.

So right now, Joanna, as you know, we have public employers in the state, municipalities, school districts who need to buy health insurance for their employees.

And many of them buy that health insurance through state-run health benefits plans.

The problem is in the last few years, a number of these public employers have left the state plans to go onto the private market.

That leaves a smaller risk pool in the state plans for the state.

And then there's the public health plan.

And that's a plan that's going to be a little bit more expensive.

And it's going to be a little bit more expensive than the state.

And it's going to be a little bit more expensive than the state.

And it's going to be a little bit more expensive than the state.

And it's going to be a little bit more expensive than the state.

And it's going to be a little bit more expensive than the state.

And the plans are not in good shape.

If we take action, they will almost certainly fail, which will be catastrophic for the covered employees, for the public employers, and certainly for the property taxpayers like ourselves who will be left on the hook.

-So you want to change how and when some of these municipalities, these school districts can get in, can enter or exit the plan, right?

What would that look like and why?

So the proposal has three parts and it's meant to be a comprehensive and structural fix to get to the root cause of this problem, which at the end of the day is driving up property taxes.

So one problem that you mentioned is steadying the pool of public employers that are in the state plans.

So they're not going in and out, and that it stays fixed for a period of time.

The two other prongs are ensuring that the state-run plans are not overpaying, paying overly high prices to the health care providers for health care services.

And then the third piece is revamping the leadership structure.

So that sensible, common sense tweaks to the plan options could be made while at the same time ensuring that we have a high level of benefit for our public employees.

And the idea is through all those different methods, we can get enough savings to save these plans and prevent further increases, which today we're seeing 30% increases on the school district and municipality budgets.

As part of that price restructuring, you would like to see what's called reference-based pricing, right, which is where there's typically a cap in terms of what providers are paid.

But I have to ask you, the New Jersey Hospital Association has spoken out very strongly against reference-based pricing.

They say that really just passes the cost onto the patient because when the insurance doesn't pay out, the provider just turns to the patient and bills them.

There's no option.

They say it also means sometimes the patients are shopping around to find a provider that'll provide the service at the cost that they know the insurance will reimburse for.

What are your thoughts about those concerns?

So we, that practice is called balance billing, where the balance of the bill goes to the patient, and we've prohibited that in our bill.

So the price that we're setting, that's a reference-based price as a percentage of the Medicare rate, is what the insurer will have to pay, the state-run plan will have to pay.

So we're making sure that what you just described does not happen.

And we're doing it for not every healthcare service, but for five to 10 services that are particularly well-suited for this pricing structure based on models from other states, things like CAT scans, knee replacements, hip replacements, where the quality doesn't necessarily vary too much, but the prices can vary significantly across providers.

We have to leave it there, but just before we go, it seems like you do have some support for this plan.

Looks like Senator Joe Vitale is backing you.

Do you have a sense that this will pass or that you're going to get some traction on it in just a few seconds left?

I don't know, Joanna, but the goal with this is to put good ideas out there that have been researched, that we've talked with stakeholders about from hospitals to unions, and add to the conversation on what is a very difficult problem with no easy answers to help the state come to the best possible solution.

Sure is.

No easy answer here.

But Assemblyman, thank you so much for your time today.

Assemblyman Thank you.

Thank you, Joanna.

Under the Dome is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

As New Jersey prepares for the World Cup, experts warn there is a darker side to major sporting events like this, creating opportunities for exploitation and human trafficking.

State officials say they've been preparing for years for a possible rise in sex and labor trafficking tied to the influx of visitors expected during the tournament.

Joining me now to talk about the issue and how officials and advocates are preparing for the event is Daniela Peterka-Benton.

She's the director of the Global Center on Human Trafficking at Montclair State University.

Daniela, welcome.

Thanks for giving us some of your time.

Why does trafficking tend to spike around large sporting events?

What specifically makes a tournament of this scale attractive to traffickers?

Hello and thank you for having me.

One thing we need to understand is this is a different scale event altogether.

We are expecting millions of visitors come into this area to celebrate a wonderful sporting event, right?

I mean it's a great opportunity for New York, New Jersey to host some of the games of the World Cup, but it does bring some opportunities for illegal revenue as well, and human trafficking is one of these opportunities.

We do know from past sporting events that human trafficking, particularly sexual exploitation, does tend to increase, even though there's a lot of discussion about what the increase actually means.

But there is a demand that is being created, and traffickers know that.

And whenever there's a demand to make, you know, quick money, there will be some people out there who take advantage of that.

And that can happen during a big event like the World Cup.

We've seen it before during Olympic Games.

We have seen it through Super Bowl events.

It's just when there is great market demand, somebody is there to Yeah, and I'm just wondering how unprecedented this is.

You mentioned the Super Bowl, which New Jersey hosted over a decade ago.

That was a one day event.

I'm also thinking about when Newark hosted the NCAA tournament.

This though is a larger scale and over multiple days.

Yeah, so that is one thing or one reason why law enforcement, advocacy groups, survivor service groups have prepared for years to make this event safe for viewers and safe for people come into the area to support.

Also, the needs that are being created by having so many people come into the region, right?

So we have to talk about transportation.

We have to talk about the hospitality industry, where all those people will actually reside.

We have to talk about restaurant businesses, the t-shirt sellers, right?

There's a lot of action and activity happening around such an enormous event that just provides a lot of opportunities also for traffickers to exploit human beings over it.

Are those environments the biggest risks for trafficking?

And I mean, we're talking about sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

What does it kind of look like in those environments?

Is it easy to spot?

It is, and it is not.

So on the sex trafficking front, I mean, we really, we talk about sex work, right?

Sex work can be visible.

Most often it will not be.

It will be hidden away in private residences.

A lot of it is sort of offered online.

But there definitely is expected to be a demand.

And the reason why I put the demand out frequently here in my in my talk is that often we speak about, you know, preventing trafficking, you know, going after the traffickers, you know, saving the victims, which which is all very important.

But really, what we also need to look at is like what creates a problem in the first place, which is the demand.

I mean, prostitution is is a crime in New Jersey.

And as such, engaging in it, they are committing crimes.

So I think a bigger question also should be like, how can we curb the demand for that, right?

And informing people and educating people that they potentially are engaging with people that do not necessarily freely go into sex work.

So I wonder then what people, what the public can be looking out for and what they should or could do to report it.

- So for the public, if it, I always say, it's like a slogan that we use in a different context, right?

But if you see something, say something.

And very often trafficking is not something as obvious as an ownerless bag in an airport, right?

I mean, it's something where you feel like that's not right.

Yeah.

Or there is somebody that looks awfully young with a group of men, you know, hanging out.

There will be a lot of, you know, police presence at the events.

You know, go to somebody and say, "Hey, I've seen this.

It does not feel right to me."

There is a lot of advocacy work that has been going on now for a long time.

The Attorney General's office, for example, has a whole bathroom assault campaign where there are posters in bathrooms with information about where to call if people feel like they are victims of trafficking or if somebody sees something that they feel is not right.

This is the National Human Trafficking Hotline that people can reach out to.

But also, as I say, it's just being, I don't know, human first.

If you see something that doesn't feel right, you know, have the, be brave enough to say, "You need help.

Are you all right?"

- Trust your gut.

Yeah, kind of trust your gut is what I hear you saying.

- Yes.

Do those public awareness strategies, Daniela, work from your perspective?

The state police in New Jersey, along with the FBI and other tri-state law enforcement agencies, have said that they're going to have hundreds of troopers and undercover officers on the ground in tandem with those campaigns.

Are those the best prevention strategies, which you said is really where it needs to come in at, not after the fact?

Oh, I believe so.

Because if you make it difficult for traffickers, yeah, to exploit people by making it either too risky, right, because of law enforcement or too risky because too many people know about the issue, then they might not do it, right?

They might not go through with it.

So I think the awareness campaigns are really, really important.

I know that New Jersey State Police, local police, have really been preparing for a long time, have worked with survivor organizations to be trained, to be informed, to know what to look for, to stop things from happening before they get bad, right?

And to really provide supports to victims of trafficking, to get them out of this situation safely.

And for undocumented immigrants, sure, I'm sorry, Danielle, for undocumented immigrants, the concern there about their vulnerability, given the fear that we know exists in immigrant communities around ICE right now.

- So the other side of this, and we haven't talked too much about it yet, is the labor trafficking exploitation.

And as an academic, I can tell you that the research landscape on labor trafficking is much, much thinner than it is on sexual exploitation.

It is much harder to detect.

And we do know from survivors that undocumented migrants often find themselves in these situations just because they need to feed mouths, right?

Or just get by.

And so they are at great risk of finding themselves in a situation where they're exploited.

Now, in the current context of what we've seen of how undocumented migrants have been treated, I do think there is a fear among them to come forward with police, right?

And because there is a real fear for deportation and that they will be first and foremost seen as criminals, violating immigration law, rather than a victim of human trafficking.

But there are again, like with all the information that's out there, there are places that humans, no matter what the immigration status is, can seek out help.

And that information is also being distributed.

Daniela Peterke Benton with Montclair State University, thank you so much.

Thank you.

The national fight over congressional redistricting could be inching closer to New Jersey.

Some have called for our maps to be redrawn in response to the recent U.S.

Supreme Court case decision over Louisiana's maps, a ruling that could potentially impact the balance of power in Washington.

Joining us to offer some context is former New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Great to have you on the show today.

You know, congressional districting isn't necessarily kitchen table conversation for most of us, but all of a sudden it's become a topic that a lot of people are talking about after the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's congressional map.

Can you give us some context around what that decision actually did?

-Sure.

In Louisiana versus Calais, the case you just referred to, the Supreme Court said that you are not allowed to automatically use race as a basis for creating a congressional district.

And in that particular case, they had created a black majority district that was likely to elect another black representative of Louisiana.

And people who were opposed to that went to court, and the Supreme Court said that you can't use race unless you can prove -- and this is where it gets tricky -- prove an intent to discriminate racially.

And that's a very hard thing to prove, although you can see the result in reality.

And so going forward, the Supreme Court has said that if you use race, it's not automatically okay, but if, in a prior case, if you fail to account for race, it might be grounds for changing the map.

So it's really a very difficult place states are placed in to create maps that will pass federal approval.

- So what does that mean now?

Because we've seen the president come out and the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, come out and encourage states to quickly redraw their maps before this next election.

What does that mean?

Let's look broadly first, before we get into New Jersey, in terms of what kind of changes we could see.

It's difficult to give one answer that fits all 50 states because all 50 states have different calendars.

Some states are already in the middle of their primary process in which voters are voting on candidates who are in districts that were created under a previously constructed map.

And so it would be really hard to change that, but there are other places where the primaries may not happen until early fall, and so it's possible for that to happen.

Places like New Jersey would require a statutory change, which would require both houses of the legislature and governor to agree on a process to change the maps.

Other states don't require that.

It's just a function of the legislature adopting a map.

We've seen that in some states already.

So it's a mixed bag.

But what this really portends is endless redistricting battles because this won't stop in this year.

After a new legislature takes seat in any of these states, you may see an opportunity to go back and change the map once again.

And so we could be looking at a period of instability as to who the members of Congress are throughout the nation, depending on the state and the political makeup of the legislature in that state.

So we've heard from the Senate President, Nick Scatari, who said that he would be in favor, right, of redrawing New Jersey's map.

Like you said, that would require an action by the legislature, a majority, and then being sent to the governor's desk.

We already saw redrawn maps after the 2020 census.

Usually this happens every 10 years after the census update.

Is it even possible to take New Jersey from, let's say we have Democratic control, you'd imagine that a map would favor Democrats.

Is it possible to go from nine Democratic seats and three Republican congressional seats right now to 10 and two?

Is that even possible?

Well, I guess in theory it's possible, but there would have to be an alignment of the stars and other things.

For instance, even if we could amend, New Jersey could amend the legislation to allow mid-district reapportionment, the commission style that New Jersey sets up has equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans in one tiebreaker.

So if you use that process, I find it hard to imagine that the Republican members would say, sure, create fewer Republican districts.

So you might have to change that process as well.

It just seems, as a practical matter, very difficult to do, even leaving aside the fact that you have the Senate president saying he wants to, the Senate, the Assembly speaker hasn't said anything on this and the governor has said she's not in favor of it.

Even if you could resolve that, the politics of changing that process would be very difficult.

- I'm gonna ask you a loaded question with just a few seconds left.

Would you say that New Jersey is already gerrymandered given the fact that District 7 was really drawn to protect Republican and District 11 really redrawn to protect a Democrat?

Would you agree with some who say that it is gerrymandered?

- I wouldn't agree that it's gerrymandered, but I do agree that the mindset between the Ds and the Rs on that panel back then was to protect one D seat to protect one R seat.

So it was both parties agreeing to this map.

So I wouldn't call that a gerrymander, but certainly it's something that could be changed if all of these other issues could be resolved first.

- Yeah, all right.

We have to leave it there, but I think we left more questions perhaps unanswered than answers, but we will keep following the process as it goes.

John Wisniewski, former assemblyman here in New Jersey.

- Thanks for the insight.

- Thank you.

- That's gonna do it for us tonight.

I'm Joanna Gaggis for the entire team here at NJ Spotlight News.

Thanks for being with us.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

- New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child, and RWJBarnabas Health.

Learn more at rwjbh.org.

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It's gonna be okay.

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