I’m used to hearing about Trenton deals cut in “smoke-filled back rooms.” But how about no deals in smoke-filled committee rooms? Yesterday, increasingly frustrated supporters of the bill to end the casino exemption to the statewide indoor smoking ban lit up and puffed cigarettes (I think) during the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee meeting. The bill is all but dead for the lame-duck session, and things are getting tense. CEASE, an advocacy group pushing for this ban, is particularly peeved at state Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Atlantic), who represents Atlantic City and was one of the group’s top allies until Wednesday, when it said he refused to sub in to cast the deciding vote in favor of the bill in committee, and who then announced that he was working on a new compromise bill that will include amendments pushed by the casino industry. While much of the in-person anger on Thursday was targeted at Sen. Fred Madden, a one-time supporter who has backed off the bill, CEASE targeted Polistina in an announcement Thursday that it’s starting a PAC to “bring accountability to Trenton on this issue.” “Vince Polistina has revealed himself to be untrustworthy. After coming to our first rally in August 2021, recruiting co-sponsors to S264 and A2151, speaking out on our behalf at every turn, he’s now copying and pasting casino executive talking points and attempting to present them as a credible solution. It’s shameful and disgusting,” said Pete Naccarelli, CEASE co-founder and an Atlantic City table games dealer Polistina responded by saying “I will continue to strive for an end to the impacts of second-hand smoke on our casino employees and look forward to working with anyone to achieve that goal.” TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Joe Lagana, Megan Cryan, Michael Giglio, Mallie Salerno. Saturday for Gordon Johnson, Gregory Williams, Rob Hermansen, Brian Bartlett, Matt Klapper, Amy DeGise. Sunday for Pat Helck, Ali Hameed, Fred Beaver, Abraham Lopez, Paul Brubaker. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You can smoke in our workplace, right? But here it’s not appropriate.” —Daniel Vicente, regional director of UAW, after lighting up the Senate health committee meeting Thursday. WHERE’S MURPHY? — Nothing on his public schedule WHAT TRENTON MADE MURPHY: ‘I WILL FIX NJ TRANSIT IF IT GORES ME’ — “Sorry for the delay. The train has to steer clear of a bull,” by The New York Times’ Claire Fahy: “That New Jersey Transit service was delayed was not all that unusual. The reason on Thursday, however, was something out of the wild, wild west. There was a bull, one with long horns no less, on the tracks. During the waning hours of the morning commute at Newark Penn Station, trains were stopped by the brown bull charging by the passenger platform. When Javier Perez, 54, arrived at Penn Station around 10:30 a.m., he heard that there were delays caused by some sort of obstacle. He scanned the tracks and saw the bull ambling down the train line. ‘I was like, "OK, that’s the obstruction,'’’ he said. By noon, New Jersey Transit, the state agency that runs trains and buses, said the bull was off the tracks and that service had resumed after a 45-minute delay.” —“Update: Ricardo the Newark bull makes it to Sussex County sanctuary” —“NJ Transit board approves $54 million for HQ move, but still no solution for fiscal cliff,” by The Record’s Colleen Wilson: “NJ Transit's board authorized spending $54 million to outfit its new headquarters space even as there remains no sign of what cost-cutting measures are being considered to alleviate a looming budget shortfall eight months after state officials announced a restructuring process. There are only a few months to go before Gov. Phil Murphy introduces his next state budget for fiscal year 2024-25, which largely dictates how negotiations will go with the Legislature and how his administration plans to fund state agencies. In NJ Transit’s case, the Murphy administration is facing a $120 million operating deficit in the next fiscal year and the state as a whole is facing a large structural deficit” HOW HIGH? — “Is a $15 minimum wage still too low? Gov. Murphy suggests it might be,” by The Record’s Daniel Munoz: “New Jersey’s minimum wage is set to reach a record-high $15.13 an hour in just a few weeks, and Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday night that he’s open to the idea of raising it even more. ‘I wonder whether or not we shouldn’t be taking this higher,’ Murphy, a Democrat, said during his call-in radio show, ‘Ask Governor Murphy,’ which is heard on several NPR affiliate stations. ‘That’s something I’m open to.’ How high? Murphy suggested $18 or $20 an hour.” ARRIVAL — “Pioneering N.J. program pairing cops with mental health pros expanding statewide,” by NJ Advance Media’s S.P. Sullivan: “On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy hailed the pilot program as a success, pledging to expand it statewide. ‘This is now a national model,’ Murphy told the crowd of law enforcement and mental health professionals gathered at the war memorial to mark ARRIVE’s two-year anniversary. ‘This will have implications that will go far beyond the reality of our 21 counties.’ Attorney General Matthew Platkin said ARRIVE teams, which currently operate a few days a week in different communities across the state, have now responded to more than 2,000 service calls ‘without arrests, without injuries, without uses of force.’ …The program has proven popular with New Jersey’s police leaders, many of whom say their officers are asked to address many of society’s ills with limited resources.” NO EXIT — “Another bid to end NJ’s high school exit exam,” by NJ Spotlight News’ Hannah Gross: “As scores on New Jersey’s high school graduation exit exam show large percentages of students are not ‘graduation ready,’ some education advocates are hoping for a last-ditch effort to eliminate the exit test before the end of the lame-duck legislative session. It’s the latest effort to end the graduation test, with opponents pushing for nearly 10 years against the various tests that they say can be biased and not an adequate measure of student performance.” —“Should N.J. teachers have fewer performance reviews? Yearly ratings could end for most” WE DON’T NEED NO VIRTUAL EDUCATION — “Bill to limit virtual instruction stalls amid surprise opposition,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Nikita Biryukov: “An expected vote on a bill that would raise new barriers to remote schooling was deferred Thursday amid a wave of opposition that left lawmakers scratching their heads. The held bill would limit most instances of remote schooling and levy new hiring requirements on districts still struggling to staff up their classrooms … But the numerous opponents who assailed the bill to the Senate Education Committee warned it would restrict district staffing amid a longstanding shortage of teachers and cut student offerings by requiring state approval for remote instruction that a district can’t provide in person … Though the panel’s members indicated they generally support limiting the prevalence of virtual classrooms in favor of in-person instruction, most backed holding off a vote. But one could come as early as next week, said Sen. Vin Gopal.” LARRY HIGGS THE CABLE CAR GUY — “Newark airport monorail to be replaced with modern alternative, board says,” by NJ Advance Media’s Larry Higgs: "After years of delays, Port Authority officials will replace Newark airport’s trouble-prone and cramped 27-year-old monorail system with a cable car, approving two contracts totaling $950 million Thursday. This is not the cute bell clanging San Francisco type of cable car, but more similar to a cable-powered system across the bay used on the 3.1-mile Bay Areas Rapid Transit connector line that serves Oakland’s airport, and in other airports around the globe.” WHERE'S GOTTHEIMER? — “Bridge and tunnel tolls, Newark Airport AirTrain fee all going up in 2024,” by NJ Advance Media’s Larry Higgs: “Port Authority commissioners approved a $9.3 billion budget for the bi-state agency that includes a second toll hike in two years on bridges and tunnel tolls, and increases airport AirTrain fares. The board voted unanimously for the spending plan, which is $1 billion higher than 2023 and is larger than the budgets of 11 states. The budget breaks down to $3.9 billion in operating expenses, $3.6 billion in capital expenses for major projects, and $1.8 billion for debt service. Helping to fund it are a 63-cent toll increase to bridge and tunnel tolls and an 25-cent airport AirTrain fare hike, triggered by a 3.7% increase in the consumer price index between Sept. 2022 and Sept. 2023, officials said. The automatic increase is done through a process called toll indexing that was first implemented in 2019.” BOOZE AND WEED AND KIDS — “N.J. moves to reinstate penalties for underage public drinking, weed consumption,” by NJ Advance Media’s Susan K. Livio: “Two years after decriminalizing public drinking for young people under 21, New Jersey is on the verge of reinstating penalties because too many minors have been ‘flouting the law.' On Thursday, a state Senate panel approved a bill that would impose a $50 fine on people under 21 found with booze or marijuana in the state, and for police to notify parents or guardians of those under 18 … The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved the bill by an 8-0 vote with four abstentions, just a week after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved it by 9-2 vote." —“Bill to limit virtual instruction stalls amid surprise opposition” —“From a jumble of statistics, a dramatic rise in hate and bigotry in NJ” —“Proposed new protections for domestic workers headed for vote in New Jersey Senate” | 
