by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair
For 25 years, the Jersey Access Group (JAG) has kept a watchful eye on bills both nationally and statewide that might be an issue for our municipalities and PEG channels throughout New Jersey. But, JAG really started to be legislatively wise in 2011 when JAG mobilizes its membership within 24 hours to combat state legislation that would eliminate the requirements for telecom providers to care about or support community media.
While the bill was fast tracked through the NJ Assembly it still needed to be introduced into the NJ Senate. JAG membership met with their state senators to explain the damage the bill would have on local community television. JAG was able to get more than enough no votes in place so that the bill was never presented before the NJ Senate.
This marked a major victory in what continues to be an ongoing effort by telecommunication providers to remove any support for community media in NJ. Other notable actions based on JAG’S due diligence included:
- 2015 – NJ Board of Public Utilities was readopting, with amendments, rules for the “Regulations of Cable Television—N.J.A.C.-14:18.” JAG submitted objections about why some changed sections would not work.
- 2015 – White Paper #6 request, U.S. Reps Greg Walden and Fred Upton wanted information on the “Reasons for the Continued Existence of (PEG) – Public, Education & Government Television Stations.” A 10 point response was created by JAG and sent to both Congressmen, along with Reps Pallone and Lance.
- 2016 – At the request of the FCC, JAG responded with input on multichannel video programming distributers’ channel line-up placement. The fight to get HD and not being allowed to place PEG content information on their programming guides was paramount, since everyone else was able to acquire it.
Though not legislative, but quite notable, on our 20th anniversary during the pandemic of 2020, PEG became a spark for allowing communications to flow from leadership down to the residents who needed the information the most. Our member stations found new ways to reach their communities. PEG carried virtual town council meetings, the Governor’s entire daily press conferences, health crisis related updates from local officials, and other informational programming that was desperately needed. This gave our municipal members and PEG channels a chance to prove how valuable they were to the citizens they served.
Now, in our 25th year, JAG continues to represent the interests of municipal/community television channels in Trenton and in Washington. JAG’s efforts on behalf of our members have never been more important.
That being said, on May 14-15, 2025, JAG – The Jersey Access Group will be hosting its annual conference at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Edison. * Everyone is Invited*
The conference is aimed at fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among community media staff and independent filmmakers, government officials, educators, and manufacturers to support the growth, opportunities, and challenges affecting our state, communities, and within our industry.
It all starts on Wednesday, May 14th, at lunch when we present Real-time Video Updates and Information During Critical Situations.
This session will help you respond faster and make informed tactical decisions, the key factors for all police, fire and OEM situations. An expert panel will discuss mission critical elements such as real-time video surveillance, bonded cellular technology, using drones, along with The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2024 that includes the American Security Drone Act (which prohibits the government from using federal funds to purchase drones made in China or certain other countries).
We will discuss collaboration between local government access TV and how the office of emergency management (OEM) is highly effective in disseminating important messages to the community. It will also include a live equipment demonstration.
Our panelists will be: Alex Joice, VP of Solution Sales Engineering, LiveU; John Centanni, OEM Director of East Hanover; Louis Venezia, Bloomfield Fire Chief; Luis Figueiredo, Detective Elizabeth Police Department; Yervant Keshishian, Sales Engineer, Authorized Trainer & Technical Director, Varto Technologies; Moderator: Bob Duthaler, President of JAG.
Then on Thursday, May 15th, we will present A Legislative Roundtable Discussion on What is Currently Happening Nationally, at the FCC and Here in New Jersey.
Hear about the latest changes, proposals, and actions happening nationally and at the state level that could affect our stations and municipalities. Discuss firsthand with our panel of experts on issues such as policy changes, regulatory adjustments, and new bills that might impact our world as we currently know it. Learn where things stand with closed captioning and about the latest undertakings of the FCC regarding broadband, net neutrality, and spectrum allocation.
Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; Gerry Lederer, Partner, Best, Best & Krieger LLP; and moderator: David Garb, JAG’s Legislative Committee, Chair., will be our roundtable panelists.
Also on Thursday, May 15th, during our Legislative Luncheon: Broadband Deployment in New Jersey and The Federal Incentives Funding Them will be discussed.
Clearly broadband access is not just necessary, but also required for so many things: information, education, employment, and entertainment. Now that federal money is being distributed to municipalities to provide broadband service to everyone, we at JAG need to understand how this money is being used at the local level and what it means for our stations.
There are a variety of programs that are supposed to feed money to New Jersey Municipalities—the BEAD Program, Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), Universal Service Fund, H.R.278 – BROADBAND Leadership Act, H.R. 339 – Broadband Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act. We will find out where things stand with them, how it could affect us directly, and how changes in our nation’s capital might affect NJ’s broadband efforts.
Our panelists for this session will consist of: Robert Boyle, CEO, Planet Networks; Joe Rivera, Manager of Broadband Access, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities; Gerry Lederer, Partner, Best, Best & Krieger LLP; Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; and our special guest moderator will be Brian Wahler, Mayor of Piscataway.
To attend these sessions and other conference events, please visit jagconference.com/ to register.
JAG (Jersey Access Group) is an organization that advocates, promotes, and preserves the right to media production, distribution, civic engagement, and education in support of diverse community voices, through Public, Educational and Government access facilities and other forms of media.
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Legislative Update April 2025: News from Trenton & Washington, DC – Changes in the FCC
Posted: April 23, 2025 by Doug Seidel
by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair
For 25 years, the Jersey Access Group (JAG) has kept a watchful eye on bills both nationally and statewide that might be an issue for our municipalities and PEG channels throughout New Jersey. But, JAG really started to be legislatively wise in 2011 when JAG mobilizes its membership within 24 hours to combat state legislation that would eliminate the requirements for telecom providers to care about or support community media.
While the bill was fast tracked through the NJ Assembly it still needed to be introduced into the NJ Senate. JAG membership met with their state senators to explain the damage the bill would have on local community television. JAG was able to get more than enough no votes in place so that the bill was never presented before the NJ Senate.
This marked a major victory in what continues to be an ongoing effort by telecommunication providers to remove any support for community media in NJ. Other notable actions based on JAG’S due diligence included:
Though not legislative, but quite notable, on our 20th anniversary during the pandemic of 2020, PEG became a spark for allowing communications to flow from leadership down to the residents who needed the information the most. Our member stations found new ways to reach their communities. PEG carried virtual town council meetings, the Governor’s entire daily press conferences, health crisis related updates from local officials, and other informational programming that was desperately needed. This gave our municipal members and PEG channels a chance to prove how valuable they were to the citizens they served.
Now, in our 25th year, JAG continues to represent the interests of municipal/community television channels in Trenton and in Washington. JAG’s efforts on behalf of our members have never been more important.
That being said, on May 14-15, 2025, JAG – The Jersey Access Group will be hosting its annual conference at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Edison. * Everyone is Invited*
The conference is aimed at fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among community media staff and independent filmmakers, government officials, educators, and manufacturers to support the growth, opportunities, and challenges affecting our state, communities, and within our industry.
It all starts on Wednesday, May 14th, at lunch when we present Real-time Video Updates and Information During Critical Situations.
This session will help you respond faster and make informed tactical decisions, the key factors for all police, fire and OEM situations. An expert panel will discuss mission critical elements such as real-time video surveillance, bonded cellular technology, using drones, along with The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2024 that includes the American Security Drone Act (which prohibits the government from using federal funds to purchase drones made in China or certain other countries).
We will discuss collaboration between local government access TV and how the office of emergency management (OEM) is highly effective in disseminating important messages to the community. It will also include a live equipment demonstration.
Our panelists will be: Alex Joice, VP of Solution Sales Engineering, LiveU; John Centanni, OEM Director of East Hanover; Louis Venezia, Bloomfield Fire Chief; Luis Figueiredo, Detective Elizabeth Police Department; Yervant Keshishian, Sales Engineer, Authorized Trainer & Technical Director, Varto Technologies; Moderator: Bob Duthaler, President of JAG.
Then on Thursday, May 15th, we will present A Legislative Roundtable Discussion on What is Currently Happening Nationally, at the FCC and Here in New Jersey.
Hear about the latest changes, proposals, and actions happening nationally and at the state level that could affect our stations and municipalities. Discuss firsthand with our panel of experts on issues such as policy changes, regulatory adjustments, and new bills that might impact our world as we currently know it. Learn where things stand with closed captioning and about the latest undertakings of the FCC regarding broadband, net neutrality, and spectrum allocation.
Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; Gerry Lederer, Partner, Best, Best & Krieger LLP; and moderator: David Garb, JAG’s Legislative Committee, Chair., will be our roundtable panelists.
Also on Thursday, May 15th, during our Legislative Luncheon: Broadband Deployment in New Jersey and The Federal Incentives Funding Them will be discussed.
Clearly broadband access is not just necessary, but also required for so many things: information, education, employment, and entertainment. Now that federal money is being distributed to municipalities to provide broadband service to everyone, we at JAG need to understand how this money is being used at the local level and what it means for our stations.
There are a variety of programs that are supposed to feed money to New Jersey Municipalities—the BEAD Program, Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), Universal Service Fund, H.R.278 – BROADBAND Leadership Act, H.R. 339 – Broadband Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act. We will find out where things stand with them, how it could affect us directly, and how changes in our nation’s capital might affect NJ’s broadband efforts.
Our panelists for this session will consist of: Robert Boyle, CEO, Planet Networks; Joe Rivera, Manager of Broadband Access, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities; Gerry Lederer, Partner, Best, Best & Krieger LLP; Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media; and our special guest moderator will be Brian Wahler, Mayor of Piscataway.
To attend these sessions and other conference events, please visit jagconference.com/ to register.
JAG (Jersey Access Group) is an organization that advocates, promotes, and preserves the right to media production, distribution, civic engagement, and education in support of diverse community voices, through Public, Educational and Government access facilities and other forms of media.
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Category: Latest JAG News, Legislation/Regulation