N.J. lawmakers take holiday break, but plan to work over the summer

 Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, left, D-West Deptford, N.J., and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, N.J., talk together at the Statehouse Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, in Trenton, N.J. (Mel Evans/AP Photo)

Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, left, D-West Deptford, N.J., and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, N.J., talk together at the Statehouse Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, in Trenton, N.J. (Mel Evans/AP Photo)

Now that the new state budget is in place, New Jersey lawmakers are taking a break for the Independence Day holiday.

But they won’t be taking off for the rest of the summer.

The special committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures will be holding more hearings this month.

And Assembly Speaker Vinnie Prieto said he’s considering whether the entire Assembly needs to meet this summer.

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“There are a lot of initiatives that we want to work on. Obviously the first thing that everybody thinks of is property taxes, and obviously our economy and our expectations of revenues have not been where there are,” he said. “It’s something we need to look at.”

Prieto, D-Hudson, said he might call Assembly members back to Trenton to act on bail reform.

Senate President Steve Sweeney is hoping bail reform can be done as soon as possible, but he added there are some issues that could delay action.

The Senate will be meeting this summer, Sweeney said, with plans to consider some appointments and possibly act on job-creation bills.

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