Former Governor Phil Murphy signed over 100 bills into law shortly before his term ended last month, with legislation ranging from new e-bike restrictions and mandatory cursive lessons to 2026 FIFA World Cup advertising funding. The 120 bills Murphy signed on January 20 capped his two-term governorship with a legislative flurry, hours before current Governor Mikie Sherrill was sworn into office.
Among the most high-profile acts was increased regulation on e-bikes in the state. A new law introduces a reworked classification of e-bikes and significantly strengthens their ownership requirements, with all e-bike users now required to register their vehicle and have a valid driver’s license. Owners of more powerful e-bikes will also be required to have insurance for their vehicles. In order to help owners adjust and give insurers time to formulate e-bike policies, there will be a grace period for enforcement, with owners having one year from the law’s signing to meet the new requirements.
The law also restricts the age of e-bike users. According to the New Jersey Monitor, it will prohibit “minors under 15 from operating an e-bike or motorized bike, and require those 17 and older to have a driver’s license.” This was a key part of the law, introduced last November after a series of deaths involving e-bikes, including one involving a 13-year-old boy from Scotch Plains.
Equally prominent among the bills was an act mandating cursive instruction for elementary-school-age children. The law, according to the NJ School Boards Association (NJSBA), requires that schools provide instruction “that help[s] students become proficient in reading and writing cursive legibly by the end of third grade.” The law represents a turnaround in New Jersey, where cursive instruction had previously been removed from state learning standards in 2010.
Murphy’s legislative spree also included several state-wide test programs, notable among them a program of state funding into research on psilocybin — the key chemical in hallucinogenic mushrooms. A total of $6 million will be allocated for research into psilocybin’s potential effectiveness in treating an array of mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, and alcohol use disorder. The research will be done in-state, where, according to NJ Spotlight News, “Three hospitals […] would receive $2 million each to participate in the pilot program.” The ultimate goal of the program would be to determine “whether New Jersey should create a ‘psilocybin care delivery system’ that would allow access to the drug for residents suffering from acute mental health disorders.”
The new laws also included significant spending and financial incentives for professional sports in the state. According to NJ Spotlight News, “Murphy approved a measure to provide $300 million in tax credits to renovate the Prudential Center,” the home of the New Jersey Devils hockey team. Another bill appropriated at least $20 million for advertising and tourism efforts for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The rapid pace of Murphy’s signings drew criticism from some state legislators, though he is not the first to go on such a spree, with the Jersey Ledger noting that “end-of-term bill signings are standard practice in New Jersey.” Additionally, just as interesting as what Murphy approved was what he didn’t. Through a practice known as a “pocket veto,” any legislation that Murphy didn’t sign by the end of his term is unconditionally dropped, instead of being sent back to the legislature. Measures not signed by Murphy included two immigrant-protection bills that would limit the sharing of immigrants’ personal information with federal officials, as well as a bill that would have extended longstanding subsidies for horse-racing tracks.
