by Phil Stilton

BRICK-While several major veterans bills are stalled in the legislation, New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno visited Brick Township to sign three minor veterans bills to the fanfare of local veterans groups and the media.

Brick Mayor Ducey joined Guadagno at American Legion Post 348 in Brick for the signing of three bills which support military veterans/families in the State of New Jersey:

• S-1027 – Designates Route 35 Bridge between Brielle and Point Pleasant Beach as “Veterans of All Wars Memorial Bridge”
• SJR-41 – Designates second full week of every November as “Veterans Education Awareness Week” and
• A-2184 – Requires issuance of one free copy of a veteran’s death certificate to certain authorized persons upon request

Other, more important veterans bills have not been so fortunate.

A bill to allow PTSD to be a mitigating factor in the sentencing of veterans in courts has yet to see any real action itself.

A bill that would establish a task force to study issues facing veterans returning home from war is still pending review by the state assembly’s Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Several other potentially more beneficial veterans bills have been slowed or have gone nowhere including college tuition for children of war KIA, a bill to allow reduced beach badge price for veterans and veterans court pilot program.

For now the state has named a bridge, allowed grieving spouses a free sheet of paper and named a month to appreciate veterans.

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Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

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