New Jersey Sen. Joesph Vitale (D-Woodbridge)

New Jersey lawmakers are continuing to move forward with a renewed version of twice-vetoed legislationthat would permit legally binding gestational carrier agreements.

The Senate Budget Appropriations Committee on Monday recommended passage of S-482 in a 10-2 vote. That vote comes after the Senate Heath, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee approved it 6-2 in February.

Also last month, an identical bill, A-1704, passed the Assembly Women and Children's Committee unanimously.

The bills are now before the full Senate and Assembly, though no votes have been scheduled.

“For men and women who are looking to start or expand their families but have struggled to do so through traditional means, gestational carrier agreements offer an alternative path to having children,” said the key sponsor, Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, in a statement following the latest committee vote. “Gestational carrier agreements are imperative to protect the interests of all parties involved, including the carrier, the intended parents, and the child. This bill will provide the legal framework for the agreements.”

Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, vetoed the legislation in 2012 and 2015, when both majority-Democratic legislative chambers approved it. Last year the measure once again passed the Senate, though the Assembly didn't take action before the close of the legislative session.

Democratic Gov. Philip Murphy has not indicated whether he supports the proposal.

Under such a contract, a woman agrees to carry the fertilized egg of another woman through pregnancy. The bill requires the surrogate mother to forfeit all maternity rights.