On Monday the New Jersey Assembly passed 29 measures intended to protect New Jersey residents, small businesses and local governments during the coronavirus crisis, where heightening isolation measures are being encouraged to prevent the disease's mass spread.

The Assembly passed the emergency measures that the Assembly Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Committee voted through earlier in the day, known as the "COVID-19 Emergency Response Package."

On the same afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy issued a new executive order to limit public gatherings to no more than 50 people, down to a fifth of the 250-or-more mandate of only a few days ago. The order also closes the state's entertainment and retail venues effective 8 p.m. Monday and as long as the order is in effect.

The coronavirus as of late Monday had claimed the lives of three people in the state. The first was a man from Bergen County who died March 10, and a woman in her 50s died in Monmouth County on Saturday night. The third victim was a man in his 90s who was being treated at Hackensack University Medical Center who died Monday night.

There were now at least 178 presumptive positives – nearly doubling the 99 cases on Sunday.

The Assembly voting session started at 3 p.m., and promptly ended at 3:37 p.m. at the State House Assembly chambers in Trenton. It was livestreamed live on the Office of Legislative Services website.

The 29 bills appeared as a catchall and reflected the scope of just how much American daily life has altered. The proposed effects include giving county clerks an extra week to prepare and send mail-in ballots for the 2020 primary election; allowing public agencies to expedite requests for public records; expanding telemedicine and telehealth for residents and virtual instruction for students whose classrooms have been closed; assisting workers who do not have access to paid leave during the COVID-19 outbreak; and allowing local government agencies to conduct meetings electronically.

At 3 p.m., the Assembly called a quorum. Sixty-five of the 80 lower house members were present for the voting session. Sixty votes are required to declare a bill an emergency and 41 to pass the measure.

The majority of the 29 bills received 60 votes or more, with 15 bills each getting all 65 votes to pass.

The Senate, which originally was to meet Monday, had postponed its voting session for Thursday, March 19, under the urging of Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, to prevent an overflow of lawmakers and media in the State House on the same afternoon.

Eleven Assembly committee meetings were canceled Monday by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, on the prior Friday, and it was announced that only timely and vital legislation would be voted on by the full Assembly, and the public would no longer be allowed access to committee hearings or to give in-person testimony. The public is being urged to submit only written testimony for hearings.

A-3859, a bill to suspend evictions and the residential foreclosure process, modify the terms of mortgage payments, and prohibit rent increases during the statewide public health emergency declared by Murphy, passed the Assembly by a 60-0 vote with five abstentions.

It was the only bill to elicit brief debate before its passage. Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, R-Union, stood before the Assembly voted to suggest it be amended to include a sunset provision.

"Does a snow emergency fall in the same category as the coronavirus emergency to delay foreclosure or eviction?" Bramnick, the Assembly Republican leader, asked aloud among his colleagues. "I think this bill needs a sunset."

Coughlin said during the session that Bramnick's concerns would be considered in drafting the final version.

Sen. Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, chairman of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee, introduced a similar bill after the Assembly session concluded. Singleton's bill, which has not yet been assigned a bill number, prohibits rent increases and speaks to mortgage forbearance during an emergency, which the Assembly measure does not.

"If we are going to ask people to stay home and demand businesses to cut hours of operation, we have to understand that this will interfere with our residents' abilities to meet their monthly financial obligations," Singleton said in a statement. "People should not have to choose between their health and making housing payments or putting food on the table during times of public health emergencies."

"The measures we can put in place will allow folks to … protect people from becoming homeless in the face of this unprecedented public health crisis," Singleton added.

Under the bill, the forbearance period of an emergency-impacted homeowner would conclude no later than six months following its commencement. The repayment period of any mortgage subject to a forbearance would be extended by the number of months it is in effect.

During the time of the forbearance, all terms and conditions of the original mortgage would continue without adjustment, and there would be no fees assessed for the forbearance, or penalty for early repayment, according to the release from Singleton's office.

Other bills that sailed through the Assembly would:

• Permit the use of remote or virtual classroom instruction to meet the minimum 180-day school year requirement should schools be closed due to the coronavirus.
• Ensure students eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch plans continue to receive the meals they need when being taught remotely.
• Require insurance carriers to cover the cost of coronavirus testing with no copay or deductible.
• Establish a fund to reimburse schools for coronavirus-related cleaning.
• Ensure insurance carriers provide coverage for business interruption.
• Permit the Economic Development Authority to provide zero-interest, short-term loans to assist businesses in meeting payroll obligations.
• Ensure no employee is fired as a result of having to be quarantined.
• Provide additional food bank financial aid.
• Authorize all licensed health care facilities and laboratories to collect specimens to test for COVID-19 and allow waiver of staffing ratio requirements.

Just after 2:30 p.m. Monday, a half hour before the Assembly voted, Murphy announced Executive Order No. 104 with sweeping changes.

All public, private and parochial preschool programs, and elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools, will be closed beginning Wednesday and remain closed as long as the order remains in effect.

Institutions of higher education must likewise cease all in-person instruction beginning on that date.

Meanwhile, all casinos, concert venues, nightclubs, racetracks, gyms, fitness centers and classes, movie theaters, and performing arts centers were closed as of 8 p.m. Monday, and were to remain closed as long as this order remains in effect.

All other nonessential retail, recreational, and entertainment businesses must cease daily operations between hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. All restaurants, with or without a liquor or limited brewery license, are limited to offering delivery or takeout services.

On Tuesday, the governor took things a step further by announcing an Administrative Order mandating the indefinite closure of all indoor portions of retail shopping malls and all indoor and outdoor places of amusement across the state, effective 8 p.m. that night.

Likewise, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal on Monday issued guidance to law enforcement agencies on steps to take to fulfill their duties and protect the public.

Grewal announced that deadlines for licenses and permits issued by the Department of Law and Public Safety are being extended, among other measures.

According to the release, on Monday, Grewal spoke by phone with the state's police chiefs and other chief law enforcement executives to brief them regarding the new guidelines.

Grewal directed that divisions within the department no longer hold in-person meetings and instead use remote capabilities where possible, and suspended travel and external meetings.

"Faced with this unprecedented health crisis, our work as members of law enforcement is more important than ever," Grewal said in a letter distributed to 21 county prosecutors and law enforcement officials.

Grewal echoed best practices such as social distancing and protective equipment issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The New Jersey State Police are also observing the CDC guidelines when interacting with civilians, Grewal said.

For example, there is now a glass partition between a visitor and state trooper to act as a barrier in the lobby at State Police stations, according to Grewal's release.

Also, the New Jersey Department of Corrections announced over the weekend it was temporarily suspending all visits at state prisons and halfway houses in the next 30 days. The suspension went into effect on March 14 at 5 p.m.