With the economic and social fallout from the novel coronavirus deepening in New Jersey, COVID-19 bills took center stage in Assembly and Senate voting sessions on Thursday. Gov. Murphy signed  off on some of them late Friday.

With the current crisis, it hasn't been politics as usual in Trenton—far from it.

The marathon remote voting day by lawmakers scattered throughout the state occurred on the same day that  Murphy announced that all state beaches, boardwalks and lakes will be reopen on May 22 for Memorial Day weekend. State parks and golf courses received the green light to open earlier this month as part of the gradual easing of the statewide lockdown in place for several weeks.

While those areas will again be accessible to the public, the Statehouse in Trenton remains prohibited—like it has since mid-March—to honor social distancing guidelines and help slow the spread of the pandemic.

On Friday, the governor signed these bills, which take effect immediately:

A-3942/S-2394): Would require hospitals to permit an individual to accompany a woman during childbirth. It passed 40-0 in the Senate and 80-0 in the Assembly.

A-3969/S-2392: Would allow extended deadlines, meetings and property tax payments by local governments (passed 37-1 in the Senate, and 70-6 with four abstentions in the Assembly).

A-2970/S-2344: Would allow prescription drug refills during state of emergency and require Medicaid and health insurance coverage. It previously passed the Senate 38-0 and the Assembly 79-0, and received a concurrence vote by the Senate 40-0 on Thursday.

A-3946/S-2356:  Would provide relief for students enrolled in various state higher education financial aid programs and address the unique circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.  It passed the Senate last month by a 38-0 vote and the Assembly on Thursday 80-0.

A-3966/ S-2413: Would allow the sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages during the state of emergency and  authorizes the sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages by the holders of certain retail consumption licenses and concessionaire permits during COVID-19. It passed 40-0 in the Senate and 80-0 in the Assembly.

Of the 20 bills that the 80-member Assembly approved on Thursday, 17 received unanimous votes during the three-and-a-half-hour teleconference vote.

The handful of bills that received some pushback from Assembly lawmakers—but not nearly enough to overcome passage in the lower house—dealt with allowing local governments extended deadlines to deal with depleted revenues, such as tax appeals; emergency loans for the ailing hospitality industry; allowing municipalities and counties to issue coronavirus relief bonds; revising requirements for cash assistance under the state's Work First program; and a measure to require hotels to have sanitization guidelines in place for workers.

It was a similar flow in the two-hour Senate remote session that followed, where 40 senators reviewed over a dozen COVID-19 bills.

S-2387, the Senate bill extending the property tax appeals timetable for municipalities, was approved 40-0, and Assembly counterpart A-4157 passed 79-0. It  now heads to Murphy.

S-2387/A-4157 would temporarily change filing deadlines for most tax appeals to July 1 this year and would require county boards of taxation to make decisions on the appeals by Sept. 30. A property's tax assessment would be based on its value as of Oct. 1 of the prior year, according to the bill.

The deadlines to file appeals fall between April 1 and May 1 for most types of appeals, and county tax boards normally have until June 30 to render decisions, but the pandemic has made those deadlines untenable, say the bill's sponsors. Murphy declared a public health and safety emergency for New Jersey on March 9, and issued a number of executive orders thereafter.

"This will provide taxpayers more time to file appeals and ensures that decisions will be rendered this year so that successful appellants can receive refunds this year. This is a temporary move in response to the crisis we are all experiencing," said Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, the primary sponsor of S-2387.

S-2387 was one of four emergency bills taken up by the Senate on Thursday, meaning they were just introduced and fast-tracked because of the current crisis.

The others were: S-2350/A-4132, S-2383, and S-2371/A-3959.

S-2350/A-4132, known as "the furlough bill," had the backing of Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, whose political base includes public workers and unions. It got a 37-0 vote with three abstentions in the Senate, and an 80-0 vote in the Assembly, and now goes to Murphy.

The bill would implement a New Jersey Job-Sharing Furlough Program that capitalizes on key provisions of the federal CARES Act. The furlough initiative is intended to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for employers and maximize payments to furloughed employees while fully protecting their health and pension benefits. Backers are urging the governor and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to start the program immediately.

"Launching a statewide Job-Sharing Furlough Program is the ultimate win-win for public and private employers whose revenues have been plunging because of the coronavirus recession, and for furloughed employees who would get more money in their pockets without any loss of health or pension benefits," Sweeney said in a statement after the Senate vote. "That's why this program has such strong support from municipalities, counties, school boards and public employee unions."

S-2383 passed 39-0 in the Senate. It would establish a bridge-year pilot program for students impacted by COVID-19.

S-2371/A-3959 is intended to keep the hospitality industry afloat by providing zero-interest loans to qualified small businesses. The bill was amended to give the Economic Development Authority more discretion in deciding whether the loans should be forgiven. The Senate passed the measure 26-2, while the Assembly passed it by a 79-0 vote. It now heads to Murphy.

A-3919 (substituted for S-2346): Would extend deadlines for permits, approvals and deadlines for certain industries, such as construction. It passed the Assembly 78-0 and the Senate 36-0.

Other bills passed by the Senate, with some garnering final legislative approval Thursday, were:

S-1055: Would allow municipalities with rent control ordinances to prohibit affordable housing rent-controlled units from being turned into condominiums (passed 26-13).

S-2034: Would establish a Mortgage Assistance Pilot Program for affected homeowners (passed 40-0).

S-2360: Would allow an income tax deduction for charitable organizations during COVID-19 (passed 40-0).

S-2388: Would authorize certain forms of COVID-19 testing (passed 40-0).

S-2436: Would authorize pharmacies to order and administer coronavirus testing (passed 40-0).

S-2437: Would establish limits on service fees on food takeout and delivery during COVID-19 (passed 39-0).

S-2477: Would allow state and local employees to transfer to other departments in need during a crisis without losing seniority and other Civil Service benefits (passed 40-0).

S-2479 (substituted by A-4131): Would require the state Department of Health to establish sanitization guidelines for hotels (passed 26-13).

S-2380: Would extend employment benefits to "essential" employees who contract coronavirus on the job (passed 27-11).

Senate concurrence was given to S-2329 and S-2332, meaning previous amendments to those bills were approved by the full Senate.

Two Senate resolutions were unanimously approved that urge debt-settlement companies to assist minority communities (SCR-103) and create a commission to investigate the sexual assault of inmates by staff in state prisons (SJR-79).

Other pandemic-related bills approved by the Assembly earlier Thursday were:

A-3945: Would extend eligibility for accidental disability and death benefits for PFR and PERS (passed 80-0).

A-3965: Would expand the existing EDA loan program to small producers of alcoholic beverages (passed 80-0).

A-3996: Would provide exemptions/waivers for certain public contracts due to COVID-19 (passed 80-0).

A-4126: Would waive public utility and water/sewer payments and require authorities to waive interest and liens during COVID-19 (passed 80-0).

A-4128: Allow for certain meetings and participation done remotely during a state of emergency (passed 80-0).

A-2963 (substituted by S-1990): Would allow a member of the Board of Public Utilities to serve in an unsalaried state government office (passed 76-1-3).

A-3956 (substituted by S-2332): Would establish a $100 million New Jersey Rental Assistance Program (passed 66-0-14).

A-3970 (substituted by S-2344): Would allow prescription drug refills to be covered by Medicaid and health insurance during a state of emergency (passed 76-2).

A-3946 (substituted by S-2356): Would provide student financial aid for those impacted by COVID-19 (passed 80-0).

A-4132: Would clarify benefits and leave provided to workers during a state of emergency (passed 80-0).

Two Assembly resolutions were passed unanimously: AR-154, which urges establishing National Teacher Appreciation week, and AR-155, which extends the student loan forgiveness program to doctors, nurses and emergency medical services.