A bill creating a state health insurance marketplace cleared its final legislative hurdle Thursday, passing the Assembly on a largely party-line vote.
The bill now heads to Gov. Christie, who vetoed similar legislation in May and has said he will wait until after the November election before deciding what to do next.
Under the legislation, the state would create its own online marketplace to help small businesses and some consumers buy health insurance coverage. The bill already passed the state Senate, where it received no Republican support.
Under President Obama?s health care overhaul, New Jersey has until Nov. 16 to declare whether it will create that statewide marketplace or will join a federal program instead.
In a brief discussion before the Assembly?s vote, Republicans agreed with Christie that the bill is premature, and they said it would raise health insurance costs for New Jerseyans.
?We are putting the cart before the horse here,? Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, R-Morris, said.
The bill passed 44 to 33, with two legislators abstaining.
The Assembly also passed a bill prohibiting out-of-state law enforcement agencies from conducting surveillance in New Jersey without first alerting the state?s attorney general. The bill comes in response to a secret New York Police Department program that monitored Muslims and mosques in New Jersey.
The surveillance bill garnered 76 votes, with three Republicans voting against it.
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