Lawmakers approved three bills yesterday that would require state psychiatric hospitals to raise their hiring standards and disclose information about violent incidents and unexpected deaths.

The Assembly Human Services Committee approved the legislation in the aftermath of two patient-on-patient murders at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Camden County since 2006, as well as the escape and subsequent suicide of another patient, and other inci dents that have led to numerous employees suspensions.

"We have an obligation to en sure that our mentally ill are cared for completely and compassionately while in a state facility," said Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D- Essex), chairwoman of the Assembly Human Services Committee and a sponsor of the bill. "Unfortunately, the problems at Ancora showed that inexcusable breaches of that compact were allowed to happen. We need to close the door to future problems at our psychiatric facilities quickly and permanently."

One bill (A2949) would require the state Department of Human Services to establish a system to report the exact number of physical assaults and unexpected deaths that occur at any of the five state- run psychiatric facilities. The department would be required to up date the information quarterly and list it on its website.

The second bill (A2956) would require new and current psychiatric hospital employees to undergo drug testing. The third bill (A2973) would set minimum educational standards for hospital employees, including a high school diploma or certificate of high school equivalency.

The bills, approved unanimously by the committee, move to the full Assembly for a vote. Altered legislation clears

on environmental permits The Assembly version of hotly contested legislation to extend the life of building and environmental permits for stalled residential and commercial development projects was approved by the lower house's Environmental and Solid Waste Committee yesterday after being amended to bring about a compro mise between business and environmentalists

After nearly three hours of close-door talks, the so-called Permit Extension Act bill (A2867/ S1919) was changed to cut, from six to two, the number of years be fore building and environmental permits for commercial or housing construction would expire. Another amendment would give a builder an extra year to complete a project if it is under way and a permit deadline expires.

The Assembly version is ex pected to receive a floor vote as early as Monday. Business and industrial leaders and lobbyists and environmentalists crowded the Assembly hearing room to testify. Proponents argue the permit extension is needed to bolster New Jersey's sagging economy. Environmentalists argue the measure will endanger open space, clean water and public health.

The amendments were included to also appease Gov. Jon Corzine, whom legislators confided is cool to the proposal.

In a related development, Alan Steinberg, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, notified state officials yesterday he has questions the bill and will examine the proposal to see if it conflicts with federal environmental standards. School building agency

says it's ready for $2.5B New Jersey's ambitious public school construction program has left years of waste and mismanage ment behind, and is ready to take on another $2.5 billion of work, the program's top officer and a key state lawmakers said yesterday.

"I believe unequivocally the capacity of the Schools Development Authority to manage construction money has been demonstrated and is beyond question," Scott Weiner, the authority's chief executive officer, testified at a hearing of the Assembly Education Committee yesterday.

Weiner said Newark and 30 other needy communities in line for new schools under a court-ordered construction program still have 398 new school projects in need of construction, despite the $6 billion already spent since 2000.

The agency was retooled two years ago, after a series of critical audits showed the program had wasted hundreds of millions of dol lars on excessive professional fees, the purchase of property not needed for school projects and other management failures.

Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D- Union), chairman of the commit tee, said he believes the authority has been beefed up enough to warrant another $2.5 billion in project funding. Senate votes tax break

for renewable energy The Senate voted 37-0 yesterday to approve a bill that would exempt renewable energy systems, such as solar panels, from local property taxes.

Sponsored by Sens. John Adler (D-Camden) and Bob Smith (D- Middlesex), the bill would define renewable energy as energy produced by solar technology, photovoltaic technology, wind energy, fuel cells, geothermal technology, wave or tidal action, methane gas from an on-site landfill, or hydro power. The bill would allow property owners to exempt any improvements on their property designed to accommodate certified renewable energy systems as long as the system is in use.

"With skyrocketing fuel and energy costs, renewable energy is about more than just saving the environment," Adler said. "We should encourage more New Jersey families to turn to solar panels, and make sure that people can afford to go green."

The bill would also exempt property owners seeking construction permits for renewable energy systems from any municipal construction permit fees. "When one homeowner decides to install a renewable energy system, it's to everybody's benefit," Smith said.

The bill now heads to the full Assembly for consideration. Measure seeks to ensure

fairness in sentencing A bill to consolidate and refocus efforts to review the state's criminal sentencing provisions to ensure greater fairness and efficient use of New Jersey's resources was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 38-0.

Sponsored by Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the bill (S1880) would create the Criminal Sentenc ing Commission to study and review the State's sentencing laws. The 11-member commission would be comprised of bipartisan members. It would have two years to study and review the statutory law concerning crimes and criminal sentencing, before issuing its final report, with recommendations to lawmakers for revisions in the laws governing the criminal justice system.

"New Jersey's lawmakers have recently relied on mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines to tell their constituents that they're tough on crime," Smith said. "However, the side effect of the convoluted sentencing guidelines on the books is a state judiciary without judicial discretion, unable to make penalty decisions from the bench."