If you weren’t up late Monday night checking New Jersey political news, you may have missed the chaos of the final state Assembly voting session of the year.

As the lower house of the state Legislature considered upward of 140 bills, voting proved to be a very tedious process that took nearly 11 hours, with the session dragging on until just after midnight. The pace was partially because more than a fourth of the members voted over the phone amid the coronavirus pandemic, leading to logistical issues.

But the biggest delay was caused by a handful of Republicans who slowed the session down with a filibuster of sorts, commenting on almost every bill as they voted remotely. It wasn’t just measures they opposed or supported. They had lengthy discussions about both intricacies of legislation and sometimes only slightly related topics, touching on everything from the Battle of Trenton to the type of corn grown in the Garden State.

The drama came just hours after State Police troopers blocked the small group of GOP legislators — members of the minority party in Trenton — from entering the Statehouse by locking the doors because the lawmakers refused to comply with the building’s COVID-19 vaccine policy. The half-dozen lawmakers chose to vote via phone instead after a judge rejected a last-minute court motion they filed to stop enforcement of the rules, which they see as discriminatory and unconstitutional.

State Environmental Protection officials adopted Advanced Clean Truck rules Monday that would make New Jersey the first east coast state to require phasing in of electric commercial trucks to reduce air pollution and the diseases it causes.

The Advanced Clean Truck rule is modeled after regulations established in California and nearing adoption in several other states. The program is intended to increase the number of electric or zero-emissions trucks in the state.

Environmentalists said residents living in some of the state’s poorest communities, who bear the brunt of air pollution and the respiratory diseases it causes, will benefit the most from the new truck rules.

New Jersey’s largest city is now requiring face masks be worn indoors in all public settings — a step beyond current state requirements that “strongly recommend” coverings regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka made the mandate official hours after the state announced over 6,000 cases for the sixth consecutive day.

“We are still in the midst of a pandemic and need to take whatever steps are necessary to safeguard and best ensure the health, safety, and welfare of our residents,” Baraka said in a statement Monday afternoon. “I urge residents to take precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Get vaccinated and tested, especially during this holiday season, as we gather and spend more time with family and friends.”

As new coronavirus cases spike due to the omicron variant, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said Sunday that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Booker said in a statement that he took a test after he first had symptoms of the virus on Saturday.

“Fortunately, my symptoms are relatively mild,” Booker said. “I’m beyond grateful to have received two doses of vaccine and, more recently, a booster. I’m certain that without them I would be doing much worse. I encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated and boosted.”

With COVID-19 cases once again soaring in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said the state could soon face new restrictions in response to a deadly pandemic that is once more growing.

“My fear is we’re going to be getting back to capacity limits at some point,” Murphy said during an unrelated press event at Port Newark on Friday, where he warned “this thing is still with us and sadly, the numbers are still going up.”

Earlier on Friday, the state reported another 16 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 6,260 confirmed cases. It marked the first time New Jersey health officials marked back-to-back days of more than 6,000 confirmed positive tests in the 21 months since the pandemic began.

New Jersey Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck on Thursday announced a range of initiatives he said would promote racial justice, including anti-discrimination regulations covering 720,000 state licensed professionals and prioritizing racial justice in civil enforcement.

As attorney general, Bruck heads the state Department of Law and Public Safety, a 17-division agency with sweeping authority over areas ranging from law enforcement policy, public corruption, the New Jersey State Police and licensed professionals to horse racing regulations, alcoholic beverage control and juvenile justice, among others.

“While the Department of Law and Public Safety cannot fix longstanding racial disparities and injustices on its own, we have a moral obligation to use the tremendous reach of the department to achieve the maximum impact in promoting racial justice,” Bruck said in a statement.