TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's top Democratic state lawmaker says he'll introduce a measure to crack down on enforcing criminal background checks of workers at group homes. Senate President Steve Sweeney told NJ.com that he will introduce a bill to strengthen the background check requirements after an audit found that providers were able to make decisions on their own about applicants with criminal histories. He says anyone identified as a safety threat should be removed or disqualified. The audit found that nearly 8 percent of direct care workers did not have background checks and some with criminal records were still hired.