New Jersey General Assembly Explained

New Jersey General Assembly
Legislature:221st New Jersey Legislature
Coa Pic:Seal of New Jersey.svg
Session Room:New Jersey General Assembly floor.jpg
House Type:Lower house
Term Limits:None
New Session:January 9, 2024
Leader1 Type:Speaker
Leader1:Craig Coughlin (D)
Election1:January 9, 2018
Leader2 Type:Speaker pro tempore
Leader2:Benjie E. Wimberly (D)
Election2:January 11, 2022
Leader3 Type:Majority Leader
Leader3:Louis Greenwald (D)
Election3:January 10, 2012
Leader4 Type:Minority Leader
Leader4:John DiMaio (R)
Election4:January 11, 2022
Term Length:2 years
Authority:Article IV, New Jersey Constitution
Salary:$49,000/year
Members:80
Voting System1:Plurality-at-large voting
Last Election1:November 7, 2023
(80 seats)
Next Election1:November 4, 2025
(80 seats)
Redistricting:New Jersey Apportionment Commission
Structure1:NJ Assembly 2022-2023 diagram.png
Structure1 Res:250px
Political Groups1:Majority

Minority

Meeting Place:General Assembly Chamber
New Jersey State House
Trenton, New Jersey

The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.

Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average populations of 232,225 (2020 figures), with deviation in each district not exceeding 3.21% above and below that average.[1] To be eligible to run, a potential candidate must be at least 21 years of age, and must have lived in their district for at least one year prior to the election, and have lived in the state of New Jersey for two years. They also must be residents of their districts. Membership in the Assembly is considered a part-time job, and many members have employment in addition to their legislative work. Assembly members serve two-year terms, elected every odd-numbered year in November. One current member of the Assembly, Gary Schaer, holds another elective office (Passaic City Council President),[2] as he is grandfathered in under a New Jersey law that banned multiple office holding in 2007.

The Assembly is led by the Speaker of the Assembly, who is elected by the membership of the chamber. After the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey and the President of the New Jersey Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly is third in the line of succession to replace the Governor of New Jersey in the event that the governor is unable to execute the duties of that office. The Speaker decides the schedule for the Assembly, which bills will be considered, appoints committee chairmen, and generally runs the Assembly's agenda. The current Speaker is Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge).

Composition

AffiliationParty

(Shading indicates majority caucus)

Total
DemocraticRepublicanVacant
nowrap style="font-size:80%"2018–20205426800
nowrap style="font-size:80%"2020–20225228800
nowrap style="font-size:80%"2022–20244634800
nowrap style="font-size:80%"2024–20265228800
Latest voting share

List of state assembly members

Legislative DistrictAssembly MemberPartyAssumed OfficeCounties RepresentedResidence
District 1RepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Atlantic, Cape May, CumberlandLower Township
RepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Ocean City
District 2RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022AtlanticMargate City
RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022Atlantic City
District 3DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Cumberland, Gloucester SalemGlassboro
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Woodstown
District 4DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Atlantic, Camden, GloucesterGloucester Township
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Monroe Township
District 5DemocraticJune 30, 2018Camden, GloucesterCamden
DemocraticJanuary 14, 2020Camden
District 6DemocraticJanuary 10, 2012Burlington, CamdenVoorhees Township
DemocraticJanuary 10, 2006Cherry Hill
District 7DemocraticJanuary 13, 1998BurlingtonMoorestown
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2018Mount Laurel
District 8RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022Atlantic, BurlingtonHammonton
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Chesterfield Township
District 9RepublicanJune 23, 2003OceanLittle Egg Harbor
RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Stafford
District 10RepublicanJanuary 10, 2012Ocean, MonmouthToms River
Republican January 9, 2024Point Pleasant Beach
District 11DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024MonmouthOcean Township
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Long Branch
District 12RepublicanJuly 23, 2022Burlington, Middlesex, OceanJackson Township
RepublicanJanuary 10, 2012Matawan
District 13RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022MonmouthHolmdel
RepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Middletown
District 14DemocraticJanuary 8, 2008Mercer, MiddlesexHamilton Township
DemocraticJanuary 8, 2024Hamilton Township
District 15DemocraticFebruary 15, 2018Hunterdon, MercerTrenton
DemocraticAugust 5, 2018Hopewell Township
District 16DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, SomersetEast Amwell
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2018Hillsborough Township
District 17DemocraticOctober 16, 2014Middlesex, SomersetFranklin Township
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024New Brunswick
District 18DemocraticJanuary 27, 2021MiddlesexEast Brunswick
DemocraticMay 26, 2016Edison
District 19DemocraticJanuary 12, 2010MiddlesexWoodbridge
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2018Perth Amboy
District 20DemocraticSeptember 25, 2008UnionElizabeth
DemocraticJanuary 11, 2022Roselle
District 21RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, UnionNew Providence
Republican May 21, 2009Summit
District 22DemocraticJanuary 12, 2016Somerset, UnionRahway
DemocraticMay 24, 2018Plainfield
District 23RepublicanDecember 7, 2009Hunterdon, Somerset, WarrenFranklin Township
RepublicanFebruary 21, 2009Hackettstown
District 24RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Morris, Sussex, WarrenFranklin Borough
RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Chester Township
District 25RepublicanNovember 21, 2019Morris, PassaicMendham Borough
RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022Jefferson
District 26RepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Morris, PassaicDenville
RepublicanJanuary 8, 2008Morris Plains
District 27DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Essex, PassaicLivingston
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Montclair
District 28DemocraticJanuary 8, 2008Essex, UnionNewark
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Maplewood
District 29DemocraticSeptember 11, 2013Essex, HudsonNewark
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2018Newark
District 30RepublicanJanuary 10, 2012Monmouth, OceanWall
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Lakewood Township
District 31DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024HudsonJersey City
DemocraticJanuary 11, 2022Bayonne
District 32DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024HudsonJersey City
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Hoboken
District 33DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024HudsonWest New York
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024North Bergen
District 34DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024EssexBloomfield
DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Belleville
District 35DemocraticJanuary 10, 2012Bergen, PassaicPaterson
DemocraticJanuary 10, 2012Paterson
District 36DemocraticJanuary 10, 2006Bergen, PassaicPassaic
DemocraticFebruary 10, 2018Cliffside Park
District 37DemocraticJanuary 11, 2022BergenEnglewood Cliffs
DemocraticJanuary 11, 2022Tenafly
District 38DemocraticMay 24, 2018BergenFair Lawn
DemocraticMay 24, 2018Bergenfield
District 39RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024BergenSaddle River
RepublicanJanuary 14, 2014Old Tappan
District 40RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Bergen, PassaicCedar Grove
RepublicanJanuary 9, 2018Wyckoff

Committees and committee chairs

Committee chairs for the 2024-2026 Legislative Session are:[3]

List of past Assembly speakers

See main article: Political party strength in New Jersey.

Note: The first three subsections below end with a constitutional year: 1776, 1844, or 1947. The fourth subsection ends in 1966, the year of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that required legislative apportionment based on the principle of "one person, one vote".The following is a list of speakers of the Assembly since 1703.[4]

1703–1776

On December 6, 1775, Gov. William Franklin prorogued the New Jersey Legislature until January 3, 1776, but it never met again.[5] On May 30, 1776, Franklin attempted to convene the legislature, but was met instead with an order by the New Jersey Provincial Congress for his arrest.[6] On July 2, 1776, the Provincial Congress approved a new constitution which ordered new elections; on August 13 an entire new legislature was elected.

1776–1844

1845–1947

The Constitution of 1844 expanded the General Assembly to 60 members, elected annually and apportioned to the then-nineteen counties by population.[7]

1948–1967

1968–present

History

See: New Jersey Legislature#Colonial period and New Jersey Legislative Council#Composition

Salary and costs

Members of the NJ General Assembly receive an annual base salary of $49,000 with the Senate President and the Assembly Speaker earning slightly more.[8] [9] Members receive $110,000 for staff salaries. In addition, they receive 12,500 postage stamps, stationery and a telephone card. They receive New Jersey State health insurance and other benefits. The total cost to the State of New Jersey for each member of the general assembly is approximately $200,000 annually.[10]

"Double dipping"

Under state law that remained in effect until 2008, New Jersey Assembly, as well as Senate, members were allowed to serve in both one chamber or the other, as well as any other government positions they might have held at the time, although those who were still doing so as of 2008 ended up getting "grandfathered":

Name, Party-County – Second Public Office (name in bold represents state Assembly member still in both local and state offices as of 2023):

Assembly members:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.apportionmentcommission.org/documents/ValidationData/ValidationData_LegislativeDistricts.xls Statistical Data Tables
  2. https://www.cityofpassaic.com/242/Gary-Schaer Gary Schaer | Passaic, NJ
  3. Web site: NJ Legislature . 2024-01-31 . 2024-01-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240117013944/https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/assembly-committees . live .
  4. Book: Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey . 1977 . J.A. Fitzgerald .
  5. Journal of the Governor and Council Vol. VI (1769-1775), Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Vol. XVIII; The John L. Murphy Publishing Co., Printers, Trenton, New Jersey, 1893. p. 566
  6. "The Governors of New Jersey 1664-1974: Biographical Essays", New Jersey Historical Commission, Trenton, New Jersey, 1982. p. 75
  7. Also in the Constitution of 1844, the Legislative Council was renamed the Senate, to be composed of one member from each of the state's 19 counties, serving a three-year term. In addition, the new constitution provided for a direct popular election of the governor, with the power to veto bills passed by the Legislature. See: New Jersey Legislature#The Constitution of 1844.
  8. News: How pay for N.J. lawmakers compares to other 49 states . NJ.com . 2017-11-24 . en-US . 2018-10-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181006234000/https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/04/how_pay_for_nj_lawmakers_compares_to_other_49_stat.html . live .
  9. Web site: NJ.com, Published June 2011 . 2011-12-10 . 2019-02-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190213173701/https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/nj_legislators_receive_more_th.html . live .
  10. Web site: New Jersey FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - What is the salary of a member of the New Jersey State Legislature? . 2010-04-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714185628/http://www.njfaq.com/njfaq4a81a.shtml . 2011-07-14 . dead.

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