New Jersey General Assembly
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| New Jersey General Assembly | |
|---|---|
| New Jersey State Legislature | |
 |
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| Type | |
| Type | Lower house |
| Term limits | None |
| History | |
| New session started | January 10, 2012 |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker of the General Assembly | Sheila Y. Oliver, (D) Since January 12, 2010 |
| Speaker pro Tempore | Jerry Green, (D) Since December 10, 2008 |
| Majority Leader | Louis Greenwald, (D) Since January 10, 2012 |
| Minority Leader | Jon Bramnick, (R) Since January 12, 2012 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 80 |
| Political groups | Democratic Party (48) Republican Party (32) |
| Length of term | 2 years |
| Authority | Article IV, New Jersey Constitution |
| Salary | $49,000/year |
| Elections | |
| Last election | November 8, 2011 (80 seats) |
| Next election | November 5, 2013 (80 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
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| General Assembly Chamber New Jersey State House Trenton, New Jersey |
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| Website | |
| New Jersey State Legislature | |
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 210,359 (2000 figures). To be eligible to run, a potential candidate must be at least 21 years of age, and must have lived in New Jersey for at least two years prior to the election. 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. Several members of the Assembly hold other elective office, as they are 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 he or she 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 Sheila Y. Oliver (D-East Orange).
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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.[1] 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.[2]
History []
- See: New Jersey Legislature#Before the Legislature and the Constitution of 1776 and New Jersey Legislative Council#Composition
Composition []
| Affiliation | Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Vacant | ||
| End of previous legislature | 48 | 31 | 79 | 1 |
| Begin[3] | 47 | 31 | 78 | 2 |
| January 9, 2012[4] | 30 | 77 | 3 | |
| February 1, 2012[5] | 31 | 78 | 2 | |
| February 29, 2012[6] | 48 | 79 | 1 | |
| March 5, 2012[7] | 32 | 80 | 0 | |
| Latest voting share | 60% | 40% | ||
Committees and Committee Chairs []
- Agriculture and Natural Resources - Asm. Nelson Albano (D-Cumberland)
- Appropriations - Asw. Nellie Pou (D-Passaic)
- Bipartisan Leadership Committee - Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) and Vacancy[8]
- Budget - Asm. Louis Greenwald (D-Camden)
- Commerce and Economic Development - Asm. Alberto Coutinho (D-Essex)
- Consumer Affairs - Asm. Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester)
- Education - Asm. Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex)
- Environment and Solid Waste - Asm. John McKeon (D-Essex)
- Financial Institutions and Insurance - Asm. Gary Schaer (D-Passaic)
- Health and Senior Services - Asm. Herb Conaway, MD (D-Burlington)
- Higher Education - Asw. Pamela Rosen Lampitt (D-Camden)
- Homeland Security and State Preparedness - Asm. Frederick Scalera (D-Essex)
- Housing and Local Government - Asm. Jerry Green (D-Union)
- Human Services - Asw. Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen)
- Judiciary - Asm. Peter Barnes (D-Middlesex)
- Labor - Asm. Joseph Egan (D-Middlesex)
- Law and Public Safety - Asm. Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen)
- Military and Veterans' Affairs - Asm. Jack Conners (D-Burlington)
- Regulated Professions - Asm. Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson)
- Regulatory Oversight and Gaming - Asm. John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester)
- State Government - Asw. Linda Stender (D-Union)
- Telecommunications and Utilities - Asm. Upendra Chivukula (D-Somerset)
- Tourism and the Arts - Asm. Matthew Milam (D-Cumberland)
- Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities - Asm. John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex)
List of past Assembly Speakers []
- Note: The first two subsections below end with a constitutional year: 1844 or 1947. The third 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 1776.[9]
1776–1844 []
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1845–1947 []
The Constitution of 1844 expanded the General Assembly to 60 members, elected annually and apportioned to the then-nineteen counties by population.[10]
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1948–1967 []
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1968–present []
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See also []
- Category:Members of the New Jersey General Assembly
- New Jersey State Constitution
References []
- ^ NJ.com, Published June 2011
- ^ [1]
- ^ Democrat Gabriela Mosquera (District 4) was ruled ineligible to appear on the November ballot on January 5. Seat remains vacant. [2] Republican Peter Biondi (District 16) died November 11, 2011.
- ^ Republican Alex DeCroce (District 26) died.
- ^ Republican Donna Simon appointed to replace Biondi.
- ^ Democrat Gabriela Mosquera appointed to vacant District 4 seat, as she now meets the residency requirement. She will face a special election in November.
- ^ Republican Betty Lou DeCroce appointed to replace DeCroce.
- ^ Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) co-chaired the committee until his death on January 9, 2012
- ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey. J.A. Fitzgerald. 1977.
- ^ 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.
External links []
- New Jersey Legislature official website
- Assembly Democrats official website
- Assembly Republicans official website
- New Jersey section of Project Vote Smart a national database of voting records and other information about legislators.
