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New Jersey General Assembly
Lower house of the New Jersey Legislature From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, the upper house being the New Jersey Senate.
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 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).
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Composition
List of state assembly members
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Committees and committee chairs
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Committee chairs for the 2024–2026 Legislative Session are:[3]
- Aging & Senior Services - Shanique Speight (D-District 29)
- Children, Families, and Food Security - Shama Haider (D-District 37)
- Appropriations - Lisa Swain (D-District 38)
- Budget - Eliana Pintor Marin (D-District 29)
- Commerce, Economic Development, and Agriculture - William Spearman (D-District 5)
- Community Development & Woman's Affairs - Shavonda E. Sumter (D-District 35)
- Consumer Affairs - William Sampson (D-District 31)
- Education - Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-District 15)
- Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste - James J. Kennedy (D-District 22)
- Financial Institutions and Insurance - Roy Freiman (D-District 16)
- Health - Carol Murphy (D-District 7)
- Higher Education - Linda S. Carter (D-District 22)
- Housing - Yvonne Lopez (D-District 19)
- Judiciary - Ellen Park (D-District 37)
- Labor - Anthony Verrelli (D-District 15)
- Military and Veterans' Affairs - Cleopatra Tucker (D-District 28)
- Oversight, Reform, and Federal Relations - Reginald Atkins (D-District 20)
- Public Safety and Preparedness - Joseph Danielsen (D-District 17)
- Regulated Professions - Sterley Stanley (D-District 18)
- Science, Innovation, and Technology - Chris Tully (D-District 38)
- State and Local Government - Robert Karabinchak (D-District 18)
- Telecommunications and Utilities - Wayne DeAngelo (D-District 14)
- Tourism, Gaming, and the Arts - William Moen (D-District 5)
- Transportation and Independent Authorities - Clinton Calabrese (D-District 36)
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List of past Assembly speakers
History
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Salary and costs
Service as a state senator or member of the General Assembly is considered to be part-time.[4] Effective 2002, state senators and members of the General Assembly receive an annual base salary of $49,000 with the Senate president and the Assembly speaker earning slightly more (1/3 over the base).[5] This was an increase from $35,000, which had been in effect since 1990. Beginning in 2026, the base salary will increase to $82,000. Additionally, each legislator receives an annual allowance of $150,000 for staff salaries.[6] In the 2025 fiscal year, the total cost of the legislature in the state budget was $127,346,000.[7] Of this amount, $18,690,000 was appropriated to the State Senate for salaries and other costs, and $25,208,000 was appropriated to the General Assembly.[8]
"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:
- John J. Burzichelli, D-Gloucester – Mayor, Paulsboro
- Ralph R. Caputo, D-Essex – Freeholder, Essex County
- Anthony Chiappone, D-Hudson – Councilman, Bayonne
- Ronald S. Dancer, R-Ocean – Mayor, Plumsted Township
- Joseph V. Egan, D-Middlesex – Councilman, New Brunswick
- Elease Evans, D-Passaic – Freeholder, Passaic County
- John F. McKeon, D-Essex – Mayor, West Orange
- Paul D. Moriarty, D-Gloucester – Mayor, Washington Township
- Ruben J. Ramos, D-Hudson – Councilman, Hoboken
- Scott Rumana, R-Passaic – Mayor, Wayne
- Gary Schaer, D-Passaic – Councilman, Passaic
- Daniel Van Pelt, R-Ocean – Mayor, Ocean Township
- Joseph Vas, D-Middlesex – Mayor, Perth Amboy
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See also
Notes
References
External links
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