The 218th New Jersey Legislature began on January 9, 2018 following the 2017 Elections. The session started in the end of Chris Christie 's governorship and continued in the first two years of Phil Murphy 's governorship.
Background [ ]
The elections were held on November 7, 2017 alongside the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election . Phil Murphy and Sheila Oliver were elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor. In the elections for Senate republicans lost a net gain of one seat[1] while in the Assembly elections republicans lost a net gain of two.[2] In the only state senate election of 2019 incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Andrzejczak lost re-election to Republican Mike Testa .[3]
Party composition [ ]
Assembly [ ]
New Jersey General Assembly partisan breakdown
Affiliation
Members
Democratic Party
54
Republican Party
26
Total
80
Senate [ ]
Partisan breakdown of the New Jersey Senate
Affiliation
Members
Democratic Party
25
Republican Party
15
Total
40
Leadership [ ]
Senate [ ]
Assembly [ ]
Democratic Leadership
Republican Leadership
Members [ ]
Senate [ ]
Senators for the 2018-19 legislative session are:[4] [5] [6]
† First appointed to the seat
‡ Elected in a special election
1 Addiego had served as a Republican prior to 2019
Former members from this term [ ]
Committees and Committee Chairs, 2018–2019 Legislative Session [ ]
Committee chairs are: (All are Democrats)[13]
Assembly [ ]
The Assembly has 80 members, two for each district.
Membership of the General Assembly is as follows:[14] [15]
Former members from this term [ ]
District
Name
Party
Residence
First served
Left office
Cause
Replaced by
District 34
Sheila Oliver
Dem
East Orange
2004
January 9, 2018
Took office as Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey [16] [17]
Britnee Timberlake
District 15
Elizabeth Maher Muoio
Pennington
2015[A 1]
January 15, 2018
Appointed State Treasurer of New Jersey [18] [19]
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
District 36
Marlene Caride
Ridgefield
2012
January 16, 2018
Appointed Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance [20] [21]
Clinton Calabrese
District 32
Vincent Prieto
Secaucus
2004[A 1]
February 26, 2018
Resigned to become President and CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority [22]
Pedro Mejia
District 38
Joseph Lagana
Paramus
2014
April 12, 2018
Appointed to the District's Senate seat[23]
Lisa Swain Chris Tully
Tim Eustace
Maywood
2012
April 13, 2018
Resigned to become Deputy Director of the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission[24]
District 22
Jerry Green
Plainfield
1992
April 18, 2018
Death (long illness)[25] [26]
Linda Carter
District 5
Arthur Barclay
Camden
2016
June 18, 2018
Resigned following arrest for simple assault [27]
William Spearman
District 15
Reed Gusciora
Trenton
1996
June 30, 2018
Elected Mayor of Trenton [28] [29]
Anthony Verrelli
District 1
Bob Andrzejczak
Middle Township
2013[A 1]
January 14, 2019
Appointed to the District's Senate seat[30]
Matthew W. Milam
District 25
Tony Bucco
Rep
Boonton Township
2010
October 24, 2019
Appointed to the District's Senate seat[31]
Aura K. Dunn
Committees and Committee Chairs, 2018–2019 Legislative Session [ ]
Committee chairs are: (All are Democrats)[32]
Vacancies [ ]
Senate [ ]
Assembly [ ]
34th
Sheila Oliver
Democratic Party
January 9, 2018 – January 29, 2018
Britnee Timberlake
Democratic Party
Britnee Timberlake
Democratic Party
15th
Elizabeth Maher Muoio
Democratic Party
January 15, 2018 – February 15, 2018
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
Democratic Party
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
Democratic Party
36th
Marlene Caride
Democratic Party
January 16, 2018 – February 8, 2018
Clinton Calabrese
Democratic Party
Clinton Calabrese
Democratic Party
32nd
Vincent Prieto
Democratic Party
February 26, 2018 – April 12, 2018
Pedro Mejia
Democratic Party
Pedro Mejia
Democratic Party
38th
Joseph Lagana
Democratic Party
April 12, 2018 – May 24, 2018
Lisa Swain
Democratic Party
Lisa Swain
Democratic Party
38th
Tim Eustace
Democratic Party
April 13, 2018 – May 24, 2018
Chris Tully
Democratic Party
Chris Tully
Democratic Party
22nd
Jerry Green
Democratic Party
April 18, 2018 – May 24, 2018
Linda Carter
Democratic Party
Linda Carter
Democratic Party
5th
Arthur Barclay
Democratic Party
June 18, 2018 – June 30, 2018
William Spearman
Democratic Party
William Spearman
Democratic Party
15th
Reed Gusciora
Democratic Party
July 1, 2018 – August 5, 2018
Anthony Verrelli
Democratic Party
Anthony Verrelli
Democratic Party
1st
Bob Andrzejczak
Democratic Party
January 14, 2019 – February 1, 2019
Matthew Milam
Democratic Party
No special Election will be held
No special Election will be held
25th
Tony Bucco
Republican Party
October 25, 2019 – November 25, 2019
Aura K. Dunn
Republican Party
TBD
TBD
Governors [ ]
Former Governor Chris Christie
Outgoing Governor Chris Christie delivered is last State of the State on January 9, 2018. He touted his legacy as Governor, such as his response to Hurricane Sandy , among other things.[35]
On January 15, 2019 Governor Phil Murphy gave his first State of the State Address. In his address he called on the legislature to raise the minimum wage from $8 to $15, legalize recreational marijuana , and to act on tax reform. He also touted his achievements in his first year such as raising income taxes on people making more than $5 million a year, beginning to make community college tuition free, increasing funding to Planned Parenthood , and tighter gun laws.[36]
Again on March 5, 2019 Murphy addressed the Legislature to deliver his budget address. In the address he called for universal pre-k, eliminating tuition for community college, a millionaires tax, and increased spending. Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney , and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said they are opposed to Murphy's proposed tax increases.[37] On June 20, 2019 the Assembly and Senate passed a budget without Murphy's millionaires tax. In the Senate, seven republicans, Declan O'Scanlon , Kip Bateman , Tom Kean , Kristin Corrado , Bob Singer , and Sam Thompson , voted for the budget.[38] Murphy line-item vetoed the budget.
See also [ ]
List of New Jersey state legislatures
Notes [ ]
References [ ]
^ "2017-official-general-election-results-state-senate.pdf" (PDF) . Secretary of State for New Jersey . Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
^ "2017-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF) . Secretary of State for New Jersey . Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
^ "Testa to join senate next week" . newjerseyglobe.com . Retrieved 30 November 2019 .
^ Unofficial List Candidates for State Senate For General Election 11/07/2017 Election Archived 2017-11-09 at the Wayback Machine , New Jersey Department of State , November 8, 2017. Accessed November 12, 2017.
^ Melisurgo, Len. "Updated election results: N.J. Senate and Assembly races 2017" , NJ Advance Media for NJ.com , November 12, 2017.
^ Legislative Roster 2016-2017 Session , New Jersey Legislature . Accessed November 12, 2017.
^ Tate, Curtis (April 5, 2018). "Gov. Phil Murphy appoints Sen. Bob Gordon to NJ utility watchdog" . NorthJersey.com . Retrieved April 14, 2018 .
^ "BOB GORDON GETS CONFIRMED FOR BPU SEAT" . New Jersey Credit Union League. April 16, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018 .
^ Gallo, Bill, Jr. (November 6, 2018). "N.J. Election 2018: Jeff Van Drew wins House seat for Democrats, beats Seth Grossman" . NJ.com . Retrieved January 2, 2019 .
^ Contento, Nina (January 2, 2019). "Former State Senator Jeff Van Drew Prepares for Washington, D.C." SNJ Today . Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019 .
^ Ortiz, Keldy; Westhoven, William (September 16, 2019). "New Jersey state Sen. Anthony Bucco dies of a heart attack" . Daily Record . Retrieved September 21, 2019 .
^ Smith, Joseph P. (December 5, 2019). "Vineland's Michael Testa sworn in at New Jersey Senate" . The Daily Journal . Retrieved April 5, 2020 .
^ New Jersey Legislature Committees and Membership 2018-2019 Legislative Session , New Jersey Legislature . Accessed January 11, 2018.
^ Unofficial List Candidates for General Assembly For General Election 11/07/2017 Election , New Jersey Department of State , November 8, 2017. Accessed November 12, 2017.
^ Melisurgo, Len. "Updated election results: N.J. Senate and Assembly races 2017" , NJ Advance Media for NJ.com , November 12, 2017.
^ "New Jersey Legislative Digest for January 9, 2018" . Office of Legislative Services. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018 .
^ O'Dea, Colleen (January 10, 2018). "Who's Who, Who's New, And Who's Blue In 218th Legislative Session" . NJ Spotlight . Retrieved January 13, 2018 .
^ Curran, Phillip Sean. "Assemblywoman Muoio resigns, creating vacancy in legislature" , CentralJersey.com, January 17, 2018. "State Assemblywoman Liz Muoio, a Democrat who represented parts of Mercer and Hunterdon counties since 2015, resigned her seat to join the Murphy administration, thus creating a vacancy that many Democrats want to fill.... But she submitted her resignation to the Assembly clerk on Friday to become acting state Treasurer until she gets confirmed by the Democrat-controlled state Senate. Her resignation took effect at the end of business Monday, according to an aide. She also left her job as the Mercer County director of economic development."
^ Reitmeyer, John (April 13, 2018). "SENATE APPROVES MUOIO FOR STATE TREASURER, ONLY SECOND WOMAN TO GET THE NOD" . NJ Spotlight . Retrieved April 14, 2018 .
^ Blosfield, Elizabeth (February 14, 2018). "Caride Named Acting Commissioner of N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance" . Insurance Journal . Retrieved June 18, 2018 .
^ Racioppi, Dustin (June 7, 2018). "Senate confirms six of Gov. Phil Murphy's Cabinet picks" . NorthJersey.com . Retrieved June 18, 2018 .
^ Johnson, Brent (February 15, 2018). "Ex-Assembly speaker Prieto lands $280K job as head of N.J. sports authority" . NJ.com . Retrieved March 25, 2018 .
^ Van Vliet, John (April 4, 2018). "Assemblyman Joseph Lagana to Succeed Senator Bob Gordon in the 38th District" . TAPinto . Retrieved April 14, 2018 .
^ Kanzler, Kaitlyn (April 12, 2018). "Tim Eustace to become deputy director of North Jersey District Water Supply Commission" . NorthJersey.com . Retrieved April 14, 2018 .
^ Grzella, Paul C. (April 19, 2018). "Assemblyman Jerry Green of Plainfield has died" . myCentralJersey.com . Retrieved April 21, 2018 .
^ Pizarro, Max (April 19, 2018). "Rest in Peace, Assemblyman and Union County Democratic Chairman Jerry Green of Plainfield" . Insider NJ . Retrieved April 21, 2018 .
^ Trethan, Phaedra (June 18, 2018). "Assemblyman Arthur Barclay resigns after arrest for simple assault" . Courier-Post . Retrieved June 18, 2018 .
^ Foster, David (June 12, 2018). "Assemblyman Reed Gusciora becomes Trenton's first openly gay mayor in historic win" . The Trentonian . Retrieved July 1, 2018 .
^ Abdur-Rahman, Sulaiman (July 26, 2018). "Mercer Freeholder Verrelli wins appointment to Gusciora's vacant Assembly seat" . The Trentonian . Retrieved August 12, 2018 .
^ Franklin, Chris (January 7, 2019). "It's a game of musical chairs in 1st Legislative district after Van Drew heads to Washington" . NJ.com . Retrieved January 15, 2019 .
^ Kausch, Katie (October 24, 2019). "Bucco Sworn In To Late Father's Senate Seat" . Patch . Retrieved October 24, 2019 .
^ New Jersey Legislature Committees and Membership 2018-2019 Legislative Session - Assembly Committees , New Jersey Legislature . Accessed January 13, 2018.
^ "New Jersey Election Results" . New York Times . Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
^ "Andrzejczak to Fill 1st District Senate Vacancy Today" . Insider NJ. January 15, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
^ "In final State of the State, Christie proud of a record 'of consequence' " . northjersey.com . Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
^ "Murphy takes aim at business tax credits in State of State" . njherald.com . Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
^ "Phil Murphy delivers NJ budget speech reliant on millionaires tax" . northjersey.com . Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
^ "Senate passes budget 31-6" . New Jersey Globe . Retrieved 20 June 2019 .