New Jersey General Assembly

New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey State Legislature
Type
Type	Lower house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 14, 2020
Leadership
Speaker	Craig Coughlin (D) since January 9, 2018
Majority Leader	Louis Greenwald (D) since January 10, 2012
Speaker pro Tempore	Gordon M. Johnson (D) since May 24, 2018
Minority Leader	Jon Bramnick (R) since January 17, 2012
Structure
Seats	80
Political groups	Majority   Democratic (52) Minority   Republican (28)
Length of term	2 years
Authority	Article IV, New Jersey Constitution
Salary	$49,000/year
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-large voting
Last election	November 5, 2019 (80 seats)
Next election	November 2, 2021 (80 seats)
Redistricting	New Jersey Apportionment Commission
Meeting place
General Assembly Chamber New Jersey State House Trenton, New Jersey
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 219,797 (2010 figures), with deviation in each district capped at about 2.5% 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. Four current 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 Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge).

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.^[2][3] 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.^[4]

History[]

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

Composition[]

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
Previous legislature (2018–2019)	54	26	80	0
Current legislature (2020–2021)	52	28	80	0
Latest voting share	65%	35%

Committees and committee chairs[]

Committee chairs for the 2020-2021 Legislative Session are:^[5]

• Aging & Senior Services - Asw. Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen)
• Agriculture and Natural Resources - Asm. Eric Houghtaling (D-Monmouth)
• Appropriations - Asm. John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester)
• Budget - Asw. Eliana Pintor Marin (D-Essex)
• Commerce and Economic Development - Asm. Gordon M. Johnson (D-Bergen)
• Community Development & Affairs - Asw. Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson)
• Consumer Affairs - Asm. Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester)
• Education - Asw. Pamela R. Lampitt (D-Burlington)
• Environment and Solid Waste - Asw. Nancy Pinkin (D-Middlesex)
• Financial Institutions and Insurance - Asm. John F. McKeon (D-Essex)
• Health and Senior Services - Asm. Herb Conaway, MD (D-Burlington)
• Higher Education - Asw. Mila Jasey (D-Essex)
• Homeland Security and State Preparedness - Asw. Angela McKnight (D-Hudson)
• Housing - Asm. Benjie Wimberly (D-Passaic)
• Human Services - Asw. Joann Downey (D-Monmouth)
• Judiciary - Asw. Raj Mukherji (D-Hudson)
• Labor - Asm. Joseph Egan (D-Middlesex)
• Law and Public Safety - Asm. Adam Taliaferro (D-Gloucester)
• Military and Veterans' Affairs - Asw. Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex)
• Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations - Asm. Joseph Danielsen (D-Somerset)
• Regulated Professions - Asm. Thomas Giblin (D-Essex)
• Science, Innovation and Technology - Asm. Andrew Zwicker (D-Somerset)
• State and Local Government - Asm. Vincent Mazzeo (D-Atlantic)
• Telecommunications and Utilities - Asm. Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer)
• Tourism, Gaming and the Arts - Asm. Ralph Caputo (D-Essex)
• Transportation and Independent Authorities - Asm. Daniel R. Benson (D-Mercer)
• Women and Children - Asw. Gabriela Mosquera (D-Gloucester)

List of past Assembly speakers[]

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.^[6]

1703–1776[]

On December 6, 1775, Gov. William Franklin prorogued the New Jersey Legislature until January 3, 1776, but it never met again.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

1948–1967[]

1968–present[]

Past composition of the Assembly[]

See also[]

• Category:Members of the New Jersey General Assembly
• New Jersey State Constitution

References[]

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.

Coordinates: 40°13′15″N 74°46′09″W / 40.220813°N 74.769301°W / 40.220813; -74.769301