The heads of state agencies are appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate before taking office. Officials appointed by the governor include the following:. The Senate and General Assembly make up the legislative branch. The Senate has 40 members , and the General Assembly has 80 members. One senator and two assembly members are elected from each of the 40 districts of New Jersey. The Legislature's main job is to enact laws. The Legislature can also propose amendments to the New Jersey Constitution.
The Senate and General Assembly meet for about 40 sessions a year. Sessions are held on Mondays and Thursdays. During the rest of the week, the legislators often hold committee meetings or public hearings. Since the legislature does not meet year-round, legislative work is a part-time job. Most legislators have another job as well. The leader of the Senate is the Senate President. The Speaker of the General Assembly heads that body.
The President and the Speaker schedule meetings and determine which bills will be considered within their respective houses. Upon completion of the census, New Jersey will draft and enact new district maps.
Census Bureau, delaying the beginning of the redistricting process in New Jersey until then. The U. Census Bureau released data in a legacy format on August 12, and released tabulated data on September The deadline for approval of legislative redistricting maps is March 1, , and the deadline for approval of congressional redistricting maps is January 18, On September 1, , the Congressional Redistricting Commission held its first meeting.
It said it would hold at least three public hearings on redistricting, with a schedule to be released later. The first virtual hearing was held on October 23 at 10 a. On November 3, , New Jersey voters approved Public Question 3 , a constitutional amendment postponing state legislative redistricting until after the November 2, , election if the census bureau failed to deliver redistricting data by February 15, The application of this postponement was triggered as a result of the census bureau's announcement that it did not expect to deliver redistricting data to the states until after July 31, Consequently, the existing legislative district maps were set to remain in force until New Jersey received its local census data on February 3, , the state's population grew five percent from to The Redistricting Commission had 60 days to decide on a map after receiving its local census data.
With the commission unable to agree on a map within 30 days, Rutgers law professor Alan Rosenthal was appointed as the nonpartisan 11th member of the commission as required by state law When a compromise could not be reached, he cast the tie-breaking vote to approve a new map on April 3, The legislation tracker below displays all legislation that the New Jersey State Senate has approved in its most recent legislative session—this includes legislation that has been sent from the Senate to the House and legislation that has already been approved by the House and signed by the governor after its passage in the Senate.
The table below includes the bill number, its name, progress, most recent action date, and sponsor. Scroll up and down and side to side to see more.
Click the bill number to read the bill text and see its voting history. Click the headings to sort the content. Rearrange the order of the headings by clicking and dragging them.
Click the magnifying glass in the bottom left corner to search for specific terms. The legislation tracker is maintained and updated by BillTrack In , the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 4, , and adjourn on January 11, In , the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 14, , and adjourn on December 17, Several state legislatures had their sessions impacted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
In , the legislature was in session from January 9, , through January 8, To read about notable events and legislation from this session, click here. Major issues in the legislative session included pension reform, funding the Transportation Trust Fund, property taxes, and bills aimed at improving the economic climate in Atlantic City after the closing of three casinos in a short span of time.
Major issues in the legislative session included rebuilding the state after superstorm Sandy and gun control. In , the legislature was in session from January 12, , to January 9, In , the legislature convened on January 12, and remained in session throughout the year. The Tenth Amendment of the U. Constitution declares that any power not already given to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people. The different types of legislation passed by a legislature may include resolutions, legislatively referred constitutional amendments , and bills that become law.
Section 1 of Article IV states that each annual session is to begin on the second Tuesday of January. The session does not end until the beginning of the next annual session or until the Legislature chooses to adjourn. Section 1 also allows for special sessions of the Legislature to be called by the Governor of New Jersey or by a majority of the members of each legislative house.
Every state legislature throughout the country features its own internal procedures that it uses to govern itself and how it interacts with other parts of state government. Ballotpedia's coverage of internal state legislative procedures includes veto overrides , the role of the legislature in the state budget , procedures for filling membership vacancies , and redistricting.
State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in New Jersey are listed below.
How many legislators are required to vote for an override? Two-thirds of members in both chambers. The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows: [35]. New Jersey is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority. The governor is constitutionally required to submit a balanced budget. In turn, the legislature is also constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget. Every state legislature and state legislative chamber in the country contains several legislative committees.
These committees are responsible for studying, amending, and voting on legislation before it reaches the floor of a chamber for a full vote. The different types of committees include standing committees, select or special, and joint. Ballotpedia covers standing and joint committees.
The New Jersey State Senate has 16 standing committees:. In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive.
There are also many other types of statewide measures. There's only one way to amend the New Jersey Constitution , and that is through a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.
New Jersey is one of six states that has no provision for a constitutional convention. Nov 9, Senators serve six-year terms with staggered elections. The United States is divided into congressional districts, each with a population of about , individuals. Each district elects a representative to the House of Representatives for a two-year term. Jefferson Van Drew. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
All representatives serve until the end of the current Congress on Jan 3, Follow govtrack. And please consider supporting our work by becoming a monthly backer govtrack on Patreon or leaving a tip. If you can, please take a few minutes to help us improve GovTrack for users like you.
We hope to make GovTrack more useful to policy professionals like you. Please sign up for our advisory group to be a part of making GovTrack a better tool for what you do. Every ten years, after the Federal census, the boundaries of the 40 districts are redrawn to maintain an equal population in each district. This reapportionment of districts is performed by a bipartisan Apportionment Commission, whose members are appointed by the state chairs of the two major political parties.
Legislative elections are held in November of each odd-numbered year. Members of the Assembly serve two-year terms. Senators serve four-year terms, except for the first term of a new decade, which is only two years.
This "" cycle allows for elections from new districts as soon as possible after each reapportionment. Interim appointments are made to fill vacant legislative seats by the county committee or committees of the party of the vacating person. The office is on the ballot for the next general election, unless the vacancy occurred within 51 days of the election.
Then the appointment stands until the following general election. The New Jersey Constitution provides that each Legislature is constituted for a term of two years, split into two annual sessions. Because the Constitution also specifies that all business from the first year may be continued into the second year, the distinction between the two annual sessions is more ceremonial than actual.
The two-year legislative term begins at noon on the second Tuesday in January of each even-numbered year. At the end of the second year, all unfinished business expires. Each House sets its own meeting schedule.
A typical session day consists of party conferences around midday followed by open debate and voting activity in the chambers. Occasionally, committee meetings may be held on days when legislative voting sessions occur, but typically committee meetings are held on another day.
While both voting sessions and committee meetings are typically on Mondays and Thursdays, committee meetings and public hearings can be held on any day, at the discretion of the committee chair. Committee meetings and voting sessions are open to the public. No advance arrangements are necessary to gain admission to the meeting rooms or the public galleries of the chambers. Access for joint sessions, however is limited.
Joint sessions occur when the Senate and General Assembly meet together, most often for an address by the Governor.
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