Bill Text: NJ A3614 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires legislators to serve full-time; establishes annual compensation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-12-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [A3614 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A3614-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman LINDA STENDER
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires legislators to serve full-time; establishes annual compensation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring members of the Legislature to serve full-time, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and repealing P.L.1948, c.16 and P.L.1971, c.204.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Each person elected to the office of member of the Senate and each person elected to the office of member of the General Assembly shall, upon being sworn into such office, devote their full time to the duties of the office and shall engage in no occupation, profession, business, or other gainful employment while they hold that office.
2. Members of the Senate and General Assembly shall receive annually, during the term for which they shall have been elected and while they shall hold their office, compensation equal to 75 percent of the compensation received by members of the Congress of the United States, beginning with the 2012 legislative year and thereafter. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, each by virtue of the office, shall receive an additional allowance equal to 1/3 of the compensation received as a member. The compensation provided shall be paid to each member upon qualifying into office as a member, and the additional allowance provided to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly shall be paid upon the member qualifying into office as such an officer.
3. Any person elected at the general election in any year to fill a vacancy in the office of member of the Senate or General Assembly occurring for any cause other than expiration of term, shall, upon qualifying into office, receive for the remainder of the legislative year that proportion of the annual compensation payable to members of the Legislature as the number of days remaining in the legislative year following the member's qualification bears to the total number of days in the legislative year.
4. P.L.1948, c.16 (C.52:10A-1) and P.L.1971, c.204 (C.52:10A-2) are repealed.
5. This act shall take effect on the second Tuesday in January in the year 2012.
STATEMENT
This bill requires all members of the Legislature, starting with the 2012 legislative session, to devote full-time to their duties as legislators. Under the bill, legislators would not be permitted to engage in any other occupation, profession, business or gainful employment while they hold that office.
The bill also establishes the amount of compensation that full-time legislators are to receive at 75 percent of the amount of compensation received by members of the Congress of the United States, with the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, to receive an additional allowance equal to 1/3 of the compensation received as a member.
The bill repeals sections of law that specify the current salary of members of the Legislature and creates a new section that specifies that members of the Legislature will work full time and that establishes their compensation.
