Bill Text: NJ AJR157 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio Day in New Jersey.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-29 - Substituted by SJR105 [AJR157 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-AJR157-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman NANCY J. PINKIN
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Designates August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio Day in New Jersey.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution designating August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio Day in the State of New Jersey.
Whereas, The Honorable James J. Florio, the 49th Governor of this State, was born on August 29, 1937 in Brooklyn, the oldest of three sons to Vincenzo "Jim" and Lillian Florio, moved as a child to Flatbush near Ebbets Field, became a Dodger and Pete Reiser fan, and developed an interest in the sport of boxing; and
Whereas, At the age of 17, Governor Florio enlisted in the Navy, served from 1955 to 1958, and then served in the Naval Reserve until 1975 and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander; and
Whereas, While in the Navy, Governor Florio received his high school equivalency diploma, and boxed as a middleweight, compiling a 12-3 record before retiring, and was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990; and
Whereas, Governor Florio enrolled at Trenton State College upon his discharge in 1958, graduating magna cum laude, went on to study public law and government at Columbia University after winning a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and received a law degree from Rutgers School of Law-Camden in 1967 and was admitted to the State bar; and
Whereas, Governor Florio began his career in public service as the assistant city attorney for the City of Camden, and was later solicitor for the towns of Runnemede, Woodlynne, and Summerdale; and
Whereas, Governor Florio was elected to the General Assembly in 1969 and twice re-elected, first from the First Legislative District then the Fifth Legislative District, which covered parts of Camden and Gloucester counties, and served on the State Government and the Federal and Interstate Relations Committees; and
Whereas, Governor Florio was elected to the United States House of Representatives from this State's First Congressional District in November 1974 and served until January 16, 1990; and
Whereas, In Congress, Governor Florio was best known as the author of the Superfund legislation, designed to clean up toxic waste sites and penalize those responsible for the pollution and require such responsible parties to pay for its cleanup, and he was the author of the Railroad Deregulation Law, which saved from bankruptcy the nation's freight railroads, including Conrail; and
Whereas, Mr. Florio was elected to the governorship on November 7, 1989, and made his first priority automobile insurance reform, calling a special session of the Legislature six days after his inauguration to consider a series of changes to existing law, and on March 12, 1990 he signed into law a program designed to reduce premiums for most drivers by 20 percent; and
Whereas, During his term in office, Governor Florio accomplished signing into law the Clean Water Enforcement Act (1990), which was the strongest environmental law of its type in the United States, the Quality Education Act, which provided greater equity in New Jersey's school finance system, a landmark welfare reform package, and the nation's toughest assault weapons ban; and
Whereas, After leaving office as Governor, Governor Florio, with his wife Lucinda, moved to Metuchen and went into private practice as an attorney, served as Chair of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, became a Senior Fellow for Public Policy and Administration at the Edward J. Bloustein Graduate School of Public Policy at Rutgers University, was appointed to the board of directors of NJ Future, became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank in New York, and in 2014 was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame; and
Whereas, Governor Florio holds numerous honorary degrees, was the 1993 recipient of the "Profile in Courage Award" bestowed by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and in 2008, was designated a Lifetime Honoree Member of the New Jersey Short Line Railroad Association; and
Whereas, Through the years, Governor Florio has been blessed by the love and support of his children and grandchildren, including his son Christopher and daughter-in-law Helen, his daughter Catherine Pipas and son-in-law Marc and their daughters Stephanie and Victoria, his son Gregory and daughter-in-law Ann and their children Matthew, Alexandra, Chelsea, Elizabeth, and Peter, and by his wife Lucinda's son Mark Rowe and daughter-in-law Shelly and their sons Jack, Bret, and Troy; and
Whereas, Given his record of achievement and service to this State and to the nation, it is fitting and proper that the State of New Jersey honor Governor Florio by designating August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio Day in New Jersey; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. August 29, 2017 is designated as Governor James Florio Day in the State of New Jersey in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to this State and the nation.
2. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This Joint Resolution designates August 29, 2017 as Governor James Florio Day in the State of New Jersey, in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to this State and the nation.
