Bill Text: NJ S182 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires reduction in number of State employees to FY2000 level; establishes procedure to control creation of new State positions and filling of vacancies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S182 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S182-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER J. CONNORS
District 9 (Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean)
Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Kyrillos
SYNOPSIS
Requires reduction in number of State employees to FY2000 level; establishes procedure to control creation of new State positions and filling of vacancies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning the number of State employees and supplementing Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Reduction in the Number of State Employees Act."
2. a. Within six months of the effective date of this act, P.L. , c. (C. ), the Commissioner of the Department of Personnel shall adopt a comprehensive plan for the reduction in the number of positions in the Executive Branch of State government through the elimination, reclassification, or transfer of any position that is, or becomes, vacant for any reason. The plan shall provide for the systematic reduction, over four consecutive fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year that commences more than six months after the effective date of this act, until the number of positions equals the number of positions that existed on June 30, 2000. In each applicable fiscal year, there shall be a reduction, as required pursuant to subsection b. of this section, in the funding for the salaries and wages accounts in the annual appropriations law that corresponds to the reduction in the number of positions in accordance with the plan.
The comprehensive plan shall be prepared by a panel comprised of the Commissioner of the Department of Personnel, the State Treasurer, a member of the Governor's staff designated by the Governor, one representative of the organization representing the greatest number of State employees for collective bargaining purposes selected by the Governor, and two members of the general public who hold no other elected or appointed public office selected by the Governor. The panel shall review the duties of, and continued need for, any position in the Executive Branch of State government that is or becomes vacant for any reason, in order to determine whether that position should be continued, eliminated, reclassified or transferred. If the panel determines that the reduction goal cannot be implemented in four fiscal years, it shall provide a statement detailing the panel's reasoning and conclusion and specifying how many additional fiscal years, not to exceed three fiscal years, will be required to achieve the reduction goal.
The Department of Personnel shall provide necessary personnel and assistance to the panel.
Upon the adoption of the comprehensive plan, a copy shall be provided to the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.
b. Each annual appropriation law that is enacted for the four consecutive fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year that commences more than six months after the effective date of this act shall provide for the reduction in the funding for the salaries and wages accounts to implement the reduction goal in the comprehensive plan for that fiscal year.
c. Following the effective date of this act, the creation of any new position in the senior executive, career, or unclassified service of the Executive Branch of State government or the filling of a position that is vacant or becomes vacant after the effective date of this act shall be reviewed by a State Position Review Panel comprised of five members appointed by the Merit System Board. The panel shall either deny or approve the creation of the new position or the filling of the vacancy. The panel shall develop criteria that it shall use in its determinations. The criteria shall address, but need not be limited to, the duties of the position, the funding source for the position, the existence of other substantially similar positions, the period of time for which the position will be needed, the essential or supportive nature of the position, whether an existing position may be reclassified or transferred for the same purpose, and whether another position can be eliminated if a new position is created. The panel's denial or approval shall be accompanied by a statement detailing the board's reasoning and conclusion on each element of the criteria considered.
If the creation of a new position or the filling of a vacancy is approved by the review panel, it shall be forwarded to the Merit System Board and the State Treasurer for their review. The written approval of the board and treasurer shall be required before a new position is created or a vacancy is filled.
The panel shall submit detailed quarterly reports of its activities, denials, and approvals to the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is to establish a plan and procedure to rein in the growth in the number of employees in the Executive Branch of State government and to control the strain that growth places on the required annual expenditures of the State and the allocation of revenues. Required expenditures for State employees include salaries and wages, pension benefits, and health care costs. Over the past six years since State Fiscal Year 2000, the number of State employees in the Executive Branch has increased 23% from 60,304 to 74,190 as of January 2006. The number of employees in the Judicial Branch increased by only 7.36% from 9,038 to 9,703 and the number in the Legislative Branch increased by 4.96% from 484 to 508.
This bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Personnel to adopt, within six months following the date on which this bill is enacted, a comprehensive plan for the reduction in the number of positions in the Executive Branch of State government through the elimination, reclassification, or transfer of any position that is or becomes vacant for any reason. The plan will provide for the systematic reduction, over four consecutive fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year that commences more than six months after the effective date, until the number of positions equals the number of positions that existed on June 30, 2000. In each of the four fiscal years, there will also be a reduction in the funding for the salaries and wages accounts in the annual appropriations law that corresponds to the reduction in the number of positions.
The comprehensive plan is to be prepared by a panel comprised of the Commissioner of the Department of Personnel, the State Treasurer, a member of the Governor's staff designated by the Governor, one representative of the organization representing the greatest number of State employees for collective bargaining purposes selected by the Governor, and two members of the general public who hold no other elected or appointed public office selected by the Governor. The panel will review the duties of, and continued need for, any position in the Executive Branch of State government that is or becomes vacant for any reason, in order to determine whether that position should be continued, eliminated, reclassified or transferred. If the panel determines that the reduction goal cannot be implemented in four fiscal years, it will provide a statement detailing the reasoning and conclusion and specifying how many additional fiscal years, not to exceed three, will be required to achieve the reduction goal.
Upon the adoption of the comprehensive plan, a copy will be provided to the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.
Additionally, the bill requires that the creation of any new position in the senior executive, career, or unclassified service of the Executive Branch of State government or the filling of position that is vacant or becomes vacant after the bill's enactment will be reviewed by a State Position Review Panel comprised of five members appointed by the Merit System Board. The panel will either deny or approve the creation of the new position or the filling of the vacancy according to criteria that must address, but need not be limited to, the duties of the position, the funding source for the position, the existence of other substantially similar positions, the period of time for which the position will be needed, the essential or supportive nature of the position, whether an existing position may be reclassified or transferred for the same purpose, and whether another position can be eliminated if a new one is created. The panel's denial or approval will be accompanied by a statement detailing its reasoning and conclusion on each element of the criteria considered. An approval for the creation of a new position or the filling of a vacancy will be forwarded to the Merit System Board and the State Treasurer for their review. The written approval of the board and treasurer will be required before a new position is created or a vacancy is filled.
The panel is to submit detailed quarterly reports of its activities, denials, and approvals to the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.
