Bill Text: NJ S2319 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Reduces term of office of mayor and council in certain municipalities to two years.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-22 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S2319 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S2319-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Reduces term of office of mayor and council in certain municipalities to two years.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the term of office of certain town mayors and council members and amending N.J.S.40A:9-130.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.40A:9-130 is amended to read as follows:
40A:9-130. a. In every municipality, unless otherwise provided by law [and except as provided under subsection b. of this section], the term of office for the mayor shall be 4 years.
b. [In every town operating under a special charter with a population of at least 28,000 but not more than 35,000, according to the most recent federal decennial census, the term of office for the mayor and the members of council shall be 4 years, notwithstanding any different term of office specified in the special charter.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
(cf: P.L.2001, c.118, s.1)
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of a special charter or any provision of law to the contrary, the mayor and members of council chosen by the voters at the 2021 general election in a town operating under a special charter with a population of at least 28,000 but not more than 35,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census shall serve a three year term of office.
3. This act shall take effect immediately, but the amendatory provisions of section 1 shall remain inoperative in a municipality until the 2021 general election and shall apply to the terms of mayors and members of council elected at that election.
STATEMENT
This bill would alter the terms of office of the mayor and of council members in certain municipalities. The applicability of the bill would currently be limited to the municipality of Westfield.
Under current law, the mayor and members of council of a municipality operating under a special charter with a population of between 28,000 and 35,000 serve four-year terms of office. This bill deletes this provision, so that the terms of office in such a municipality would revert to the election cycle provided in the special charter. In the case of Westfield, the terms of office would be two years.
Under current State law and the provisions of the special charter, there are eight members of council, two from each of four wards and they are elected on a staggered schedule. The staggered schedule provides that four members are elected at a time. In order to continue the staggering of the election schedule, section 2 of the bill provides that, notwithstanding provisions of the special charter, the mayor and members of council elected at the 2021 general election would serve a three-year term of office. At the end of the three-year term of office, the mayor and members of council would be elected to two-year terms.
