Bill Text: NJ S588 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires State and county employees be New Jersey residents.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee [S588 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S588-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State and county employees be New Jersey residents.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act requiring all State and county employees to be New Jersey residents and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Every person employed in the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial Branch of this State, or with an authority, board, body, agency, commission, or instrumentality of the State, including any State college, university or other educational institution of this State, or with a county, or an authority, board, body, agency, commission, or instrumentality of the county, shall have his or her principal residence in this State.
For the purposes of this subsection, a person may have at most one principal residence, and the state of a person's principal residence means the state (1) where the person spends the majority of his or her nonworking time; (2) which is most clearly the center of his or her domestic life; and (3) which is designated as his or her legal address and legal residence for voting. The fact that a person is domiciled in this State shall not by itself satisfy the requirement of principal residency hereunder.
b. Every person who, on the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) does not have his or her principal residence in this State but holds an office, employment or position described in subsection a. shall have one year from that effective date to comply with the provisions of subsection a. An extension for up to an additional six months may be granted if compliance within one year shall cause irreparable financial or physical harm to the person, or the person's spouse, children or other immediate family member residing in the person's household. The appointing authority for each officer or employee is authorized to receive applications for extension of the one year compliance period and shall render a determination within 14 days of receipt of a completed application. The appointing authority shall require such additional information to be submitted with each application as the authority deems necessary to assess, based on complete and accurate information, the financial or physical harm claimed. The requirement of this section shall not be deemed to impair the obligation of any contract in effect on the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The requirement of this section shall not be applicable to any officer or employee who, on that effective date, holds an office, employment or position described in subsection a. for which the grounds for termination are limited as specified by statute.
c. Any person holding or attempting to hold an office, employment or position in violation of this section shall be considered as illegally holding or attempting to hold the same; provided that a person holding an office, employment or position in this State shall have four months from the time of taking the office, employment or position to satisfy the requirement of principal residency, and if thereafter such person fails to satisfy the requirement of principal residency as defined herein, that person shall be deemed unqualified for office, employment or position. The Superior Court shall, in a civil action in lieu of prerogative writ, give judgment of ouster against such person, upon the complaint of any officer or citizen of the State, provided that any such complaint shall be brought within one year of the alleged period of failure to have his or her principal residence in this State.
2. This act shall take effect on January 1 next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
Under current law, the Governor, members of the Legislature, the head of each principal department of the Executive Branch and every Justice of the Supreme Court, judge of the Superior Court and judge of an inferior court are required to have their principal residence in the State of New Jersey.
This bill will require that all newly hired State and county employees have their principal place of residence in the State of New Jersey. The employees covered include persons employed in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branch of this State, and with an authority, board, body, agency, commission, or instrumentality of the State, including the employees of any State college, university and other educational institution of this State. The bill also covers persons employed with a county, or an authority, board, body, agency, commission, or instrumentality of a county.
A person will have four months from the time of taking the office, employment or position to comply.
Every person who, on the effective date of this bill, does not have his or her principal residence in this State but holds such an office, employment or position will have one year from that effective date to comply with the residency requirement. An extension for up to an additional six months may be granted if compliance within one year will cause irreparable financial or physical harm to the person, or the person's spouse, children or other immediate family member residing in the person's household. The appointing authority is authorized to receive applications for extension of the one year compliance period and must render a determination within 14 days of receipt of an application. The appointing authority can require such additional information to be submitted with each application as the authority deems necessary to assess, based on complete and accurate information, the financial or physical harm claimed.
The requirement of this bill with regard to current officers and employees will not impair the obligation of any contract in effect on the effective date, nor will it be applicable to an office, employment or position for which the grounds for termination are limited as specified by statute.
