New Jersey Senate facts for kids

Quick facts for kids New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Legislature
Type
Type	Upper House
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 9, 2024
Leadership
President	Nicholas Scutari (D) Since January 11, 2022
President pro tempore	Shirley Turner (D) Since January 9, 2024
Majority Leader	Teresa Ruiz (D) Since January 11, 2022
Deputy Majority Leader	Paul Sarlo (D) Since October 29, 2008
Minority Leader	Anthony M. Bucco (R) Since July 1, 2023
Structure
Seats	40
Political groups	Majority      Democratic (25) Minority      Republican (15)
Length of term	4 years (with one two-year term each decade)
Authority	Article IV, New Jersey Constitution
Salary	$49,000/year
Elections
Last election	November 7, 2023
Next election	November 2, 2027
Redistricting	New Jersey Apportionment Commission
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber New Jersey State House Trenton, New Jersey
Website
New Jersey State Legislature

The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure). Each district has one senator and two members of the New Jersey General Assembly, the lower house of the legislature. Prior to the election in which they are chosen, senators must be a minimum of 30 years old and a resident of the state for four years to be eligible to serve in office.

From 1844 until 1965 (when the Reynolds v. Sims US Supreme Court decision mandated all state legislators be elected from districts of roughly equal population), each county was an electoral district electing one senator. Under the 1844 Constitution, the term of office was three years, which was changed to four years with the 1947 Constitution. Since 1968 the Senate has consisted of 40 senators, who are elected in a "2-4-4" cycle. Senators serve a two-year term at the beginning of each decade, with the rest of the decade divided into two four-year terms. The "2-4-4" cycle was put into place so that Senate elections can reflect the changes made to the district boundaries on the basis of the decennial United States Census. If the cycle were not put into place, then the boundaries would sometimes be four years out of date before being used for Senate elections. Rather, with the varied term, the boundaries are only two years out of date. Thus elections for Senate seats take place in years ending with a "1", "3", or "7" (i.e. next elections in 2027, 2031, and 2033).

Interim appointments are made to fill vacant legislative seats by the county committee or committees of the party of the vacating person (since a constitutional amendment passed on November 8, 1988). The office is on the ballot for the next general election, even if the other Senate seats are not up for election in that year (such as in years ending with a "5" or "9", such as 2009 or 2015). The sole exception to this is if the vacancy occurred within 51 days of the election, in which case the appointment stands until the following general election.

Composition

List of state senators

Committees and committee chairs

Committee chairs for the 2024-2026 Legislative Session are:

• Budget and Appropriations - Paul Sarlo (D- Wood-Ridge)
• Commerce - Nellie Pou (D- North Haledon)
• Community and Urban Affairs - Troy Singleton (D- Palmyra)
• Economic Growth - Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D- Barrington)
• Education - Vin Gopal (D- Long Branch)
• Environment and Energy - Bob Smith (D- Piscataway)
• Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens - Joe F. Vitale (D- Woodbridge)
• Higher Education - Joseph Cryan (D- Union Township)
• Judiciary - Brian P. Stack (D- Union City
• Labor - Joseph Lagana (D- Paramus)
• Law and Public Safety - Linda R. Greenstein (D- Plainsboro)
• Legislative Oversight - Andrew Zwicker (D- South Brunswick)
• Military and Veterans' Affairs - Gordon M. Johnson (D- Englewood)
• Rules and Order - Vacant
• State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation - James Beach (D- Voorhees)
• Transportation - Patrick J. Diegnan (D- South Plainfield)

List of Senate presidents

The following is a list of presidents of the New Jersey Senate since the adoption of the 1844 State Constitution:

Double dipping

Under a state law that remained in effect until 2008, members of the New Jersey Assembly and Senate were allowed to serve in either chamber, as well as any other government positions they might have held at the time, although those who were still doing so as of 2008 ended up getting "grandfathered":

Name, Party-County – Second Public Office (names in bold represent state Senators still in both local and state offices as of 2024):

Senators:

• Dana Redd, D-Camden – Councilwoman, Camden
• Nicholas Sacco, D-Hudson – Mayor, North Bergen
• Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen – Mayor, Wood-Ridge
• Robert Singer, R-Ocean – Committeeman, Lakewood
• Brian Stack, D-Hudson – Mayor, Union City
• Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester – Freeholder, Gloucester County

Special powers

Senatorial courtesy

The New Jersey Senate in session in 2013

Senatorial courtesy is a senate tradition that allows home county legislators to intercede to prevent consideration of a local resident nominated by the governor for a position that requires Senate confirmation. Any of the senators from the nominee's home county can invoke senatorial courtesy to block a nomination, temporarily or permanently, without any obligation to justify the basis of their actions.

Governor Corzine nominated Stuart Rabner on June 4, 2007, to be the next Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, replacing James R. Zazzali, who was nearing mandatory retirement age. Shortly after the nomination, two members of the Senate from Essex County, where Rabner resides, blocked consideration of his confirmation by invoking senatorial courtesy. State Senator Ronald Rice had initially blocked the nomination, but relented on June 15, 2007, after a meeting with the governor. Nia Gill dropped her block on June 19, 2007, but did not explain the nature of her concerns, though anonymous lawmakers cited in The New York Times indicated that the objection was due to Rabner's race and Governor Corzine's failure to consider a minority candidate for the post. Also in June 2007, Loretta Weinberg used senatorial courtesy privileges to hold up consideration of a new term in office for Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli.

Acting governor

Until 2010, in the event of a gubernatorial vacancy, the New Jersey Constitution had specified that the President of the Senate (followed by the Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly) would assume the role of Acting Governor and retain their role in the Senate (or Assembly). An Acting Governor would then assume the governorship while retaining their role in their house of the legislature.

The lieutenant governor of New Jersey took office for the first time on January 19, 2010, following an election with the governor of New Jersey. The position was created as the result of a constitutional amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution passed on November 8, 2005. While the amendment itself took effect as of January 17, 2006, and made some interim changes to the succession to the governorship, the first lieutenant governor was not elected until November 3, 2009. The President of the Senate now serves as acting governor only in the absence of both the governor and lieutenant governor. For example, Nicholas Scutari became acting governor of New Jersey on June 4, 2022, as both Governor Phil Murphy and Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver were out of state on personal trips. He again became acting governor on July 31, 2023 when Murphy was out of state and Oliver was in the hospital due to an illness, from which she died the following day. Oliver's death led Scutari to serve as acting lieutenant governor until the vacancy was officially filled on September 8, 2023, when Tahesha Way was sworn in.