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.[1]
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United States Census.[1] If the cycle were not put into place, then the boundaries would sometimes be four years out of date before being used for Senate elections. Rather, with the varied term, the boundaries are only two years out of date.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.[2]
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 2023):
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13] 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.[14]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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[15]
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 would serve as acting governor 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[16] and he again became acting governor for 15 days 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.[17]
^ abOur Legislature, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 10, 2018. "Legislative elections are held in November of each odd-numbered year. Members of the Assembly serve two-year terms. Senators serve four-year terms, except for the first term of a new decade, which is only two years. This '2-4-4' cycle allows for elections from new districts as soon as possible after each reapportionment."
^New Jersey ConstitutionArchived June 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 10, 2018. "Any vacancy in the Legislature occasioned otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled by election for the unexpired term only at the next general election occurring not less than 51 days after the occurrence of the vacancy, except that no vacancy shall be filled at the general election which immediately precedes the expiration of the term in which the vacancy occurs. For the interim period pending the election and qualification of a successor to fill the vacancy, or for the remainder of the term in the case of a vacancy occurring that cannot be filled pursuant to the terms of this paragraph at a general election, the vacancy shall be filled within 35 days by the members of the county committee of the political party of which the incumbent was the nominee from the municipalities or districts or units thereof which comprise the legislative district. Article IV, Section IV, paragraph 1 amended effective December 8, 1988."
^"Senate Committees". New Jersey Legislature. New Jersey Office of Legislative Services. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^Johnson, Brent. "Top Dem could soon become longest-serving N.J. Senate president", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 18, 2019, updated January 14, 2020. Accessed January 16, 2022. "In January, he will tie Donald DiFrancesco, a Republican who held the position from 1992 to 2002, for the longest tenure in the job."
^Kocieniewski, David. "Co-Presidents Of State Senate Devise Plan To Share Power", The New York Times, February 15, 2002. Accessed January 16, 2022. "Appearing at a jovial press conference that followed weeks of negotiations, Republican John O. Bennett and Democrat Richard Codey said that they would each serve six months a year as Senate president and that all of the 12 committees will have a co-chairman from each party. They also reached a compromise on the procedural dispute that had left the Senate, split 20-20 between the parties, deadlocked since the Legislature was sworn in Jan. 8."
^ abHeininger, Claire. "Richard Codey ends run as N.J. Senate president", The Star-Ledger, January 12, 2010, updated April 1, 2019. Accessed January 16, 2022. "So it went Monday, Codey's last at the center of New Jersey politics. Starting today, the Essex County Democrat and former governor will become just another face in the crowd when South Jersey Sen. Stephen Sweeney succeeds him as Senate President following a nasty internal fight.... He led the Democrats' Senate caucus for 12 years and became Senate president in 2004."
^Reilly, Matthew. "Bernard Kenny honored as Senate president on last day in office", The Star-Ledger, January 7, 2008, updated April 2, 2019. Accessed January 16, 2022. "Retiring after a 21-year career in the New Jersey Legislature, Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny (D-Hudson) today took the gavel as Senate president for day. Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) relinquished his office for a day as a gesture to Kenny, who decided not to run for re-election to the Senate last November."
^Arco, Matt; and Sherman, Ted. "Scutari appears likely as next Senate president, sources say, with Sweeney's Election Day loss", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 5, 2021. Accessed January 16, 2022. "Sweeney is the longest-serving Senate president in state history, having held the post since 2010, but he lost his re-election campaign in a surprise upset to a little-known Republican, Edward Durr, the Associated Press projected Thursday."
^ abJones, Richard G. "Senator Drops Objections to Corzine Court Nominee", The New York Times, June 20, 2007. Accessed June 20, 2007. "Senator Gill had delayed Mr. Rabner's confirmation hearing by using "senatorial courtesy" — an obscure practice through which senators who represent the home county of nominees may block consideration of their confirmations."
^ abCarmiel, Oshrat. "Deadline looms for Molinelli's job", The Record (Bergen County), June 20, 2007. Accessed June 20, 2007. "Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, whose term expired last month, may have to wait until the fall to be considered again for a second term if state Sen. Loretta Weinberg doesn't sign off on his nomination today.... Weinberg is invoking an unwritten practice called senatorial courtesy, which allows state senators to block consideration of gubernatorial nominees from their home counties without explanation. The courtesy tradition, as applied to Molinelli, requires each senator from Bergen County to sign off on his nomination before the Judiciary Committee can consider the nomination."
^Associated Press. "Opposition Ebbs on Corzine Judge", The New York Times, June 15, 2007. Accessed June 20, 2007. "Ronald L. Rice, an Essex County Democrat and state senator, said yesterday that he would no longer block Gov. Jon S. Corzine's nomination for chief justice of the State Supreme Court."
^Byrne, Brendan T. "Lt. Governor Is Not A Solution" (opinion commentary), The New York Times, August 29, 2004. Byrne, a former New Jersey governor, who opposed the creation of the lieutenant governor post, stated: "But what really troubles people in New Jersey is the fact that the senate president becomes acting governor while retaining his senate presidency." Retrieved August 30, 2004.
^Johnson, Brent. "N.J. Senate President Scutari gets first crack at taking over for Murphy as acting gov Saturday", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 3, 2022. Accessed March 12, 2024. "It was only six months ago that Nicholas Scutari was suddenly elevated to state Senate president, one of the most powerful positions in New Jersey government.... In a rare situation, Scutari will serve as acting governor of the Garden State on Saturday for the first time as both Gov. Phil Murphy and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, both fellow Democrats, will be out of state on personal trips."
