Bill Text: NJ A4190 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits school districts to withdraw from civil service system by referendum or adoption of board of education resolution.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-06-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A4190 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A4190-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SCOTT T. RUMANA
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman ERIK PETERSON
District 23 (Warren and Hunterdon)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Webber
SYNOPSIS
Permits school districts to withdraw from civil service system by referendum or adoption of board of education resolution.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning civil service in school districts, amending N.J.S.11A:9-6, 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. N.J.S.11A:9-6 is amended to read as follows:
11A:9-6. Adoption of title; elections. The method of submitting the question of the adoption of this title to the voters of a county or municipality shall conform as nearly as possible to the provisions of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes relating to the submission of public questions [and when submitted at a school district election] .
In school districts, the method of submitting the question of the adoption or rescission of this title to the voters of the district shall conform as nearly as possible to the provisions of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes relating to the submission of public questions in school districts.
(cf: N.J.S.11A:9-6)
2. (New section) A school district operating under the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes may rescind the adoption of the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes upon either:
a. the approval of the voters of the school district upon the filing of a petition with the secretary of the board of education of the district requesting the rescission. The petition shall be signed by the registered voters of the school district equal in number to at least 15% of the valid votes cast in the municipality or municipalities comprising the school district at the last preceding school election. Each name shall be printed and signed and the place of residence indicated by street and number or other description sufficient to identify the place. At the bottom of each separate page of the petition, there shall be printed an affidavit, which shall be signed by the circulator of that page that the circulator, and only the circulator, personally circulated the page, that all signatures to the petition appearing on that page were made in the circulator's presence, and that the circulator believes them to be genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be. If a rescission petition is presented to a prospective petition signer by a part print advertisement, paid mailing, or paid solicitor, the petition and any appeal for the signature of such a prospective signer shall disclose prominently (1) the identity of the person paying for the printed or personal solicitation, and (2) that the solicitor is paid; or
b. the adoption of a resolution by the board of education rescinding the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.
3. (New section) a. Within 10 days from the date of filing the petition, the secretary of the board of education shall, in conjunction with and with the cooperation of the commissioner of registration of the appropriate county, complete an examination and ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified voters, shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the result of the examination, and shall transmit to the county clerk a notice that the question of rescission has been qualified for submission to the voters, including with that notice a copy of the certificate. The question shall be submitted at the next school election occurring on or after the 60th day following the date on which the secretary shall have issued the certificate. The county clerk shall cause the question to be printed upon the ballots to be used at the school election.
b. The county clerk shall, prior to an election at which the question of rescinding the adoption of the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes is to be submitted to the voters, give public notice of that submission. Public notice shall include, but need not be limited to, publication in the official newspaper of the municipality or municipalities comprising the school district once a week for at least four weeks and posting of the notice in five of the most public places in the school district for at least four weeks before the election.
c. If the clerk refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of this act, a registered voter of the school district may apply to a judge of the Superior Court in the county in which the school district is located for an order directing and compelling the submission of the question involved in the petition. The judge shall hear the matter summarily. If the judge finds and determines that the petition is in accordance with law, an appropriate order shall be issued. Any clerk failing to comply with the order of the court, or any public official, officer, agent or employee, interfering with, or preventing, a clerk from satisfying an order, shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
d. If a majority of the votes cast at the election are favorable to rescinding the adoption of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, the result shall be certified by the board of education of the school district to the chairperson of the Civil Service Commission. The rescission shall take effect on a date established by the chairperson no less than six months and no greater than one year following the election at which the rescission was approved. If a majority of the votes cast at the election are against rescission, no new election may be held on the same question before the second school election following the election at which the rescission of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes was rejected.
4. (New section) The Civil Service Commission shall promulgate regulations providing for the orderly transition, in any school district which has adopted the rescission, in the personnel system of the school district. The regulations shall provide that any school district which has adopted the rescission shall submit to the chairperson of the Civil Service Commission for approval its resolution or manual setting forth personnel policies and procedures to be followed and adhered to after the rescission of the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes. The policies and procedures shall, at a minimum, provide for the terms and conditions of employment not otherwise covered by a collective negotiations agreement such as appointment, promotion, leave, employee performance, discipline, and other related areas. The policies and procedures shall also prohibit all forms of unlawful discrimination and shall include an anti-discrimination policy and a policy concerning local government ethics.
5. (New section) A school district which rescinds the adoption of the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes shall not be permitted to readopt the provisions of that title for a period of at least 10 years from the effective date of the rescission and shall be permitted to readopt the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes only once.
6. (New section) An employee with permanent status in a title on the date the rescission of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes takes effect shall retain only those rights to a Civil Service Commission hearing available to career service employees upon disciplinary removal from government services pursuant to N.J.S.11A:2-13 et seq. or to challenge the good faith of a layoff pursuant to N.J.S.11A:8-4.
7. (New section) Following the rescission of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, the school district may enter into a contract with the Civil Service Commission, in an amount which shall not exceed that permitted by law, for testing, classification, compensation, or other technical personnel services.
8. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill allows school districts that are operating under the provisions of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes, the civil service system, to withdraw from civil service. A withdrawal would be allowed following the submission of a referendum to the voters of the district, and the approval of that referendum by the voters, authorizing the withdrawal. Such a question would be submitted to the voters upon the filing of a petition with the secretary of the board of education of the district requesting withdrawal. The petition would need to be signed by at least 15% of the registered voters of the school district.
The bill also authorizes withdrawal from the civil service system upon the adoption of a resolution by the board of education.
There are approximately 10 school districts which operate under the civil service system.
