Bill Text: NJ A523 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits certain relatives of legislators from being employed or assigned in certain positions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [A523 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A523-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AMY H. HANDLIN
District 13 (Middlesex and Monmouth)
Assemblywoman MARY PAT ANGELINI
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman DAVID P. RIBLE
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits certain relatives of legislators from being employed or assigned in certain positions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning the employment or assignment of certain relatives of members of the Legislature and amending P.L.2003, c.307.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2003, c.307 (C.52:11-5.1) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. No member of the Legislature shall gainfully employ [his or her] any member's relative in any position in the legislative office that the member maintains in his or her legislative district.
[If members of the Legislature jointly maintain a legislative district office, no relative of the members who maintain that joint office shall be gainfully employed in any position in that office.]
b. No relative of a member of the Legislature shall be assigned as nonpartisan staff to a legislative committee, commission, or task force of which the member is a chairperson.
c. No relative of a member of the Legislature shall be gainfully employed by an office providing staff for the majority or minority party in the House of the Legislature in which the member serves.
d. The employment or assignment of any relative of a member of the Legislature that is prohibited by this section shall be terminated as of the 60th day following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill).
e. As used in this section, "relative" means the member's spouse or the member's or spouse's parent, child, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grandchild, first cousin, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother or half sister, whether the individual is related to the member or the member's spouse by blood, marriage or adoption.
(P.L.2003, c.307, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Current law prohibits a relative of a member of the Legislature from being employed in that member's district office. If members of the Legislature jointly maintain a district office, a relative of those members cannot be employed in that joint office.
This bill would:
(1) prohibit a member of the Legislature from gainfully employing a relative of any member of the Legislature in his or her district office;
(2) prohibit a relative of a member of the Legislature from being assigned as nonpartisan staff to a legislative committee, commission, or task force of which the member is a chairperson;
(3) prohibit a relative of a member of the Legislature from being gainfully employed in the partisan office of the House of the Legislature in which the member serves; and
(4) terminate the employment or assignment of all individuals currently employed or assigned in violation of this bill as of the 60th day following the enactment of the bill.
The bill also changes the definition of "relative" to include first cousins.
