Bill Text: NJ ACR234 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposes constitutional amendment to establish one legislative district for each member of General Assembly.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-06-06 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [ACR234 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2018-ACR234-Introduced.html

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ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 234

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED JUNE 6, 2019

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  BETTYLOU DECROCE

District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Proposes constitutional amendment to establish one legislative district for each member of General Assembly.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

 

A Concurrent Resolution proposing to amend Article IV, Section II, paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

    

     1.    The following proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of New Jersey is hereby agreed to:

 

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

 

     Amend Article IV, Section II, paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 4 to read as follows:

 

     1.    The Senate shall be composed of forty senators apportioned among forty Senate districts as nearly as may be according to the number of their inhabitants as reported in the last preceding decennial census of the United States and according to the method of equal proportions. [Each Senate district shall be composed, wherever practicable, of one single county, and, if not so practicable, of two or more contiguous whole counties.] The Senate districts shall be composed of contiguous territory, as nearly compact and equal in the number of their inhabitants as possible. Unless necessary to meet the foregoing requirements, no county or municipality shall be divided among Senate districts unless it shall contain more than one-fortieth of the total number of inhabitants of the State, and no county or municipality shall be divided among a number of Senate districts larger than one plus the whole number obtained by dividing the number of inhabitants in the county or municipality by one-fortieth of the total number of inhabitants of the State.

(cf: Art.IV, Sec.II, par.1; amended effective December 8, 1966)

 

     2.    Each senator shall be elected by the legally qualified voters of the Senate district [, except that if the Senate district is composed of two or more counties and two senators are apportioned to the district, one senator shall be elected by the legally qualified voters of each Assembly district]. Each senator shall be elected for a term beginning at noon of the second Tuesday in January next following his election and ending at noon of the second Tuesday in January four years thereafter, except that each senator, to be elected for a term beginning in January of the second year following the year in which a decennial census of the United States is taken, shall be elected for a term of two years.

(cf: Art.IV, Sec.II, par.2; amended effective December 8, 1966)

     3.    The General Assembly shall be composed of eighty members. Each Senate district [to which only one senator is apportioned shall constitute an Assembly district. Each of the remaining Senate districts] shall be divided into two Assembly districts [equal in number to the number of senators apportioned to the Senate district]. The Assembly districts shall be composed of contiguous territory, as nearly compact and equal in the number of their inhabitants as possible [, and in no event shall each such district contain less than eighty per cent nor more than one hundred twenty per cent of one-fortieth of the total number of inhabitants of the State as reported in the last preceding decennial census of the United States]. Unless necessary to meet the foregoing requirements, no county or municipality shall be divided among Assembly districts unless it shall contain more than [one-fortieth] one-eightieth of the total number of inhabitants of the State, and no county or municipality shall be divided among a number of Assembly districts larger than one plus the whole number obtained by dividing the number of inhabitants in the county or municipality by [one-fortieth] one-eightieth of the total number of inhabitants of the State.

(cf: Art.IV, Sec.II, par.3; amended effective December 8, 1966)

 

     4.    [Two members] One member of the General Assembly shall be elected by the legally qualified voters of each Assembly district for terms beginning at noon of the second Tuesday in January next following their election and ending at noon of the second Tuesday in January two years thereafter.

(cf: Art.IV, Sec.II, par.4; amended effective December 8, 1966)

 

     2.    When this proposed amendment to the Constitution is finally agreed to pursuant to Article IX, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, it shall be submitted to the people at the next general election occurring more than three months after the final agreement and shall be published at least once in at least one newspaper of each county designated by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly and the Secretary of State, not less than three months prior to the general election.

 

     3.    This proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be submitted to the people at that election in the following manner and form:

     There shall be printed on each official ballot to be used at the general election, the following:

     a.     In every municipality in which voting machines are not used, a legend which shall immediately precede the question as follows:

     If you favor the proposition printed below make a cross (X), plus (+), or check (a) in the square opposite the word "Yes." If you are opposed thereto make a cross (X), plus (+) or check (a) in the square opposite the word "No."

     b.    In every municipality the following question:

 

	YES	CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO CREATE ONE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT FOR EACH MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY        Do you approve amending the Constitution to create one legislative district for each Assembly member? Currently, there are two Assembly members from each legislative district.
		INTERPRETIVE STATEMENT
	NO	This amendment creates one legislative district for each Assembly member. Currently, New Jersey has 40 legislative districts. Voters elect one Senator and two Assembly members from an entire legislative district. This amendment creates two equal Assembly districts inside each of the 40 legislative districts. One Senator will continue to be elected from the entire area of each of the 40 legislative districts. Voters in each district will elect one Assembly member from each half of the district, instead of two from the entire district. If approved, New Jersey will have 120 legislative districts, 40 for the Senate and 80 for the General Assembly nested inside the Senate districts. There will continue to be 40 Senators and 80 Assembly members.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This constitutional amendment establishes single-member legislative districts for the New Jersey General Assembly. Currently, New Jersey is divided into 40 multi-member legislative districts. One Senator and two members of the General Assembly are elected at-large from the entire geographic area of each district. Under the amendment, members of the General Assembly would be elected from 80 single-member districts. Two equal Assembly districts would be created inside each of the 40 Senate districts. Two Assembly members would continue to be elected. However, voters would elect one Assembly member from each half of the district instead of two from the entire district. Senators would continue to be elected, one each, from 40 legislative districts. This amendment increases the number of legislative districts from 40 to 120, which includes 40 Senate districts and 80 Assembly districts nested inside each Senate district.

     The amendment maintains the same redistricting principles mentioned in the Constitution for the creation of legislative districts. These principles include population equality, contiguity, compactness, and restrictions against the division of municipalities and counties unless necessary to meet the foregoing standards.

     This amendment deletes provisions requiring Senate districts to be composed of entire counties and allowing for a 20 percent difference in the population of Assembly districts, which have been ruled unconstitutional by the courts.

     This amendment is intended to implement in New Jersey the single-member districts system for electing members of the General Assembly, which is the norm in the majority of state legislatures today. Currently, multi-member legislative districts are only used in approximately 10 states. This amendment is intended to increase the accountability and responsiveness of elected Assembly members to their communities, create districts where voters have fewer competing interests, and increase the representation of ethnic minority groups in the General Assembly.