Bill Text: NJ S1454 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Changes signature requirement for recall petition and when recall may be initiated.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-06 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [S1454 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S1454-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Changes signature requirement for recall petition and when recall may be initiated.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act changing the signature requirement for a recall petition, changing the date when a recall election may be initiated and amending P.L.1995, c.105.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 4 of P.L.1995, c.105 (C.19:27A-4) is amended to read as follows:
4. a. An elected official shall be recalled from office upon the affirmative vote of a majority of those voting on the question of recall at a recall election which shall have been held after the officeholder shall have served one year of the term of office from which the person is sought to be recalled. A person serving to fill a vacancy in the term of an elective office shall be subject to recall at such an election after one year of such service. No election to recall an elected official shall be held after the date occurring six months prior to the general election or regular election for that office, as appropriate, in the final year of the official's term.
No statement of reasons or grounds for the holding of a recall election or for the recall at such an election of an elected official shall be required in connection with the preparation or circulation of a recall petition, with the transmittal of any notice required under the provisions of this act, with the submission to the voters of the question of the recall of an elected official, or with any other action or procedure relating to such a recall, and to the extent that any such statement of reasons or grounds is offered by the sponsors of a recall petition or by any other person, the sufficiency of that statement shall be a political rather than a judicial question.
b. The procedures established in this act to initiate the calling of a recall election may be commenced not earlier than the [50th] 90th day preceding the completion of the first year of the term of office by the official sought to be recalled. In the case of an official serving to fill a vacancy in the term of an elective office, the procedures established in this act to initiate the calling of a recall election may be commenced not earlier than the [50th] 90th day preceding the completion of the first year of such service. However, the recall election itself shall not be held until after the official has completed one year of such term or service, as appropriate.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.105, s.4)
2. Section 5 of P.L.1995, c.105 (C.19:27A-5) is amended to read as follows:
5. A recall petition demanding that an election be held for the purpose of deciding whether an elected official shall be recalled from office shall be signed by a number of registered voters of the jurisdiction of the official sought to be recalled equal to at least 25% of the [persons registered to vote] number of voters who voted in that jurisdiction on the date of the general election preceding the date on which the sponsors of the petition file a notice of intention pursuant to section 6 of this act. A recall petition shall be filed with the appropriate recall election official. No recall petition shall demand the holding of an election to recall more than one elected official.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.105, s.5)
3. This act shall take effect on the 30th day after enactment but remain inoperative until a constitutional amendment permitting the change in the type of signatures required on a recall petition becomes part of the New Jersey Constitution.
STATEMENT
This bill makes changes to the Uniform Recall Election Law. It shortens the period at the beginning of a term that an official cannot be recalled from the 50th day preceding the completion of the first year of the term of office to the 90th day preceding the completion of the first year of the term of office. It also reduces the petition signature threshold for recalling an elected official from 25% of the registered voters to 25% of the number of voters who voted at the last general election.
These changes would apply only if an amendment to the constitution were approved by the voters to permit the same change in the recall petition signature requirement.
