Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
2024 New Jersey legislative session
|
← 2023
2025 →
|
| 2024 New Jersey legislative session |
|---|
|
| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 9, 2024 Scheduled session end: Dec. 31, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 4, 2025 Last Election: November 7, 2023 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the New Jersey State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 9 and adjourn on December 31.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2023 elections. Democrats won a 25-15 majority in the Senate and a 52-28 majority in the General Assembly. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, New Jersey was one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
New Jersey State Senate
- Senate president: Nicholas Scutari (D)
- Majority leader: Teresa Ruiz (D)
- Minority leader: Anthony M. Bucco (R)
New Jersey House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Craig Coughlin (D)
- Majority leader: Louis Greenwald (D)
- Minority leader: John DiMaio (R)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
New Jersey was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
New Jersey was also one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the New Jersey State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.
New Jersey State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 25 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | |
| Total | 40 | |
New Jersey General Assembly
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 52 | |
| Republican Party | 28 | |
| Total | 80 | |
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 48 standing committees in New Jersey's state government, including 6 joint legislative committees, 15 state Senate committees, and 27 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Economic Justice and Equal Employment Opp Committee
- Ethical Standards Committee
- Housing Affordability Committee
- Joint Budget Oversight Committee
- Public Schools Committee
- State Leasing and Space Utilization Committee
Senate committees
- Budget and Appropriations Committee
- Commerce Committee
- Community and Urban Affairs Committee
- Economic Growth Committee
- Environment and Energy Committee
- Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee
- Legislative Oversight Committee
- Education Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Labor Committee
- Law and Public Safety Committee
- Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee
- State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee
- Transportation Committee
House committees
- Aging and Senior Services Committee
- Agriculture Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Budget Committee
- Commerce and Economic Development Committee
- Community Development and Affairs Committee
- Consumer Affairs Committee
- Education Committee
- Environment and Solid Waste Committee
- Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee
- Health Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee
- Housing Committee
- Human Services Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Labor Committee
- Law and Public Safety Committee
- Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee
- Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee
- Regulated Professions Committee
- Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
- State and Local Government Committee
- Telecommunications and Utilities Committee
- Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee
- Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee
- Women and Children Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in New Jersey. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the New Jersey Constitution can be amended:
The New Jersey Constitution provides for a legislative process to amend the state constitution.
Legislature
The New Jersey Constitution provides two legislative methods for referring a constitutional amendment to the ballot. First, the legislature can refer an amendment to the ballot through a 60% vote of both chambers during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 48 votes in the New Jersey General Assembly and 24 votes in the New Jersey State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Second, the legislature can refer an amendment through a simple majority vote (50%+1) in each legislative chamber during two successive legislative sessions. That amounts to a minimum of 41 votes in the New Jersey General Assembly and 21 votes in the New Jersey State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of New Jersey.
New Jersey Party Control: 1992-2025
Fourteen years of Democratic trifectas • Eight years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Assembly | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Historical Senate control
Democrats won control of the New Jersey State Senate in 2003. In 2023, they won a 25-15 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the New Jersey Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
New Jersey State Senate election results: 1991-2023
| Party | 91 | 93 | 97 | 01 | 03 | 07 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 13 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 25 |
| Republicans | 27 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 |
Historical House control
Democrats won control of the New Jersey General Assembly in 2001. In 2023, they won a 52-28 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the New Jersey General Assembly following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
New Jersey General Assembly election results: 1991-2023
| Year | '91 | '93 | '95 | '97 | '99 | '01 | '03 | '05 | '07 | '09 | '11 | '13 | '15 | '17 | '19 | '21 | '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 22 | 27 | 30 | 32 | 35 | 44 | 47 | 48 | 48 | 47 | 48 | 48 | 52 | 54 | 52 | 46 | 52 |
| Republicans | 58 | 53 | 50 | 48 | 45 | 36 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 26 | 28 | 34 | 28 |
See also
| Elections | New Jersey State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
External links
Footnotes
