New Jersey 2014 ballot measures

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Two statewide ballot questions were certified for the November 4, 2014 statewide ballot in New Jersey. They were both approved, thereby enacting tighter restrictions on certain pretrial criminal defendants and devoting certain tax revenues to open space preservation.

The 2014 legislative session began on January 14, 2014, and is expected to conclude on January 1, 2016. Article IV of the New Jersey Constitution provides that each legislature constitutes a term of two years split into two annual sessions. Because the constitution also specifies that all business from the first year may be continued into the second, the distinction between the two annual sessions is more ceremonial than actual.

At the end of the second year, all unfinished business expires. At least 156 potential legislatively referred constitutional amendments were submitted in the 2014 regular session. The state does not allow initiatives or referendums; therefore, measures must be referred by the legislature. The legislature can either qualify measures with supermajority approval of 60 percent in one legislative session or with simple majorities in two successive sessions. In order to be placed on the 2014 ballot, these measures had to be approved by the Assembly and Senate by August 4.

Only two measures met all of the criteria by the deadline. One measure dealt with criminal trials by allowing courts the option of denying bail in criminal cases based on concerns that the person would not return to court, be a threat to the safety of another person or the community or would obstruct or attempt to obstruct the criminal justice if released. The other legislatively referred constitutional amendment devoted 6 percent of corporate tax revenues to the preservation of open spaces.

Historical facts

• Between 1996 and 2013, an average of two measures appeared annually on the ballot in New Jersey. Therefore, 2014 was an average year, based on the number of certified measures.
• From 1996 to 2014, the number of measures on statewide ballots ranged from one to four.
• Between 1996 and 2014, 33 of 36, or 92 percent, of New Jersey ballot measures were approved by voters.
• Conversely, 3 of 36, or 8 percent, of measures were defeated.

On the ballot

November 4:

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Public Question No. 1	Criminal Trials	Provides for pretrial detention of certain criminal defendants	a
LRCA	Public Question No. 2	Environment	Dedicates six percent of corporate business tax revenues to open space preservation	a

Not on the ballot

See also: Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	ACR 11	Marriage	Defines marriage as between one man and one woman, thus effectively terminating same-sex marriage
LRCA	Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment	Hunt & Fish	Establishes the right to hunt, fish, trap and harvest game animals
LRCA	Tax Bill Supermajorities Amendment	Legislature	Requires a three-fifths majority vote in the state legislature for all tax bills
LRCA	Veterans’ Property Tax Amendment	Veterans	Increases the veterans’ property tax deduction; extends deduction to more groups
LRCA	SCR 118	Term Limits	Excludes partial, unexpired terms served by the governor from the two-term limit
LRCA	Voter Approval of Indebtedness Amendment	Bonds	Modifies voter approval requirements for state indebtedness
LRCA	ACR 90	Bonds	Requires voter approval of a dedicated funding source for bonded indebtedness of the transportation system
LRCA	Healthcare Mandates Amendment	Healthcare	Prohibits the state or federal government from mandating individuals obtain healthcare coverage
LRCA	ACR 15	Housing	Clarifies the state is not obligated to facilitate the availability of housing for all income levels
LRCA	Public Schools Support Amendment	Gov't Finances	Provides for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of free public schools
LRCA	Indicted Elected Officials Amendment	Gov't Acc	Suspends elected officials who have been indicted and provide for temporary replacements
LRCA	ACR 24	Constitutional Rights	Guarantees right of the people to privacy from government intrusion
LRCA	ACR 28	Environment	Dedicates up to $25 million annually from realty transfer fee revenues to the Shore Protection Fund
LRCA	ACR 36 & SCR 54	Direct Democracy	Allows initiative and referendums on fiscal policy
LRCA	ACR 67	Direct Democracy	Creates indirect initiated constitutional amendments , indirect initiated state statutes and veto referendums
LRCA	ACR 37	Transportation	Dedicates excess revenue of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to state transportation system costs
LRCA	ACR 42	Gov't Finances	Requires most state funding for public education to be distributed on a per pupil basis
LRCA	Balanced Budget Amendment	Gov't Finances	Changes the way a balanced state budget is kept
LRCA	Supreme Court Amendment	Judiciary	Amends the state supreme court selection and tenure processes
LRCA	Judicial Retirement Age Amendment	Judiciary	Raises the mandated retirement age for judges and justices
LRCA	SCR 25 & ACR 48	Abortion	Allows legislature to require parental notification for medical treatment relating to pregnancy of a minor
LRCA	ACR 49 & ACR 52	Term Limits	Limits state senators to three successive terms and assembly members to five successive terms
LRCA	ACR 54 & SCR 88	Gov't Finances	Creates surplus revenue funds; amends the process for estimating state revenue
LRCA	ACR 61	Gambling	Dedicates revenues from sports betting to residential placements for persons with developmental disabilities
LRCA	ACR 66	Pension	Requires legislation enhancing public employee benefits to identify a funding source to defray cost of enhancement
LRCA	ACR 70	Gov't Finances	Requires bills with fiscal impacts to identify offsetting revenues/appropriation reductions prior to consideration
LRCA	Appropriations Cap Amendment	Gov't Finances	Sets a cap on increases in annual state appropriations
LRCA	Horse Racetrack Betting Amendment	Gambling	Allows for certain types of betting at horse racetracks; provides for allocation of revenues
LRCA	Revenue Diversion Amendment	Gov't Finances	Prohibits diversion of dedicated state revenue
LRCA	ACR 75 & SCR 11	State Exec	Makes the office of comptroller an elected position and eliminates the office of auditor
LRCA	ACR 77 & SCR 96	Labor	Allows public employees to collectively bargain
LRCA	ACR 78	Recall	Changes recall petition signature requirement to 25 percent of voters at the most recent general election
LRCA	ACR 79	Gov't Finances	Dedicates 1 percent of the Corporation Business Tax revenue annually to fund dredging projects
LRCA	Open Space Amendment	Environment	Dedicates $200 million or 2.4 percent of annual sales and use tax revenue to the preservation of open space
LRCA	ACR 116	Environment	Dedicates revenue from water consumption and diversion user fees for open space preservation
LRCA	Municipal Open Spaces Amendment	Gov't Finances	Requires state to pay municipalities for open spaces
LRCA	SCR 37	Taxes	Reduces local property taxes for some privately-held lands that are permanently preserved as open space
LRCA	Greenhouse Gas Initiative Amendment	Environment	Requires state participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
LRCA	Probation Functions Amendment	Judiciary	Enables a statutory transfer of judiciary probation functions to the State Parole Board
LRCA	ACR 86 & SCR 35	Taxes	Provides a tax exemption for increases in property values due to improvements for disabled access in homes
LRCA	ACR 87 & SCR 18	Taxes	Allows veterans and their spouses to receive homestead rebate amounts similar to those for seniors and disabled
LRCA	ACR 88	Taxes	Limits annual assessment increases for homestead real property
LRCA	Constitutional Convention on Property Taxes	ConCon	Calls for a limited constitutional convention on property taxation and government spending
LRCA	ACR 95	Legislature	Requires state legislatures to serve full-time
LRCA	ACR 96 & SCR 16	Property	Restricts condemnation power on non-blighted property for private economic development purposes
LRCA	ACR 151 & SCR 106	Transportation	Dedicates all revenue derived from the motor fuels taxes to the Transportation Trust Fund

See also

• 2014 ballot measures
• List of New Jersey ballot measures
• New Jersey signature requirements

External links

• New Jersey proposed constitutional amendment search