JANUARY 9, 2016, 11:46 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016, 12:04 AM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
Word bubbled up in November at a Democratic conclave in East Brunswick that state lawmakers were considering new rules on how to configure the state’s legislative map, but they offered no details and quickly moved on to other topics.
Then, just days before a harried year-end session in Trenton, a formal proposal to overhaul the process for redrawing New Jersey’s 40 legislative districts was circulated to Republican members of committees that would have to advance the plan. The proposal was to create at least 10 “competitive” districts using results from selected elections. An Assembly panel approved it in 20 minutes after hearing one public comment, and its chairman did not allow questions from any of its members.
The once-a-decade ritual required by the state constitution to redraw New Jersey’s legislative map has always been a political exercise. Democratic and Republican leaders each appoint five of their members to a commission to draw the maps; they always deadlock on which version is fairest and the deciding vote is cast by someone appointed by the state Supreme Court’s chief justice.
But this year’s push — the first in more than50 years — to significantly alter the process through a constitutional amendment has drawn the most criticism, if not sheer outrage, from the people who will be directly affected by any changes: the legislators themselves.
Depending on how it is drawn, the map could help to determine who is elected to the Legislature and which party holds power in Trenton. That would determine who controls what bills are posted, who gets assigned to what committees and who has final say over judicial and Cabinet-level nominations. Democrats have held the majority in the Legislature since 2004.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-plan-for-revamp-of-voting-districts-remains-vague-1.1488593
After 30+ years of destruction of NJ’s economy, the Democratic-controlled legislature wants to drive NJ in to bankruptcy after stealing what’s left. When the book is written on why NJ’s economy collapsed, democratic legislatures and their union bosses will be front and center to blame. Out of control pension and health benefits, state road work that costs 3X any other state, and the highest state plus local taxes in the country. It’s hard to blame the private sector for leaving the state; with all of the state mandated bureaucracy and regulation, it’s almost like they don’t want businesses to succeed in NJ.