ASSEMBLY, No. 1402
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblyman MATTISON
An Act concerning the power of mayors in certain cities of the first class to veto portions of municipal budgets and amending N.J.S.40A:4-10.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.40A:4-10 is amended to read as follows:
40A:4-10. [No] a. In any municipality not subject to the provisions of subsection b. of this section no budget or amendment thereof shall be adopted unless the director shall have previously certified his approval thereof. Final adoption shall be by resolution adopted by a majority of the full membership of the governing body, and may be by title where the procedures required by sections 40A:4-8 and 40A:4-9 or section 12 of P.L.1995, c.259 (C.40A:4-6.1), as applicable, have been followed.
The budget shall be adopted in the case of a county not later than February 25, and in the case of a municipality not later than March 20 of the calendar fiscal year or September 20 of the State fiscal year, except that the governing body may adopt the budget at any time within 10 days after the director shall have certified his approval thereof and returned the same, if such certification shall be later than the date of the advertised hearing.
If, in the case of a municipality which operates on the State fiscal year, the governing body fails to adopt the budget within the permitted time, the chief financial officer of the local unit shall so notify the director the next working day after the expiration of the permitted time.
Three certified copies of the budget, as adopted, shall be transmitted to the director within three days after adoption.
Upon adoption, the budget shall constitute an appropriation for the purposes stated therein and an authorization of the amount to be raised by taxation for the purposes of the local unit.
b. In a city of the first class with a population of not less than 250,000 according to the latest federal decennial census, which operates under the “mayor-council plan” of the “Optional Municipal Charter Law,” P.L.1950, c.210 (C.40:69A-31 et seq.), no budget or amendment thereof shall be passed by the governing body unless the director shall have previously certified his approval thereof. Passage shall be by resolution adopted by a majority of the full membership of the governing body, and may be by title where the procedures required by N.J.S.40A:4-8 and N.J.S.40A:4-9 or section 12 of P.L.1995, c.259 (C.40A:4-6.1), as applicable, have been followed. After the budget has been passed by the governing body, the governing body shall, within three days of the passage of the budget, forward a copy of the budget to the mayor. The mayor shall accept delivery and, within five days of delivery, may veto the passed budget in order to restore to the budget any item of appropriation that appeared in the budget as introduced pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-5. If the mayor takes no action on the budget within the five-day period, the budget shall be deemed adopted. If, within the five-day period, the mayor returns to the governing body the copy of the budget with a veto which restores to the budget any item of appropriation that appeared in the budget as introduced pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-5, together with a written explanation of the reasons for the veto, the budget without the changes specified in the mayor’s veto shall be deemed adopted only if the governing body overrides the veto by a two-thirds vote of its full membership within five days of the receipt of the veto action. Prior to any override of the vetoed budget by the governing body, the governing body shall hold a public hearing to solicit public opinion regarding the mayor's action. If the governing body does not override the vetoed budget within the five-day period, the budget as vetoed by the mayor shall be deemed adopted. The budget shall be adopted not later than September 1 of the State fiscal year, except that the budget may be adopted at any time within 10 days after the director shall have certified his approval thereof and returned the same, if such certification shall be later than the date of the advertised hearing. If the budget is not adopted within the permitted time, the chief financial officer of the city shall so notify the director the next working day after the expiration of the permitted time.
Three certified copies of the budget, as adopted, shall be transmitted to the director within three days after adoption. Upon adoption, the budget shall constitute an appropriation for the purposes stated therein and an authorization of the amount to be raised by taxation for the purposes of the city.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.259, s.11)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits a mayor in a city of the first class with a population of at least 250,000 according to the latest federal decennial census, which operates under the “mayor-council plan” of the “Optional Municipal Charter Law,” P.L.1950, c.210 (C.40:69A-31 et seq.), to veto the city budget in order to restore an original appropriation to the budget.
The bill requires that after the budget has been passed by the city council, the council must, within three days of the passage of the budget, forward a copy of the budget to the mayor. The mayor must accept delivery and, within five days of delivery, may veto the passed budget only in order to restore any item of appropriation to the budget that appeared in the budget as introduced pursuant to N.J.S.40A:4-5. If the mayor takes no action within the five-day period, the budget will be deemed adopted. If, within the five-day period, the mayor returns to the city council the copy of the budget with a veto, together with a written explanation of the reasons for the veto, the budget without the changes specified in the mayor’s veto will be deemed adopted only if the city council overrides the veto of the action by a two-thirds vote of its full membership within five days of the receipt of the veto action. If the city council does not override the vetoed budget within the five-day period, the budget as vetoed by the mayor shall be deemed adopted.
The bill also requires that, prior to any override of the vetoed budget by the city council, the council must hold a public hearing to solicit public opinion regarding the mayor's action on the budget.
Permits mayor of first class city with at least 250,000 population and operating under “mayor-council plan” to exercise line-item veto power on budget.