ASSEMBLY, No. 2907

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MAY 5, 1997

By Assemblyman CARROLL

An Act concerning the recall of certain public officials and amending P.L.1995, c.105.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. 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, other than the Governor or a United States Senator, 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 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] P.L.1995, c.105. A recall petition demanding that an election be held for the purpose of deciding whether the Governor or a United States Senator shall be recalled from office shall be signed by no fewer than 500,000 registered voters. 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)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately but shall remain inoperative until a constitutional amendment providing for a reduction in the number of signatures needed to recall the Governor or a United States Senator has been adopted and has taken effect.

STATEMENT

    The purpose of this bill is to change the number of signatures necessary to recall certain officials elected Statewide.

    Specifically, the bill provides that when recall petitions are circulated demanding that an election be held for the purpose of deciding whether the Governor or a United States Senator shall be recalled from office, it shall be signed by no fewer than 500,000 registered voters. The bill would take effect immediately but remain inoperative until a constitutional amendment providing the same has been adopted and has taken effect.

    Currently, Article I, paragraph 2 of the New Jersey Constitution and statutory law provide that for a recall election to be called for any elected official, a petition shall be signed by at least 25% of the registered voters of the jurisdiction from which the incumbent had been elected. Thus, at least one million signatures would be needed to recall the Governor or a U.S. Senator since there are presently about four million registered voters in the State.

Reduces to 500,000 the number of signatures necessary to recall the Governor or a US Senator.