ASSEMBLY, No. 2920

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MAY 5, 1997

By Assemblymen WEINGARTEN and O'TOOLE

An Act concerning certain county expenses and amending N.J.S.2A:158-7.

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

    1. N.J.S.2A:158-7 is amended to read as follows:

    2A:158-7. All necessary expenses incurred by the prosecutor for each county in the detection, arrest, indictment and conviction of offenders against the laws shall, upon being certified to by the prosecutor and approved, under his hand, by a judge of the Superior Court, be paid by the county treasurer whenever the same shall be approved by the board of chosen freeholders of such county. The amount or amounts to be expended shall not exceed the amount fixed by the board of chosen freeholders in its regular or emergency appropriation[, unless such expenditure is specifically authorized by order of the assignment judge of the Superior Court for such county]. (cf: P.L.1991, c.91, s.126)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would grant the county governing body the final authority to set the budget for the county prosecutor's office.

    Under current law, disagreements between the county governing body and the county prosecutor's office concerning the amount of expenditures for the prosecutor's office are resolved by the Superior Court assignment judge for the county. If authorized by the assignment judge, prosecutor's office expenditures may exceed the amount approved by the county governing body. The assignment judge's authority in this regard was affirmed by the New Jersey Supreme Court in In re Application of Bigley, 55 N.J. 53 (1969).

    This bill would negate the effect of Bigley by deleting the language in N.J.S.A.2A:158-7 which authorizes the assignment judge to approve expenditures for the prosecutor's office which exceed the amounts approved by the county governing body.

Eliminates assignment judge's power to authorize expenditures for county prosecutor's office which exceed county appropriations.