Government of New Jersey
Logo of the New Jerseyan government Great Seal of the State of New Jersey
Polity type	Sub-national administrative division (federated state)
Part of	United States of America
Constitution	Constitution of New Jersey
Legislative branch
Name	Legislature
Type	Bicameral
Meeting place	New Jersey State House
Upper house
Name	Senate
Presiding officer	Nicholas Scutari, President
Lower house
Name	General Assembly
Presiding officer	Craig Coughlin, Speaker
Executive branch
Head of state andgovernment
Title	Governor
Currently	Phil Murphy
Appointer	Election
Cabinet
Name	New Jersey Cabinet
Leader	Governor
Deputy leader	Lieutenant Governor
Headquarters	State House
Judicial branch
Name	Judiciary of New Jersey
Courts	Courts of New Jersey
Supreme Court of New Jersey
Chief judge	Stuart Rabner
Seat	Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, Trenton

Thegovernment of the State of New Jersey is separated into three distinct branches:legislative,executive, andjudicial. The powers of the State ofNew Jersey are vested by theConstitution of New Jersey, enacted in 1947, in abicameralstate legislature (consisting of theGeneral Assembly andSenate), theGovernor, and the state courts, headed theNew Jersey Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of the state legislature, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court.

Like most states, the state allows the incorporation of county, and other local municipal governments. The state capital is located in Trenton.

The executive branch is organized into departments, which may not number more than twenty according to the constitution; there are eighteen departments and fifty-six agencies. Temporary commissions may be allocated by law for special purposes outside of the departments.

TheNew Jersey Register is the official journal of state agency rulemaking containing the full text of agency proposed and adopted rules, notices of public hearings, Gubernatorial Orders, and agency notices of public interest.^[1] TheNew Jersey Administrative Code (N.J.A.C.) is a compilation of all rules adopted by state agencies.^[1]

TheGovernor of New Jersey is head of the executive branch. The office ofgovernor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four-year terms. Governors cannot be elected to more than two consecutive terms, but there is no limit on the total number of terms they may serve.^[2] The official residence for the governor isDrumthwacket, a mansion located inPrinceton, New Jersey; the office of the governor is at theNew Jersey State House in Trenton. The Governor is responsible for appointing two constitutionally created officers, theNew Jersey Attorney General and theSecretary of State of New Jersey, with the approval of the senate.

Thelieutenant governor of New Jersey is the second highest-ranking official in the state government. The office oflieutenant governor is elected on aticket with thegovernor for a four-year term concurrent with the governor. Because the position lacks distinct powers or purpose other than to exist solely as next in theorder of succession, the state constitution requires that the lieutenant governor be appointed to serve as the head of acabinet-leveldepartment oradministrative agency within the Governor's administration. However, pursuant to the state constitution, a lieutenant governor cannot serve as the state'sAttorney General.

Prior to 2010, New Jersey was one of a fewstates in the United States that did not have alieutenant governor to succeed to the governorship in the event of a vacancy in that office. For most of the state's (and previously the colony's) history, a vacancy in the position of governor was filled by the president of theState Senate (called the "Legislative Council" from 1776 to 1844), or during the colonial era by the president of the royal governor'sProvincial Council. After several episodes where the state had multiple "acting governors" in the span of a few years following theresignations of GovernorChristine Todd Whitman in 2001 and GovernorJames E. McGreevey in 2004, popular sentiment and political pressure from the state's residents andnews media outlets sought a permanent and tenable solution to the issue of succession when the governor's office became vacant. A 2005 referendum to amend the constitution provided for the position of lieutenant governor to be created, to change the order of succession, and that the post would be filled in next gubernatorial election (2009).

RepublicanKim Guadagno was the first to serve in the post in its modern form. Guadagno, previously thesheriff inMonmouth County, was chosen by GovernorChris Christie to be hisrunning-mate on the Republican party ticket in the 2009 election.

The state constitution provides that the governor appoints the heads of up to 20 principal departments. As of 2024, the state's executive branch has 15 cabinet-level or principal departments.^[3]

The NJ Constitution provides for abicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate of 40 members and an Assembly of 80 members. Each of the 40 legislative districts elects one Senator and two Assembly members. Assembly members are elected by the people for a two-year term in all odd-numbered years; Senators are elected in the years ending in 1, 3, and 7 and thus serve either four- or two-year terms.

The Legislature is responsible for the appointment of theNew Jersey State Auditor, the only state officer which is appointed by the legislature. Itssession laws are published in theActs of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey, commonly known as theLaws of New Jersey,^[4] which arecodified in theNew Jersey Statutes (N.J.S.),^[5] also referred to as theRevised Statutes (R.S.),^[5] which are in turn published in theNew Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.).^[6]

The members of the New Jersey Legislature are chosen from 40 electoral districts. Each district elects one Senator and two Assemblymen. New Jersey is one of seven U.S. states along withArizona,Idaho,Maryland,North Dakota,South Dakota, andWashington in which districts for the upper and lower house of the legislature are coterminous. Districts are redefined decennially by theNew Jersey Apportionment Commission following eachU.S. Census, as provided by Article IV, Section III of the State Constitution.

TheNew Jersey Senate was established as theupper house of theNew Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing theLegislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with average populations of 232,225 (2020 figure). Each district has one senator and two members of theNew Jersey General Assembly, the lower house of the legislature. Prior to the election in which they are chosen, senators must be a minimum of 30 years old and a resident of the state for four years to be eligible to serve in office.^[7]

From 1844 until 1965 (whenredistricting could be done following theReynolds v. Sims decision), each county was an electoral district electing one senator. Under the 1844 Constitution theterm of office was three years, which was changed to four years with the 1947 Constitution. Since 1968 the Senate has consisted of 40 senators, who are elected in a "2-4-4" cycle. Senators serve a two-year term at the beginning of each decade, with the rest of the decade divided into two four-year terms. The "2-4-4" cycle was put into place so that Senate elections can reflect the changes made to the district boundaries on the basis of the decennialUnited States Census.^[7] If the cycle were not put into place, then the boundaries would sometimes be four years out of date before being used for Senate elections. Rather, with the varied term, the boundaries are only two years out of date. Thus elections for Senate seats take place in years ending with a "1", "3", or "7" (i.e. next elections in 2023, 2027, and 2031).

Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average populations of 232,225 (2020 figures), with deviation in each district not exceeding 3.21% above and below that average.^[8] To be eligible to run, a potential candidate must be at least 21 years of age, and must have lived in their district for at least one year prior to the election, and have lived in the state ofNew Jersey for two years. They also must be residents of their districts. Membership in the Assembly is considered a part-time job, and many members have employment in addition to their legislative work. Assembly members serve two-year terms, elected every odd-numbered year in November.

The Assembly is led by theSpeaker of the Assembly, who is elected by the membership of the chamber. After theLieutenant Governor of New Jersey and the President of theNew Jersey Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly is third in the line of succession to replace theGovernor of New Jersey in the event that the governor is unable to execute the duties of that office. The Speaker decides the schedule for the Assembly, which bills will be considered, appoints committee chairmen, and generally runs the Assembly's agenda. The current Speaker isCraig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge).

Thestate court system ofNew Jersey comprises theNew Jersey Supreme Court, thestate supreme court, and many lower courts.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. It hears appeals from the Appellate Courts. It has the capacity, rarely exercised, to look into other cases within the judicial and executive branches.^[9]

The Court^[10] consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. All are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the membership of the state senate. Justices serve an initial seven-year term, after which they can be reappointed to serve until age 70. The New Jersey Supreme Court was created and its role established by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1947. As the highest court in the State, it replaced the prior Court of Errors and Appeals, created under the Constitution of 1844.^[11] It is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, the sole determinant of the constitutionality of state laws with respect to the state constitution, and the arbiter and overseer of the decennial legislative redistricting.

According to Mandel'sNew Jersey Appellate Practice, "The Appellate Division of New Jersey's Superior Court is the first level appellate court, with appellate review authority over final judgments of the trial divisions and the Tax Court and over final decisions and actions of State administrative agencies."^[12]

The state's Supreme Court held that "an appellate court's judgment provides 'the final directive of the appeals courts as to the matter appealed, setting out with specificity the court's determination that the action appealed from should be affirmed, reversed, remanded or modified'"^[13]

TheSuperior Court is the state court in theU.S. state ofNew Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.^[14] Under the State Constitution, "'judicial power shall be vested in a Supreme Court, a Superior Court, County Courts and inferior courts of limited jurisdiction.'"^[15] The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts. The State Constitution renders theNew Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division the intermediate appellate court, and "[a]ppeals may be taken to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court from the law and chancery divisions of the Superior Court and in such other causes as may be provided by law."^[14] Each division is in turn divided into various parts. "The trial divisions of the Superior Court are the principal trial courts of New Jersey. They are located within the State's various judicial geographic units, called 'vicinages,' R. 1:33-2(a), and are organized into two basic divisions: the Chancery Division and the Law Division".^[16]

Like justices of theNew Jersey Supreme Court, judges of the Superior Court are appointed by theGovernor and confirmed by theState Senate for initial terms of seven years. If reappointed before the expiration of the initial term, the judge is said to have tenure and can serve until the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70. Retired judges may be recalled to serve in courts other than the Supreme Court. Judges are assigned to the court's divisions and parts (and in the case of the Law and Chancery Divisions, to a particular vicinage) by the Supreme Court.

The Municipal Courts carry out most of the day-to-day work in the New Jersey courts, where simple traffic tickets, minor criminal offenses, and small civil matters are heard.

The Tax Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. Tax Court judges hear appeals of tax decisions made by County Boards of Taxation. They also hear appeals on decisions made by the Director of the Division of Taxation on such matters as state income, sales and business taxes, and homestead rebates. Appeals from Tax Court decisions are heard in the Appellate Division of Superior Court. Tax Court judges are appointed by the Governor for initial terms of seven years, and upon reappointment are granted tenure until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 70. There are 12 Tax Court judgeships.

New Jersey has 21 counties, each of which is administered by a Board of County Commissioners—an elected commission of either three, five, seven, or nine seats determined by the size of the county's population—that oversee a range of executive and legislative functions. In most counties, the commissioners are elected at-large, where each commissioner represents the entire county. Hudson County divides the county into nine districts that are equal in population size and represented by one commissioner. Essex County and Atlantic County have five commissioners representing districts and four commissioners elected at-large. In some counties, commissioners perform both legislative and executive functions on a commission basis, with each commissioner assigned responsibility for a department or group of departments. InAtlantic,Bergen,Essex,Hudson, andMercer counties, there is a directly electedcounty executive who performs the executive functions while the Board of County Commissioners retains a legislative and oversight role. In counties without an executive, acounty administrator orcounty manager may be hired to perform day-to-day administration of county functions.

As of 2023, New Jersey's 21 counties are divided into 564 municipalities. Each municipality is located in exactly one county; there are noindependent cities orconsolidated city-counties. There is nounincorporated territory in the state, making New Jersey one of the few states outsideNew England in which every square foot is incorporated. Title 40 of the New Jersey Statutes allows the state's municipalities to be incorporated under five types- city, town, township, borough, and village, with twelve management forms. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that New Jersey has 252boroughs, 52cities, 15towns, 241townships, and 4villages.^[17] Several municipalities continue to operate under special charters that do not conform with the government formats prescribed by the current statutes. New Jersey's municipalities range in population from towns with small single-digit or double-digit populations (as inTavistock orWalpack Township) or cities in which several hundred thousand people reside, such asNewark,Paterson orTrenton.

New Jersey distinguishes between regional, consolidated and countywide school districts and those serving single municipalities. There are also non-operating school districts, which are those districts that do not operate any school facilities and where all students attend school in other districts as part ofsending/receiving relationships. The majority of school districts in New Jersey are established for general purposes and have boundaries equivalent to the municipality with which they are associated.^[18] The schools of each public school district are governed by a board of education.^[18] There is a superintendent for each district, which may be shared between districts, and a county superintendent of schools (the stateDepartment of Education's representative) and executive county superintendent of schools (gubernatorial appointments whose duties include reducing district spending, collaboration and shared services) in each county.^[19]

• Elections in New Jersey
• United States congressional delegations from New Jersey
• Politics of New Jersey
• Political party strength in New Jersey
• Law of New Jersey

• Official website

• Government of New Jersey
• State governments of the United States

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