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.[1] 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. One current member of the Assembly,Gary Schaer,holds another elective office (Passaic City Council President),[2] as he isgrandfathered in under a New Jersey law that banned multiple office holding in 2007.
The Assembly is led by thespeaker of the Assembly, who is elected by the membership of the chamber. After thelieutenant governor and the president of the New 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).
Service as a state senator or member of the General Assembly is considered to bepart-time.[4] Effective 2002, state senators and members of the General Assembly receive an annual base salary of $49,000 with the Senate president and the Assembly speaker earning slightly more (1/3 over the base).[5] This was an increase from $35,000, which had been in effect since 1990. Beginning in 2026, the base salary will increase to $82,000. Additionally, each legislator receives an annual allowance of $150,000 for staff salaries.[6] In the 2025 fiscal year, the total cost of the legislature in the state budget was $127,346,000.[7] Of this amount, $18,690,000 was appropriated to the State Senate for salaries and other costs, and $25,208,000 was appropriated to the General Assembly.[8]
Under state law that remained in effect until 2008, members of the New Jersey Assembly and Senate were allowed to serve in the legislature while still serving in any other government positions they might have held at the time. Those still doing so in 2008 were "grandfathered":[9]
Name, Party-County – Second Public Office (name in bold represents state Assembly member still in both local and state offices as of 2025):
^P.L. 2023, CHAPTER 349 ("An Act concerning the annual salary of certain public employees and officers, amending various parts of the statutory law, and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.")
^P.L.2024, CHAPTER 22 ("An Act making appropriations for the support of the State Government and the several public purposes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 and regulating the disbursement thereof.")
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