Bill > SCR59

Introduced Session

This proposed Constitutional amendment would provide for the election by the voters of the State Attorney General. Currently, the Attorney General is appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve during the Governor's term of office. The Attorney General would be the chief law officer of the State and must be an attorney in good standing and licensed to practice law in the State of New Jersey. The Attorney General would be elected by the legally qualified voters of this State at the general election held during the first year of the full term of the Governor. The term of office of the Attorney General would be four years, beginning at noon of the third Tuesday in January next following the election, and ending at noon on the third Tuesday in January four years thereafter. The Attorney General would have to be at least 30 years old. The Attorney General would have to be a citizen of the United States for at least 20 years and a resident of this State for seven years. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Attorney General resulting from any cause, or in the event of the incapacity or impeachment of the Attorney General, the functions, powers, duties and emoluments of the office would devolve upon such officers and in the order of succession as would be provided by law. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Attorney General, an Attorney General would be elected to fill the unexpired term at the next general election, unless the vacancy shall occur within seventy days immediately preceding a general election, in which case the Attorney General would be elected at the second succeeding general election. The Attorney General would exercise such powers and perform such duties as may now or hereafter be conferred upon or required of the Attorney General, either by the Constitution or by the common and statutory law of the State. No diminution in the functions, powers, and duties of the Attorney General, whether by law or by executive order or proclamation, enacted, adopted or issued after the election of any person to that office, could take effect until another person has been elected to succeed that person and has qualified into office. The Attorney General will receive for services a salary which will not be less than four-fifths of the salary received by the Governor.

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Declan O'Scanlon (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document