The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, the upper house being the New Jersey Senate.
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 using plurality block voting 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.Statistical Data Tables , New Jersey Apportionment Commission. Accessed August 25, 2021. 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 of New 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),Gary Schaer | Passaic, NJ as he is grandfathered in under a New Jersey law that banned multiple office holding in 2007.
The Assembly is led by the speaker of the Assembly, who is elected by the membership of the chamber. After the lieutenant governor and the president of the New Jersey Senate, the speaker of the Assembly is third in the line of succession to replace the governor 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 is Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge).
Composition AffiliationParty (Shading indicates majority caucus)TotalVacantDemocraticRepublican2018–2020 54 26 8002020–2022 52 28 80 02022–2024 46 34 80 02024–2026 52 28 80 02026–2028 57 23 80 0Latest voting share
List of state assembly members DistrictNamePartyStartCountiesResidence1RepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Atlantic, Cape May, CumberlandLower TownshipRepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Ocean City2RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022AtlanticAtlantic CityDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Atlantic City3DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Cumberland, Gloucester, SalemGlassboroDemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Woodstown4DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Atlantic, Camden, GloucesterGloucester TownshipDemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Monroe Township5DemocraticJune 30, 2018Camden, GloucesterCamdenDemocraticJanuary 14, 2020Camden6DemocraticJanuary 9, 1996Burlington, CamdenVoorhees TownshipDemocraticJanuary 23, 2025Cherry Hill7DemocraticJanuary 9, 2018BurlingtonMount LaurelDemocraticJanuary 30, 2025Burlington Township8DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Atlantic, BurlingtonChesterfield TownshipDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Hammonton9RepublicanJune 23, 2003OceanLittle Egg HarborRepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Stafford10RepublicanJanuary 10, 2012Ocean, MonmouthToms RiverRepublican January 9, 2024Point Pleasant Beach11DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024MonmouthOcean TownshipDemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Long Branch12RepublicanJuly 23, 2022Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, OceanJackson TownshipRepublicanJanuary 10, 2012Matawan13RepublicanJanuary 11, 2022MonmouthHolmdelRepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Middletown14DemocraticJanuary 8, 2008Mercer, MiddlesexHamilton TownshipDemocraticJanuary 8, 2024Hamilton Township15DemocraticFebruary 15, 2018Hunterdon, MercerTrentonDemocraticAugust 5, 2018Hopewell Township16DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, SomersetEast AmwellDemocraticJanuary 9, 2018Hillsborough Township17DemocraticOctober 16, 2014Middlesex, SomersetFranklin TownshipDemocraticJanuary 9, 2024New Brunswick18DemocraticJanuary 27, 2021MiddlesexEast BrunswickDemocraticMay 26, 2016Edison19DemocraticJanuary 13, 2010MiddlesexWoodbridgeDemocraticJanuary 9, 2018Perth Amboy20DemocraticSeptember 25, 2008UnionElizabethDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Elizabeth21DemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, UnionGarwoodDemocratic January 13, 2026Summit22DemocraticJanuary 12, 2016Somerset, UnionRahwayDemocraticMay 24, 2018Plainfield23RepublicanDecember 7, 2009Hunterdon, Somerset, WarrenFranklin TownshipRepublicanFebruary 21, 2009Hackettstown24RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Morris, Sussex, WarrenFranklin BoroughRepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Chester Township25RepublicanNovember 21, 2019Morris, PassaicMendham BoroughDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Morristown26RepublicanJanuary 14, 2020Morris, PassaicDenvilleRepublicanJanuary 8, 2008Morris Plains27DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Essex, PassaicLivingstonDemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Montclair28DemocraticJanuary 8, 2008Essex, UnionNewarkDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Newark29DemocraticSeptember 11, 2013Essex, HudsonNewarkDemocraticJanuary 9, 2018Newark30RepublicanJanuary 10, 2012Monmouth, OceanWallDemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Lakewood Township31DemocraticJanuary 11, 2022HudsonBayonneDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Jersey City32DemocraticJanuary 13, 2026HudsonHobokenDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Jersey City33DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024HudsonWest New YorkDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026North Bergen34DemocraticJanuary 9, 2024EssexBloomfieldDemocraticJanuary 9, 2024Belleville35DemocraticJanuary 23, 2025Bergen, PassaicPatersonDemocraticJanuary 13, 2026Paterson36DemocraticJanuary 10, 2006Bergen, PassaicPassaicDemocraticFebruary 10, 2018Cliffside Park37DemocraticJanuary 11, 2022BergenEnglewood CliffsDemocraticJanuary 11, 2022Tenafly38DemocraticMay 24, 2018BergenFair LawnDemocraticMay 24, 2018Bergenfield39RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024BergenSaddle RiverRepublicanJanuary 14, 2014Old Tappan40RepublicanJanuary 9, 2024Bergen, PassaicCedar GroveRepublicanJanuary 9, 2018Wyckoff
Committees and committee chairs Committee chairs for the 2026–2028 Legislative Session are:
Aging & Human Services - Shanique Speight (D-District 29) Agriculture and Natural Resources - Andrea Katz (D-District 8) Appropriations - Lisa Swain (D-District 38) Budget - Eliana Pintor Marin (D-District 29) Children, Families, and Food Security - Shama Haider (D-District 37) Commerce and Economic Development - William Spearman (D-District 5) Community Development & Women's Affairs - Tennille McCoy (D-District 14) Consumer Affairs - William Sampson (D-District 31) Education - Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-District 15) Environment and Solid Waste - James J. Kennedy (D-District 22) Financial Institutions and Insurance - Roy Freiman (D-District 16) Health - Carol Murphy (D-District 7) Health Infrastructure - Sterley Stanley (D-District 18) Higher Education - Carmen Morales (D-District 34) Housing - Yvonne Lopez (D-District 19) Judiciary - Ellen Park (D-District 37) Labor - Anthony Verrelli (D-District 15) Military and Veterans' Affairs - Cleopatra Tucker (D-District 28) Oversight, Reform, and Federal Relations - Alexander Schnall (D-District 30) Public Safety and Preparedness - Joseph Danielsen (D-District 17) Regulated Professions - Dan Hutchison (D-District 4) Science, Innovation, and Technology - Chris Tully (D-District 38) State and Local Government - Robert Karabinchak (D-District 18) Telecommunications and Utilities - Wayne DeAngelo (D-District 14) Tourism, Gaming, and the Arts - William Moen (D-District 5) Transportation and Independent Authorities - Clinton Calabrese (D-District 36)
List of past Assembly speakers
History See: New Jersey Legislature#Colonial period and New Jersey Legislative Council#Composition
Salary and costs Service as a state senator or member of the General Assembly is considered to be part-time.Our Legislature | NJ Legislature 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).N.J.S.A. 52:10A-1 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.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.") In the 2025 fiscal year, the total cost of the legislature in the state budget was $127,346,000.FY 2025 Appropriations Act, Legislative Budget & Finance Office 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.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.")
"Double dipping" 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":Caulfield, Edmund. "The Problem With Dual-Office Holding In New Jersey And Potential Recommendations For Further Reforms Post The 2007 Dual-Office Holding Ban", Seton Hall Legislative Journal, 2008. Accessed December 29, 2025. "This concern over ethical conflicts has been clearly evidenced by the presentation of a number of bills proposing both a Commission to study the negative effects of dual-office holding as well as an outright ban on the practice. Finally, in June 2007, legislation was passed by both houses of the Legislature banning the practice of dual-office holding in New Jersey"
Name, Party-County – Second Public Office (name in bold represents state Assembly member still in both local and state offices as of 2025):
Assembly members: John J. Burzichelli, D-Gloucester – Mayor, Paulsboro Ralph R. Caputo, D-Essex – Freeholder, Essex County Anthony Chiappone, D-Hudson – Councilmember, Bayonne Ronald S. Dancer, R-Ocean – Mayor, Plumsted Township Joseph V. Egan, D-Middlesex – Councilman, New Brunswick Elease Evans, D-Passaic – Freeholder, Passaic County John F. McKeon, D-Essex – Mayor, West Orange Paul D. Moriarty, D-Gloucester – Mayor, Washington Township Ruben J. Ramos, D-Hudson – Councilmember, Hoboken Scott Rumana, R-Passaic – Mayor, Wayne Gary Schaer, D-Passaic – Councilmember, Passaic Daniel Van Pelt, R-Ocean – Mayor, Ocean Township Joseph Vas, D-Middlesex – Mayor, Perth Amboy
See also :Category:Members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey State Constitution List of New Jersey state legislatures
Notes
References
External links New Jersey Legislature official website Assembly Democrats official website Assembly Republicans official website New Jersey section of Project Vote Smart, a national database of voting records and other information about legislators.