State Constitution Amendment - July 30, 2012

In 1947 when our state constitution was updated, a clause in the Constitution was carried over from the 1800s which says that the salary of a judge shall not be diminished during his or her term. By amending that sentence in the Constitution, it will allow the legislature to enact a law requiring judges to pay more towards the cost of their pension and more towards the cost of their health care, so what we voted on today is a resolution that will allow this to be put to the voters. This is about dollars and cents, the ability of taxpayers to carry the cost of government, and if rank-and-file public employees are required to give greater contribution towards the cost of their health care, the judges should not be exempted from that same requirement. So this is about fairness and equity for all public employees whether you are a custodian, a cafeteria worker, a teacher, a policeman, a adjunct professor in a county college, or a judge, or a member of the Supreme Court, so today's resolution will allow the citizens of New Jersey to decide.