Bill Allows Each Town to Retain its Own Judge When Sharing Courtroom Facilities
Legislation sponsored by state Senator Sean Kean, Assemblyman David Rible and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini that could reduce the cost of local government by encouraging the sharing of court facilities was signed into law today by Governor Jon Corzine.
“In light of the governor’s plan to slash state aid to municipalities in the upcoming budget, the state needs to give towns all the tools necessary to share services,” said Kean, R-Monmouth. “This new money-saving legislation is a step forward in reigning in costs at the local level.”
“This law is an excellent opportunity for us to begin to cut costs,” stated Rible, R-Monmouth. “Often, our laws are structured in such a way that actually discourages sharing services at the local level. It’s imperative we take responsible action to start to turn things around. I would hope the Legislature uses this bill signed into law today as a stepping stone to similar cost-saving legislation in the future.”
Under current law, two or more municipalities may agree to provide jointly for courtrooms, chambers, equipment, supplies and employees for their municipal courts without establishing a joint municipal court. A 2006 Superior Court decision, however, held that the same law requires municipalities sharing municipal court services under that provision to also share a municipal court judge.
The Kean/Rible/Angelini legislation, S-335/A-1518, changes the current law to provide that towns sharing court facilities can each make separate appointments for judges and administrators.
“This legislation sends a message to towns that they can share court facilities and services without having to surrender their own judge and court calendar,” said Angelini, R-Monmouth. “It’s a win-win situation and victory for everyone – the state, local governments and our taxpayers.”
This is the first bill signed into law for the freshman Rible-Angelini team.
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