New Jersey Civics: How Your State Government Works

by bam

A practical, non-partisan guide to how the state of New Jersey governs itself, and how you take part where you live. You'll learn New Jersey's Constitution of 1947; a Legislature of 40 senators and 80 Assembly members elected from 40 shared districts; and a genuinely distinctive executive, long considered one of the strongest governors in the nation because so many officials (the Attorney General, Secretary of State, and more) are APPOINTED by the governor rather than elected. You'll learn why New Jersey had NO Lieutenant Governor until 2010, why the state has NO citizen initiative, how its appointed judiciary earns tenure to age 70, and how its 21 counties and 500-plus municipalities work, including the recent renaming of county 'freeholders' to 'commissioners.' Time-sensitive facts are flagged, pointing to nj.gov/state. Cited to New Jersey's own official sources (njleg.gov, nj.gov/state, njcourts.gov).