NJ could ‘end the gravy train’ for elected officials

💲 Proposed law would 'end the gravy train' of double dipping salaries for legislators

💲 Senate and Assembly members just voted themselves a huge raise

💲 Lawmakers will earn a full-time salary for a job the state says is part-time

Members of the New Jersey Legislature are technically part-time state employees.

Lawmakers gather regularly for committee meetings and voting sessions from January through June then typically take the summer off. They also don't usually meet leading up to the November elections.

Due to their part-time status, the official state website says "most legislators also hold other employment."

One member of the legislature thinks this is ridiculous. Especially since lawmakers just voted themselves a big pay raise.

Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Denville) isn't necessarily opposed to lawmakers having two (or more) jobs, but he thinks is appalling they get to double dip with multiple salaries.

How much do legislators make?

Right now, members of the New Jersey Senate and Assembly are paid $49,000 per year.

However, the legislature voted themselves a 67% pay raise to $82,000 per year beginning in 2026.

Bergen argues that's no longer a part-time salary.

In addition, lawmakers will get $150,000 per year to hire staff.

The legislation also increased the salary of the Governor and top cabinet officials to $210,000 from $175,000.

It was the first salary increase for the legislature since 2002.

End the New Jersey Gravy Train Act

If a lawmaker holds both a legislative seat and a county or municipal job (as many do), the current law allows them to take unlimited paid time off from that job when they are in Trenton.

Asm. Bergen says that double dipping should be illegal. "Taxpayers bear the burden of this insanity, while lawmakers ride the gravy train," Bergen says.

Bergen's bill is officially titled the "End the New Jersey Gravy Train Act," and it would require legislators to take unpaid time off from their other government job to perform their legislative duties.

"Anyone with a brain would understand that this is only fair and that the incredibly inflated and insane $82,000 a year they make as lawmakers should compensate them for their time away from their local government job," Bergen's bill states.

"This bill is a small step in an important direction of ending the obscene acts by members of the Legislature to pad their pockets at the expense of taxpayers," Bergen claims.

Will this bill pass?

Definitely not.

Bergen introduced his bill on May 6, and it was automatically referred to the Assembly State and Local Government Committee.

That is where the bill will likely die, without ever being scheduled for a hearing or preliminary vote.

Democrats are firmly in control of both the Senate and the Assembly and are unlikely to allow a vote on Bergen's bill. There are also Republican members of the legislature who may not support this legislation.

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