Bill Text: NJ AJR32 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a commission to study alimony law.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-10 - Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading [AJR32 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-AJR32-Introduced.html
No. 32
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman O'Scanlon and Assemblywoman Mosquera
SYNOPSIS
Establishes a commission to study alimony law.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
A Joint Resolution creating a commission to study the law on alimony.
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is hereby created a commission to be known as the "Study Commission on Alimony" to consist of the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, or his designee, one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate President, one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Assembly Minority Leader, and six public members to be appointed by the Governor. The public members appointed by the Governor shall include at least two persons licensed to practice law in the State with a specialization in matrimonial law and at least one retired judge with experience in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family Part. Of the six public members, three shall be men and three shall be women.
2. The commission shall organize as soon as practicable after the appointment of a majority of its members and shall select a chairperson from among its members. The chairperson shall appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.
3. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the commission.
4. a. The commission shall study all aspects of alimony law in the State, including but not limited to:
(1) any Statewide trends in alimony awards over time, including determining what percentage of alimony awards, court-ordered and by agreement, consist of permanent alimony and how often State courts grant requests for modification of alimony awards;
(2) whether contemporary financial circumstances have affected any Statewide trends in alimony awards and, if so, how the Statewide trends have been affected;
(3) comparison of State alimony law with alimony laws in other states, including whether any other state has a requirement that the amount of alimony should be proportional to the duration of the marriage;
(4) comparison of State data and trends pertaining to alimony law with data from other states;
(5) the uniformity of the application of alimony law among the counties;
(6) the use of guidelines for establishing alimony used by other states;
(7) the court's enforcement of alimony payments particularly with regard to whether the courts differentiate between alimony and child support in enforcement actions;
(8) the protocols to safeguard the integrity of the divorce system and fairness of enforcement and collections mechanisms for support orders; and
(9) any other issues as the commission may identify as necessary to understanding and improving State alimony law.
b. The commission shall propose new legislation, if it deems appropriate.
5. The commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes, and to employ stenographic and clerical assistance and incur traveling and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform its duties, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.
6. The commission may meet and hold hearings at the places it designates, at which it may request the appearance of officials of any State agency or political subdivision of the State and may solicit testimony of interested groups and the general public.
7. The commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than 12 months following the organization of the commission.
8. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon the submission of the report required pursuant to section 7 of this act.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution creates an eleven-member "Study Commission on Alimony" to review State alimony law, including any Statewide trends in alimony awards, and compare this information with the laws, data, and trends in other states.
The commission would be comprised of the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, or his designee, one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate President, one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Assembly Minority Leader, and six public members appointed by the Governor. Of the public members appointed by the Governor, three would be men and three would be women.
The joint resolution further provides that the six public members would include at least two persons licensed to practice law in the State with a specialization in matrimonial law and at least one retired judge with experience in the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family Part.
Members would serve without compensation but would be reimbursed for necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.
The commission would organize as soon as practicable after the appointment of a majority of its members. One of the members would be selected chairperson by the other members and the chairperson would appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.
Within 12 months of organizing, the commission would issue a report to the Governor and to the Legislature detailing its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation. The commission would end upon submission of this report.
