Can we please stop it with the nonsense bills?

New Jersey is well known for its stupid bills and resolutions. They may be our #1 domestic product. My personal favorite: designating a state juice, but you can take your pick among a pile of nonsense legislative overtures ranging from regulating delivery box size to… well, here’s a (very) partial list:

  • A4497 – Menstrual Equity for Haitian Migrants Act.
  • S3102 – Designates Common Eastern Bumble Bee as NJ State Native Pollinator.
  • SR31 – Urging the U.S. Congress to designate the “Statue of Liberty Anthem” as the official anthem of the Statue of Liberty.
  • A1706 – Designates “Ultimate” as officialy state sport.
  • A2444 – Requires DOH to study racial aspects of ovarian cancer.
  • S2420 – CreatING a New Jersey “Cold War” medal.
  • A4671 – Provides members of the Assembly be referred to as Assembly Member rather than Assemblyman or Assemblywoman.
  • A4296 – Establishes exemption from ban on importation of woodchucks.

When the Assembly moved to recognize “National Kimchi Day” in early 2023, Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Morris) was the SOLE “nay” vote; Bergen decried what he correctly viewed as “a complete and collossal waste of this body’s time,” adding “we have much more important stuff we can do. And by the way, for those of you who don’t know, it’s not free. We pay people to write these resolutions.”

Perhaps because Trenton Republicans comprise an unworkable minority with little chance of advancing impactful legislative reforms, Save Jerseyans, they churn out their fair share of bills which have no business seeing the light of day. Renaming state roads. Honoring obscure residents. Wasting time and money in the name of claiming they “did something” instead of developing an attractive brand for passionate taxpayer advocacy.

Some bills are designed to piggyback on a news story in the hopes of garnering attention. Both sides are guilty of it.

Earlier today, authorities charged a New Jersey woman for allegedly trespassing at a zoo. They say she scaled a fence in an attmept to “touch a tiger at a zoo after entering the animal’s enclosure.

Union County state senator and long-shot GOP gubernatorial candidate Jon Bramnick says the incident is justification to pass his bill criminalizing “reckless trespass involving a wild animal” and establishes penalties including a $15,000 fine and up to fie years in prison.

“We need to pass this bipartisan bill to ensure that people who trespass into restricted animal enclosures face legal and financial consequences,” said Bramnick. “This type of reckless behavior endangers the life of the trespasser and often results in law enforcement killing the animal.”

A major problem? No.

Already illegal? Yes.

That should be the two-part test for whether legislation makes sense, but no much in Trenton makes sense. Why do Republicans contribute to it? To their own detriment?

Republicans need to legislate seriously if they want to be taken seriously. If I was in charge of that caucus, folks, there’d be a new rule: NO new bills should be brought by any caucus member unless it can be explained how the proposal would (1) improve prosperity and/or (2) expand liberty for the people of New Jersey. Preventing an idiot from getting mauled by a wild animal doesn’t qualify under either prong.

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8670 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.