TRENTON, N.J. – The Assembly State and Local Government Committee advanced a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Jay Webber that allows counties in New Jersey to send proposed ordinances to municipalities by email.
“Encouraging efficiency in government saves taxpayer dollars and that is exactly what this legislation would accomplish,” said Webber (R-Morris). “This past year, the postal service struggled to keep up with the demand of delivering an overwhelming amount of packages and mail on time during the pandemic. Email is reliable and hastens communications, especially when the information being transmitted is pages and pages of bond ordinances.”
Counties operating under the optional county charter law are currently required to mail proposed ordinances to municipal clerks. The paperwork can be up to 25 pages and must be sent to as many as 70 municipalities.
Webber’s bill (A2284) gives counties organized under optional county charter law, which include Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Mercer and Union, the freedom to send proposed ordinances by either regular mail or email.
“Every county should be given the opportunity to modernize in order to save time, resources and most importantly, taxpayer money,” said Webber.
The Senate passed the identical bill (S818) unanimously in October.