Big Pay Raise For NJ Lawmakers Approved: Here’s Who Voted For It

NEW JERSEY — With a signature from Gov. Phil Murphy this week, state legislators in New Jersey are now in line for a big pay bump in 2026. But which lawmakers greenlighted their own raises – and which ones gave them a thumbs-down?

On Tuesday, Murphy signed legislation that will boost the salaries for New Jersey senators and assembly members from $49,000 to $82,000, a 67 percent increase.

The governor's salary will also see a boost from $175,000 to $210,000, although Murphy's final term will be over by the time the raises go into effect in 2026. Read More: 70+ New Laws Signed In NJ, Including Major Lawmaker Salary Boost

The bill passed by a 26-7 tally in the Senate, with seven senators not voting. The Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 48-24, with one abstention and seven members not voting. (See the name-by-name roll call list below)

It’s the first time that the state Legislature has seen a pay bump in more than two decades. Some lawmakers have said the increase is needed to keep up with inflation and rising costs– just like any other job. Others say that they are being forced to pay for expenses such as travel out of their own pockets.

However, some New Jersey lawmakers have criticized their peers for giving themselves raises at a time when the state budget is facing some serious challenges. Read More: 3 Problems New Jersey Kicked Down The Road With Latest Budget

The salary increases will cost taxpayers $3.1 million in 2024 and 2025 and at least $12.4 million in 2027, according to the Office of Legislative Services.

The New Jersey Legislature consists of two chambers: a 40-member Senate and an 80-member General Assembly. According to its website, while lawmakers “spend a considerable amount of their time on legislative matters,” service is considered to be part-time, and most legislators also hold other employment.

Some advocates have called for turning the job into a full-time position, arguing that it may present potential conflicts of interest when a senator or assembly member is working a second gig.

Here is the roll call list of votes for the two bills that authorized the pay increases, A-5910 and S-4266.

SENATE

• Beach, James - Not Voting
• Bramnick, Jon M. - No
• Bucco, Anthony M. - No
• Burgess, Renee C. - Yes
• Codey, Richard J. - Yes
• Connors, Christopher J. - Not Voting
• Corrado, Kristin M. - No
• Cruz-Perez, Nilsa I. - Yes
• Cryan, Joseph P. - Yes
• Cunningham, Sandra B. - Not Voting
• Diegnan, Patrick J. - Yes
• Durr, Edward - No
• Gill, Nia H. - Not Voting
• Gopal, Vin - Yes
• Greenstein, Linda R. - Yes
• Holzapfel, James W. - Yes
• Johnson, Gordon M. - Yes
• Lagana, Joseph A. - Yes
• Madden, Fred H. - Yes
• O'Scanlon, Declan J. - Yes
• Oroho, Steven V. - Not Voting
• Pennacchio, Joseph - No
• Polistina, Vincent J. - No
• Pou, Nellie - Yes
• Ruiz, M. Teresa - Yes
• Sacco, Nicholas J. - Yes
• Sarlo, Paul A. - Yes
• Schepisi, Holly T. - Not Voting
• Scutari, Nicholas P. - Yes
• Singer, Robert W. - Yes
• Singleton, Troy - Yes
• Smith, Bob - Yes
• Stack, Brian P. - Yes
• Stanfield, Jean - Not Voting
• Steinhardt, Douglas J. - No
• Testa, Michael L. - Yes
• Thompson, Samuel D. - Yes
• Turner, Shirley K. - Yes
• Vitale, Joseph F. - Yes
• Zwicker, Andrew - Yes

ASSEMBLY

• Atkins, Reginald W. - Yes
• Auth, Robert - No
• Barranco, Christian E. - No
• Bergen, Brian - No
• Calabrese, Clinton - Yes
• Carter, Linda S. - Yes
• Catalano, John - Yes
• Chaparro, Annette - Yes
• Clifton, Robert D. - No
• Conaway, Herb - Yes
• Coughlin, Craig J. - Yes
• Danielsen, Joe - Yes
• DeAngelo, Wayne P. - Yes
• DeFuccio, DeAnne C. - Abstain
• DePhillips, Christopher P. - No
• DiMaio, John - No
• Dunn, Aura K. - No
• Egan, Joseph V. - Yes
• Eulner, Kim - Yes
• Flynn, Victoria A. - Not Voting
• Freiman, Roy - Not Voting
• Giblin, Thomas P. - Yes
• Gove, DiAnne C. - Not Voting
• Greenwald, Louis D. - Yes
• Guardian, Donald A. - No
• Haider, Shama A. - Yes
• Jaffer, Sadaf F. - Yes
• Jasey, Mila M. - Yes
• Jimenez, Angelica M. - Yes
• Karabinchak, Robert J. - Yes
• Kean, Sean T. - Not Voting
• Kennedy, James J. - Yes
• Lampitt, Pamela R. - Yes
• Lopez, Yvonne - Yes
• Matsikoudis, Michele - No
• McCarthy Patrick, Bethanne - Not Voting
• McClellan, Antwan L. - No
• McCoy, Tennille R. - Yes
• McGuckin, Gregory P. - No
• McKeon, John F. - Yes
• McKnight, Angela V. - Yes
• Mejia, Pedro - Yes
• Moen, William F. - Yes
• Moriarty, Paul D. - Yes
• Mosquera, Gabriela M. - Yes
• Mukherji, Raj - Yes
• Munoz, Nancy F. - No
• Murphy, Carol A. - Yes
• Park, Ellen J. - Yes
• Peterson, Erik - No
• Pintor Marin, Eliana - Yes
• Piperno, Marilyn - Yes
• Quijano, Annette - Yes
• Reynolds-Jackson, Verlina - Yes
• Rooney, Kevin J. - Yes
• Rumpf, Brian E. - No
• Sampson, William B. - Yes
• Sauickie, Alex - No
• Sawyer, Beth - No
• Schaer, Gary S. - Yes
• Scharfenberger, Gerry - No
• Simonsen, Erik K. - No
• Space, Parker - No
• Spearman, William W. - Yes
• Speight, Shanique - Yes
• Stanley, Sterley S. - Yes
• Sumter, Shavonda E. - Yes
• Swain, Lisa - Not Voting
• Swift, Claire S. - No
• Thomson, Edward H. - Yes
• Timberlake, Britnee N. - Yes
• Torrissi, Michael - No
• Tucker, Cleopatra G. - Yes
• Tully, Chris - Not Voting
• Umba, Brandon E. - No
• Verrelli, Anthony S. - Yes
• Webber, Jay - No
• Wimberly, Benjie E. - Yes
• Wirths, Harold J. - No
• Yustein, Jacqueline S. - Yes

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