Cardinale Supports Gov. Christie's Call for Constitutional Amendment

Senator Gerald Cardinale, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement supporting Governor Christie’s call for a constitutional amendment to clarify that the Judiciary must pay more for their pension and health benefits:

“I support the Governor’s call for an amendment to address the recent court decision that found that the Judiciary is exempt from the higher contribution requirements in the recently passed pension and health benefits reforms.       This is fundamentally an issue of fairness, all public employees are making sacrifices, and judges should not be set apart as a special, privileged class of employee; the Judiciary.

“A constitutional amendment is appropriate in this case to reestablish equity between the various pension systems. A constitutional amendment cannot take effect unless the people approve it in a statewide voter referendum.”

The state constitution prohibits judicial salaries from being reduced in order to preserve the independence of New Jersey’s courts. Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg ruled last week that making judges pay more for their pensions is essentially a salary reduction.

Christie is appealing Feinberg's ruling.