Cambria v. Soaries

759 A.2d 1256, 334 N.J. Super. 488, 2000 N.J. Super. LEXIS 376
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedAugust 4, 2000
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 759 A.2d 1256 (Cambria v. Soaries) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cambria v. Soaries, 759 A.2d 1256, 334 N.J. Super. 488, 2000 N.J. Super. LEXIS 376 (N.J. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

FEINBERG, A.J.S.C.

ISSUE

The single issue presented is whether Article IX of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey, which provides the manner in which Constitutional amendments are presented to the public for approval at general elections, precludes the defendants from certifying and placing on the November 2000 ballot a single public question that asks New Jersey voters to approve a Constitutional amendment which would dedicate revenues from two separate State taxes to New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On July 24, 2000, plaintiffs, Judith Cambria and The League of Women Voters of New Jersey, Inc., filed a verified complaint in lieu of prerogative writ and an order to show cause seeking temporary restraints against DeForest B. Soaries, Secretary of State of New Jersey, and John F. Farmer, Jr., Attorney General of New Jersey. Plaintiffs’ verified complaint demands: (1) declaratory relief pursuant to N.J.S. A. 2A:16-51, declaring the proposed public question unconstitutional; (2) preliminary and final injunctive relief, pursuant to R. 4:52 and R. 4:69-3, enjoining the Secretary of State from certifying the proposed public question on the ballot unless and until all constitutional problems have been cured; and (3) preliminary and final injunctive relief, pursuant to R. 4:52 and R. 4:69-3, enjoining the Attorney General from causing or permitting any ballot which contains the proposed public question to be prepared and distributed unless and until all constitutional problems have been cured.

Following a telephonic conference with the parties on July 24, 2000, the court signed an order: (1) denying temporary restraints[491]*4911; (2) permitting the order to show cause to issue in lieu of a summons; (3) establishing a briefing schedule; and (4) scheduling the matter for disposition of the merits of the verified complaint on Friday, August 4, 2000.2

BACKGROUND

On June 26, 2000, the New Jersey State Senate approved, by a vote of 37 to 1, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1 (the “Resolution”). Three days later, the New Jersey State Assembly approved the Resolution by a vote of 78 to 1. The Resolution proposes to amend Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 4 of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.

Adopted by the voters on November 6, 1984 and amended by the voters on November 7, 1995, paragraph 4 presently provides for the dedication of revenue derived from $0,025 per gallon from the tax imposed on the sale of motor fuels pursuant to chapter 39 of Title 54 to a special account of the Transportation Trust Fund (“TTF”). These funds are dedicated for the purpose of “paying or financing the cost of planning, acquisition, engineering, construction, reconstruction, repair and rehabilitation of the transportation system in the State____”3 N.J. Const, art. VIII, § II, 114.

[492]*492The concurrent Resolution, approved by the Legislature last month, proposes to amend paragraph 4 to allow for the continued dedication of money in the General Fund to the TTF. The proffered amendment, however, proposes to amend paragraph 4 to create three subparagraphs. If the amendment is adopted, the amount dedicated to the TTF will be the equivalent of: (1) $0.09 (instead of $0.025) per gallon of motor fuels tax raised for each fiscal year commencing on or after July 1,1999; (2) an amount not less than $100,000,000 of annual revenues derived from the petroleum products’ gross receipts tax pursuant to N.J.S.A 54:15B-1 to -3 during this fiscal year and, not less than $200,000,000 during each fiscal year thereafter; and (3) an amount not less than $80,000,000 derived from the anniial revenues generated by the sales and use tax4 pursuant to N.J.S.A 54:32B-1 to -3 during the next fiscal year, not less than $140,000,000 during the following fiscal year and not less than $200,000,000 each fiscal year thereafter.

The record reflects that prior to final approval of the Resolution by the Legislature, Judith Cambria and the League of Woman Voters of New Jersey, Inc. (the “League”)5 voiced their objections to the combination of these two provisions into a single Constitutional amendment.

[493]*493 ARGUMENTS

Plaintiffs assert that the Resolution violates Article IX, paragraph 5 of the Constitution, which requires that “more than one amendment be submitted ... in such a manner and form that the people may vote for or against each amendment separately and distinctly.” According to the plaintiffs, in its present form, the Resolution deprives voters of their right to vote separately on each amendment by forcing the public to either approve or disapprove of the dedication of both revenue streams. In essence, plaintiffs assert that Article IX, paragraph 5 establishes a single subject or single object rule that precludes this all or nothing choice imposed by the Legislature.

Not surprisingly, the defendants disagree for two reasons. First, defendants contend that paragraphs 1 and 5 of Article IX do not impose a single subject standard and that the proposed amendment may be presented to the voters as a single public question. Second, defendants assert that even if Article IX is viewed as imposing a single object standard, the public question is valid because it presents consideration of a single amendment in the form of one question.

As to the first issue, the defendants assert that the sole check on the content of the Legislature’s proposals is the super-majority/successive majority requirement set forth in paragraph 1 of Article IX. Defendants contend that Article IX, paragraph 1 is otherwise a broad, expansive grant of power that stands in “sharp contrast” to other Constitutional provisions, such as Article IV, Section VII, paragraph 4 and Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 3, which unequivocally restrict the Legislature’s ability to address multiple topics in one piece of legislation.

Defendants assert that the language “[i]f more than one amendment be submitted, they shall be submitted in such a manner and form that the people may vote for or against each amendment separately and distinctly,” is limited to the adoption of multiple amendments by the Legislature. Importantly, defendants assert that this paragraph addresses the “quantity of concurrent resolu[494]*494tions approved by the Legislature in any given year, not the content of those resolutions.” (Def.’s Br. at 11).

Relying on the established practice and authority of the Legislature to submit to the voters constitutional amendments that address more than one object, defendants cite numerous examples in which multiple topics have been presented in the form of a single amendment, without challenge. New Jersey Ass’n on Correction v. Lan, 80 N.J. 199, 403 A.2d 437 (1979).

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Related

Cambria v. Soaries
776 A.2d 754 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2001)

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Bluebook (online)
759 A.2d 1256, 334 N.J. Super. 488, 2000 N.J. Super. LEXIS 376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cambria-v-soaries-njsuperctappdiv-2000.