By Trish Graber- NJ Senate Democrats- January 13, 2012

TRENTON – Senator Donald Norcross (D-Camden/Gloucester) has been appointed to the position of Senate Assistant Majority Leader and selected to serve as chair of the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee for the 2012-2013 Legislative Session.

“I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve the residents of the district in my new role as Assistant Majority Leader and to lead this important committee,” said Senator Norcross. “During my time as vice chair, we worked on legislation to address public safety issues in municipalities across the state, which have seen a drastic reduction in revenue as a result of the economic recession and massive layoffs of law enforcement officers and firefighters. I look forward to continuing my work in this area to improve the safety of our residents, reduce costs to our towns and cities and support our public safety officers, as well as other critical issues affecting our communities.”

While serving as Vice Chair of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee in the 2010-2011 session, Senator Norcross sponsored a law to modify the state's Drug Offender Restraining Order (DORO) statute to equip law enforcement officials with new tools to keep drug dealers off the streets. He sponsored laws to help laid-off law enforcement officers and firefighters get back to work sooner and save hiring agencies training-related costs. In addition, Senator Norcross sponsored a law providing $139 million in state aid to struggling cities this fiscal year to fund critical needs, including those related to public safety.

“I am proud of the legislative action we took to improve the safety and security of our state over the previous two years, and look forward to working on initiatives across the public safety spectrum to improve the quality of life for our residents, as well as the economic health of our state, in the new legislative session,” said Senator Norcross. “There are a number of areas where I believe we can do things more effectively and in a more cost-conscious way. Especially given the slow economic recovery of the state, it is critical that we take a hard look at modernization and reform efforts that will increase revenue and cut taxpayer costs.”

The Senate Law & Public Committee has jurisdiction over a broad range of legislative subjects, including police, fire, EMS and corrections services, criminal sentencing laws and prisoner reentry, the state’s liquor license structure and disaster preparedness.

In addition to his new position as Law and Public Safety chairman, Senator Norcross will continue his service on the Senate Military & Veterans Affairs Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee in 2012-2013 Legislative Session.