A recent Appellate Division decision sheds new light on legislative-executive relations. Article VII, section I, paragraph 2 of our state Constitution constitutionalizes the civil service system in New Jersey and provides: “Appointments and promotions in the civil service of the State, and of such political subdivisions as may be provided by law, shall be made according to merit and fitness to be ascertained, as far as practicable, by examination, which, as far as practicable, shall be competitive…” This provision, dating from 1947, has been implemented by extensive statutory law.

In 1992 we amended our state Constitution to add article V, section IV, paragraph 6, to authorize the “legislative veto” of administrative agency rules. This veto is to be accomplished by a concurrent resolution “finding that an existing or proposed rule or regulation is not consistent with the legislative intent” of the law the regulation purports to implement. This is a more exacting justification than simple legislative disagreement with executive implementation of a statute. The process, which bypasses the governor’s veto power, had been struck down by the New Jersey Supreme Court in the 1982 case of General Assembly v. Byrne. After an earlier defeat at the polls of a similar constitutional amendment, the 1992 provision was adopted. Legislative power was enhanced in relation to executive power and represented a slight readjustment of our Constitution’s “strong governor” model.

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