A bill that would give the state Attorney General's Office and director of the Division on Civil Rights the authority to initiate Superior Court actions on matters that they believe are in violation of New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

In such cases where no plaintiff has filed suit, it would be up to the AG and director of the division whether to move forward on litigation, according to the measure.

The measure reaffirms their authority to enforce the LAD, said the bill's primary sponsors: Sens. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, and Sandra Cunningham, D-Hudson.

S-3878 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by an 8-2 vote, with one abstention.

The Assembly version, A-5394, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester/Camden, and Angela McNight, D-Hudson, passed the Assembly State and Local Government Committee on Dec. 9, 2019, by a 4-0 vote with one abstention. It has yet to be scheduled for a full Assembly vote.

"We have a very strong Law Against Discrimination in New Jersey," Weinberg, the Senate Majority Leader and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during a recess in the Senate's voting session on Thursday. "We've got constitutional protections, and we want to make sure that they're done clearly, and I think this bill will help."

Weinberg said S-3878 would provide for proactive steps to enforce and protect the civil rights of the state's residents.

The bill clarifies that prevailing plaintiffs in a Superior Court action under the LAD may seek and obtain the same injunctive relief that the director may award in an administrative proceeding under that law.

Additionally, the measure clarifies that the attorney general or director may seek and obtain penalties authorized under the LAD, or alternatively, punitive damages "payable to the state."

The bill also would mandate an award of attorney fees, and litigation and investigation costs, in Superior Court actions under the LAD if the attorney general or the director is the prevailing plaintiff. "Under current law, any prevailing party in a LAD action may be awarded, but is not ensured, a reasonable attorney's fee," the bill's statement says.

The bill also revises the LAD section authorizing Superior Court actions against local governments for discriminatory land use or housing regulations, providing that such actions may be brought by the attorney general or the director.

Ruiz said she was struck by an article she read last year about Pine Valley—a town made up largely of a golf course, and the second-smallest municipality in New Jersey—that allows only men to be members and buy homes there. Women are barred from owning homes and can only golf there on Sunday afternoons. The article, titled, "Inside NJ's exclusive, tiny town where only men who golf can own homes," appeared on nj.com last January.

"This seems so archaic and doesn't make sense," Ruiz said. "After reading that story, I just felt like it was 1896. I can't believe it was happening here in this state."

Ruiz said she called the AG's office and asked what she could do, and she decided to craft legislation.

The AG and Division on Civil Rights director "can't litigate something unless there's someone [a private plaintiff] who brings it on," said Ruiz during Thursday's Senate voting session. "With this piece of legislation, it would allow the office to bring litigation in cases like this so the state can actually pursue it."

"This allows the AG office to initiate action, which will be helpful in many other cases," Ruiz added. "This just creates equity for a class of people who will not necessarily pursue action on their own behalf, but if the attorney general sees that there's some inequity that's occurring that they will take action on behalf of those disenfranchised communities."

S-3878 would also revise the provision of the LAD authorizing the award of certain penalties to reflect the possibility that those penalties may be awarded by the Superior Court, not only in administrative proceedings.

Remedies could be sought by the government on behalf of victims, the measure provides.