Assemblyman Joseph J. Roberts, Jr.

Speaker Roberts was born July, 14, 1952. He graduated from Rutgers University and received his Masters of Government Administration at the Fels School of Government, University of Pennsylvania, in 1986.



He served on the Camden County Board of Freeholders from 1980 through 1987, and was the freeholder director four of those years. He served on the Bellmawr Board of Education and the borough council prior to becoming a freeholder.



From 1979 to 1984, he was an aide for then-Congressman James J. Florio. Assemblyman Roberts also has served as a board president of Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Camden County, a director of the United Way of Camden County, a board member of the South Jersey Performing Arts Center and a member of the Bellmawr Fire and Rescue Squad.



Assemblyman Roberts won a special election to fill the unexpired term of former Assemblyman Francis J. Gorman, who died July 8, 1987. Assemblyman Roberts took his seat September 10, 1987, and has won re-election nine times. He has served as Majority Leader in the General Assembly since January 2002.



The Assemblyman led the 2004 passage of a comprehensive legislative package that strengthened the state's campaign finance and ethics laws, including a "Clean Elections" measure that calls for a pilot program of publicity financing in the 2005 and 2007 legislative elections. He spearheaded legislation aimed at curbing medical malpractice cost and preserving patients' rights and access to health care. He sponsored the 2004 law that made New Jersey the fifth state to recognize domestic partnerships. He coauthored the landmark Municipal Rehabilitation and Economic Recover Act to revitalize the City of Camden and other distressed urban areas. An avid property tax reform advocate, he jointly sponsored the 1999 laws that created the Regional Efficiency Aid Program and the Regional Efficiency Development Incentive program, award-winning initiatives that encouraged New Jersey's municipalities and school districts to consolidate, regionalize or shared services.



Speaker Roberts currently serves on the Legislative Services Commission.