New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate

State of New Jersey
Department of the Public Advocate
Agency overview
Formed1974 (abolished 1994, reinstated 2005, abolished 2010)
Superseding agency
JurisdictionNew Jersey
Headquarters240 West State Street, 16th Floor, Trenton, N.J. 08625
Agency executive
  • None
Websitehttp://www.state.nj.us/publicadvocate/

The New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate was a department within the Executive branch of the government of New Jersey that acted as a voice on behalf of the people of the state. It was responsible to make government "more accountable and responsive to the needs of New Jersey residents" through legal advocacy, policy research and reform and community and legislative outreach.

The department was originally created in 1974 (NJ P.L. 1974, c. 27[1]) by Governor Brendan Byrne.[2] The first Public Advocate was Stanley Van Ness.[2]

The agency was dissolved in 1994 (NJ P.L. 1994, c. 58[3]).[4] The New Jersey Legislature passed the Public Advocate Restoration Act (NJ P.L. 2005, c. 155) in 2005, which was signed into law on July 12, 2005, by Governor Richard Codey.[5]

In 2006, Governor Jon Corzine appointed Ronald Chen to serve as the first Public Advocate since the position had been abolished in 1994.[6]

The previous Public Advocate was Zulima Farber, who served as state Public Advocate from 1992 to 1994 in the Cabinet of former Governor James Florio.[7]

Wilfredo Caraballo served as Public Advocate from 1990 to 1992, resigning in protest of Republican Party efforts in the legislature to reduce his powers.[8]

Upon entering office as governor in early 2010, Republican Chris Christie began plotting the elimination of this department.[9] On June 29, 2010, Governor Christie signed into law NJ P.L. 2010, c. 34,[10] which abolished the Department of the Public Advocate, transferring some offices and divisions to other departments, and abolishing others.[11][12]

  1. ^ Department of Public Advocate--establishes, New Jersey State Library
  2. ^ a b Murphy, Fredrick (July 1977). "Government Under Class". Black Enterprise. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  3. ^ Public Advocate Restructuring Act, New Jersey State Library
  4. ^ Hevisi, Dennis (27 September 2007). "Stanley Van Ness, State Public Advocate, Dies at 73". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  5. ^ Restores Department of the Public Advocate as principal department in Executive Branch. **, New Jersey State Library
  6. ^ Chan, Sewell. "Metro Briefing", The New York Times, January 6, 2006. Accessed June 20, 2008. "Governor-elect Jon S. Corzine nominated Ronald Chen yesterday to serve as public advocate and Lisa Jackson to head the Department of Environmental Protection."
  7. ^ "FLORIO TAPS ATTORNEY FOR ADVOCATE JOB", The Record (Bergen County), July 24, 1992. Accessed June 20, 2008. "Zulima V. Farber, an attorney and former assistant Bergen County prosecutor, was nominated Thursday by Governor Florio to become New Jersey's public advocate and public defender."
  8. ^ Gray, Jerry. " Public Advocate Quits in Trenton Over Cutbacks", The New York Times, July 2, 1992. Accessed June 20, 2008. "Public Advocate Wilfredo Caraballo announced his resignation today, saying that Republican budget cuts had weakened the effectiveness of his office, which is the voice of citizens with complaints about government.... Mr. Florio appointed Mr. Caraballo to the posts of Public Advocate and Public Defender in early 1990, recruiting him from Seton Hall Law School, where he was dean."
  9. ^ "FY 2010 Budget Solutions Press Release" (PDF). 11 Feb 2010. Retrieved 14 Feb 2010. [dead link‍]
  10. ^ Abolishes the Department of the Public Advocate and transfers certain functions, powers and duties, New Jersey State Library
  11. ^ "Public Advocate". New Jersey State Library. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  12. ^ N.J. Stat. Ann. § 52:27EE-86 (Rutgers 2010)