Senator Will Also Serve as Vice-Chair of Environment and Public Safety Committees
TRENTON – Senator Linda R. Greenstein has been named the Assistant Majority Leader for the New Jersey State Senate as well as the Vice-Chairwoman of both the Senate’s Energy and Environment Committee and Law and Public Safety Committee for the 2012-2013 Legislative Session.
“It is a great honor to be able to serve the people of the state as well as those within my district as the Assistant Majority Leader in the Senate and I will continue my commitment to creating jobs and putting New Jerseyans back to work during these tough economic times,” said Senator Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer). “We must continue to focus our attention in a bipartisan manner to revitalize the economy and fight for the working class, making sure that all New Jerseyans can find good jobs and have the ability to provide for themselves and their families.”
Senator Greenstein served as a member of the five-member Energy and Environment Committee during the last legislative session. She has been outspoken against the Christie Administration’s decision to pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which promotes clean energy throughout the Northeast. Senator Greenstein has supported efforts to decrease the state’s reliance on fossil fuels by promoting electric cars and has advocated for making clean and renewable energy a priority for New Jersey by increasing the state’s renewable energy portfolio.
“I look forward to serving in this capacity of Vice-Chairwoman of the Energy and Environment Committee and to fight to make New Jersey a leader not only throughout the United States, but across the world in renewable and clean energy sources,” Senator Greenstein said. “With sound legislation we can continue to decrease the state’s reliance on fossil fuels and increase the state’s usage of renewable energy such as wind and solar, all while encouraging a green-business-friendly economy that will create jobs from engineering and design to manufacturing and construction to marketing and sales.”
Senator Greenstein, an attorney, has a strong legislative track record of protecting New Jersey’s children and families. She was a prime sponsor of “Caylee’s Law,” which was signed into law on Monday, making it a felony for failing to report the disappearance of a child within 24 hours. She has also sponsored legislation expanding Megan’s Law, which protects children from known sex offenders. Senator Greenstein is the prime Senate sponsor of Jessica’s Law that would protect New Jerseyans against drivers with road rage, legislation that she has fought for both during her tenure in the General Assembly and now in the Senate.
“As the Vice-Chairwoman of the Law and Public Safety Committee, I will work to protect New Jersey’s most vulnerable,” Senator Greenstein added. “Advocating for New Jersey’s children and seniors is something I am proud to have done throughout my tenure as a Legislator and I am honored to be able to continue this advocacy in my new position in the Law and Public Safety Committee.”
Senator Greenstein is the author of New Jersey’s tough anti-telemarketing law. She has also sponsored legislation increasing school bus safety and calling for a State Constitutional Convention for property tax reform.
Senator Greenstein was sworn into the State Senate on December 6, 2010, one month after winning a special election to fill an unexpired term. She was sworn in for her first full term in the Senate on Monday. Senator Greenstein was serving her sixth term in the Assembly when she was elected to the Upper House.
Senator Greenstein will also serve as a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee – a position she has held since being sworn into the Senate in 2010.