Bob Smith (born March 25, 1947) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician, who has been serving in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

State Senate since 2002, where he represents the 17th Legislative District. Smith was elected to his first Senate term in November 2001 to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of John Lynch. Smith serves in the Senate on the Environment Committee (as Chair) and the Judiciary Committee.

Early life

Smith received a B.A. degree in 1969 from the University of Scranton in History, an M.S. in 1970 from the University of Scranton in Chemistry, an M.S. in 1973 from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

in Environmental Science and was awarded a J.D. in 1981 from the Seton Hall University School of Law. Smith taught environmental science and chemistry at Middlesex County College for 15 years. By profession, Senator Smith is an attorney. Smith served as Mayor of

Piscataway, New Jersey Piscataway () is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of the New York metropolitan area, in the Raritan Valley. At the 2010 United States Census, the population was 56,044, an increase of 5,562 (+11.0%) fr ...

from 1981 to 1986, served on the Piscataway Township Council from 1977 to 1980, its Planning Board from 1975 to 1986 (as its Chair in 1976) and on the Piscataway Environmental Committee from 1971 to 1975.

New Jersey Assembly

Before being elected to the State Senate, Smith served in the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

, from 1986 to 2001. In the Assembly, Smith served as the Deputy Minority Leader from 1994 to 1995 and as the Parliamentarian from 1988 to 1989.

New Jersey Senate

Smith sponsored and passed laws dealing with such matters as increasing penalties for violations of environmental laws, repairing outmoded combined sewer systems, and reforming the state's oil spill prevention efforts. Senator Smith's legislative accomplishments include authoring the Ocean Pollution Bounty Act, Sludge Management Act, Oil Spill Prevention Act, the Worker and Community Right to Know Act and the Clean Water Enforcement Act. He has sought the enactment of laws affording greater protection to child victims of abuse and sponsored bills to increase the penalties for carjacking. In 2020, he was one of the co-sponsors of Assembly Bill 4454 (now N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.36a) which requires that a curriculum on diversity and inclusion be part of the school curriculum for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the 2022—23 Legislative Session session are:Senator Bob Smith (D)

. Accessed May 11, 2022. *Environment and Energy, Chair *Judiciary

District 17

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 17th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:Legislative Roster for District 17

. Accessed May 11, 2022. *Senator Bob Smith (D) *Assemblyman

Joseph Danielsen Joseph Danielsen is an American Democratic Party politician, who represents the 17th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he has served since October 16, 2014, after being appointed to fill the vacant seat of Upendra J. ...

(D) *Assemblyman

Joseph V. Egan Joseph V. Egan (born February 27, 1938) is an American Democratic Party politician, who represents the 17th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he has served since 2002. Egan has served in the General Assembly as th ...

(D)

Electoral history

Senate

Assembly

References

External links

Senator Smith's legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
20112010200920082007200620052004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bob 1947 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Mayors of places in New Jersey New Jersey lawyers Democratic Party New Jersey state senators People from Piscataway, New Jersey Politicians from Middlesex County, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Seton Hall University School of Law alumni University of Scranton alumni 21st-century American politicians