Paul Kramer (September 6, 1933 – June 16, 2020) was an American Republican Party politician. He served four terms in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

, where he represented the 14th Legislative District from 1992 to 2000. He was best known for sponsoring New Jersey's

Megan's Law Megan's Law is the name for a federal law (and informal name for subsequent state laws) in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Laws were creat ...

that created a statewide sex offender registry follow the

murder of Megan Kanka The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka (December 7, 1986 – July 29, 1994) occurred in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured h ...

, a seven-year-old girl.

Early career

Kramer earned his undergraduate degree from

Rider College Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...

, where he majored in Accounting. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from 1952 to 1956. He was employed as Finance Director of

Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, the state's capital, which is located to the township's west. The township is within the New York metropolitan area as defined ...

. Kramer served from 1966 to 1976 as the Assistant Comptroller for the City of Trenton, was chair of the Hamilton Township Improvement Authority from 1980 to 1984 and was a member of the Mercer County

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...

from 1985 to 1992.,

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 ...

. Accessed June 8, 2010.

Assemblyman

Kramer was elected to the General Assembly in 1991 together with Barbara Wright, in a wave of Republican victories following voter dissatisfaction with Democratic

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

James Florio James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...

. The two were re-elected in 1993, 1995 and 1997.NJ Assembly 14 – History
OurCampaigns.com. Accessed June 8, 2010. Kramer served in the Assembly on the Banking and Insurance Committee and the Labor Committee, and was Assistant Majority Leader starting in 1998. In the 1999 election, Kramer and Wright were narrowly defeated by Democrats

Linda R. Greenstein Linda R. Greenstein (born June 7, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who has served since 2010 as a member of the New Jersey Senate representing the 14th legislative district. She previously served in the General Assembly from 2000 t ...

and

Gary Guear Gary L. Guear, Sr. (born October 24, 1951) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2000 to 2004, where he represented the 14th Legislative District. Biography Guear served in the Assembly o ...

, with the incumbents losing votes in Hamilton Township, where Democrat Glen Gilmore won the race for mayor. The two losses were among the three seats Republicans lost in the Assembly in the 1999 elections, though they retained their majority.Peterson, Iver
"On Politics; Making Headway, Democrats Look Toward Two Big Ones"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 7, 1999. Accessed June 8, 2010. Kramer and Wright ran again in 2001, losing for a second time to Greenstein and Guear. Kramer was the Assembly sponsor in 1994 of a package of seven bills known as

that were approved one month after the rape and murder of Hamilton Township seven-year-old

Megan Kanka The murder of Megan Nicole Kanka (December 7, 1986 – July 29, 1994) occurred in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Seven-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, after he lured ...

by Jesse Timmendequas, a sex offender who had been previously convicted of sex crimes and had lived, together with two other sex offenders, across the street from Kanka. The bills required

sex offender registry A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...

, with a database tracked by the state, community notification of registered sex offenders moving into a neighborhood, and life in prison without a chance of parole for those convicted of a second sexual assault. Kramer expressed incredulity at the controversy created by the bills, saying that "Megan Kanka would be alive today" if the bills he proposed had been law. He died on June 16, 2020, in Hamilton Township, New Jersey at age 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Paul 1933 births 2020 deaths County commissioners in New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey People from Trenton, New Jersey Politicians from Mercer County, New Jersey Rider University alumni United States Air Force officers Military personnel from New Jersey