With time running out, New Jersey state legislators continue to bat a gay marriage bill between the assembly and senate.
The last time TPM checked in with the Garden State, a Senate committee had passed the bill. But its sponsors, Sens. Ray Lesniak and Loretta Weinberg, requested that the full Senate delay its vote until an Assembly committee could also hold a hearing, presumably over concerns that the bill did not yet have the votes for passage.
That hearing was reportedly scheduled for today. But Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts announced on New Year’s Eve that he would not hold the hearing. Instead, he said the full Assembly will vote on the bill — but only after the Senate passes it.
The problem for gay marriage supporters is that both houses must pass the bill before Jan. 19, the day Gov.-elect Chris Christie takes office. And legislature only has two voting sessions before that date — this Thursday and the following Monday. (Christie has vowed to veto such a bill, while current Gov. Jon Corzine has promised to sign it.)
A Senate Democratic source tells TPM that Senate President Dick Codey will likely post the bill for a vote after he receives an official request by the sponsors. That discussion has not yet happened.
Although Democrats hold a majority in both the Assembly and Senate, not all of their votes are guaranteed. They have 23 seats in the Senate, for example, and need only 21 to pass the bill — but two Democratic senators voted against it in committee.
New Jersey recognizes civil unions for gay couples.
Late update: Lesniak, one of the bill’s sponsors, tells TPM that he and his co-sponsor have both spoken to the Senate president’s office and asked that a vote be held. We’ll let you know when the president schedules the vote.
Lesniak is as uncertain as anyone when it comes to the bill’s chances for passage. “I don’t think we’ll know what the chances are until it’s voted on.”
And if the measure fails, he said he will take the matter to the courts. “[We’ll] get the New Jersey Supreme Court to do what the legislature wouldn’t,” he said.
