On Tuesday, November 6, 2007, the people of New Jersey will go to the polls to elect 40 state Senators and 80 Members of the General Assembly. On Tuesday, January 8, 2008, the 213th Legislature of the State of New Jersey will begin its first Annual Session. With, at a minimum, 12 new state Senators and 22 new members of the General Assembly, who knows what to expect? But, right now is the time to consider what will occur between those two dates, when the 212th meets in its “Lame Duck” session.

Over the summer, I asked our Legislative Relations Team to think about how we can best prepare for those crucial two months of intense, and often unpredictable, action. You can read the results of some of their thoughts in their “Legislative Update” column, elsewhere in this magazine. And you can expect more from them in our December issue.

When our Legislators return to Trenton, sometime after the election, you can count on timely and complete analysis of public policy developments in my letters, faxes and e-mails.

Finally, Mike Cerra of our staff turned a good idea into a reality with a new feature on our website. I urge you to visit www.njslom.org/leginfocenter.html, our new Legislative Information Center, for the latest updates on bills affecting municipal government. You might want to bookmark the page and return to it frequently, as the feathers begin to fly in the lame duck session following the elections.

Editorial from New Jersey Municipalities, Volume 84, Number 8, November 2007