Lawmakers seek overhaul of Office of Legislative Services, starting with replacement of top staffers

A shakeup is coming at the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services, where lawmakers from both parties are preparing to oust two top staffers.

The Legislative Services Commission has scheduled a special meeting for Friday to authorize a search committee to find a replacement for Peri A. Horowitz, the OLS executive director, and for the legislative counsel, Jason Krajewski.

Horowitz and Krajewski have not sought to leave, and their replacement will be involuntary.

The New Jersey Globe has learned that Democrats and Republicans have agreed that they want new leadership in the OLS.  Lawmakers cited negative interactions with the senior staff and dissatisfaction with their work.  Over the last few years, legislative leaders have become concerned with a growing number of “clean-up bills” needed to repair deficiencies in original legislation.

The Office of Legislative Services has over 300 employees providing support staff to the New Jersey Legislature.

Horowitz and Krajewski both joined OLS in 2015.  Horowitz had worked at the New York City Campaign Finance Board and Krajewski served in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served as deputy legal counsel in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In the past, the executive director post had been held by legends: Albert Porroni worked for the Office of Legislative Services for 42 years until his retirement in 2014; and Samuel A. Alito, Sr., the father of the U.S. Supreme Court Justice, worked for OLS for 31 years and was Porroni’s predecessor.

The office historically had the respect of both parties, but Gov. Chris Christie began to criticize OLS as a took of Democratic legislative leaders.   He had dubbed the OLS budget officer, David Rosen, as the “Dr. Kevorkian of Numbers.”

The Legislative Services Commission, which runs OLS, is made up of sixteen members: four Democrats and four Republicans from the Senate and four Democrats and four Republicans from the Assembly.

Horowitz did not immediately return a 10:50 AM call to her office.

Update – Statement from Krajewski: “I would like to express my gratitude to Senate President Sweeney, Senate Minority Leader Kean, and the Legislative Services Commission for the opportunity they provided me to serve the Legislature and my home state as Legislative Counsel.  Over the past 6 years the Legislature has faced many unprecedented challenges and constitutional questions.  During the past 22 months alone, under the pressure of a global pandemic, we identified legally defensible ways to change the state fiscal year, to conduct remote and transparent legislative committee meetings and to conduct reliable remote voting sessions to continue to deliver critical legislation necessary to improve the lives of the citizens of New Jersey. “

“While I regret that my tenure as Legislative Counsel is drawing to an end, I respect the prerogative of Legislative leadership and the Commission to go in another direction. It is an unhappy circumstance of the Legislative Counsel position that someone is always dissatisfied with the opinions and advice I am asked to provide, but I hope on reflection Legislators and senior staff will value and speak favorably of my unwavering dedication, at any hour and under any circumstance to providing useful, thoughtful and  definitive legal advice and my unfailing commitment to protecting the best interests of the Legislature as an independent and co-equal branch of our State government.”