John McKeon’s likely ascension to the State Senate next year opens up one of the Assembly’s most consequential committee chairs, Financial Institutions and Insurance.
If Democrats retain control of the lower house after the November general election, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin alone will pick McKeon’s successor. New Jersey’s legislative leaders are among the most powerful in the nation; the ability to handpick every committee chair – something Congress does not do – is one of the reasons for the wide-ranging authority.
At least three Democrats currently serving on Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee are top contenders for the chair: Roy Freiman (D-Hillsborough), who spent 25 years in the financial services industry; Gary Schaer (D-Passaic), who chaired the committee for six years; and Assembly Majority Whip Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel), who would be the first woman to chair the panel.
The committee has jurisdiction over “banking, finance, trusts and estates, auto insurance, liability insurance, life insurance, product liability, property insurance, and tort reform,” according to the Assembly Democratic website. Financial Institutions is among a small number of committees that attract substantial donors; a federal appellate court decision in 2022 ended a ban on the New Jersey Bankers Association making campaign contributions and independent expenditures.
McKeon assumed the gavel in 2018 after Coughlin gave up the post to become Speaker. Coughlin got the job after the 2013 election when Schaer took the helm of the Budget Committee, a slot that became available when Vincent Prieto became Speaker.