Former Senator Loretta Weinberg was elected to the New Jersey State Senate (District 37) in November 2005 and served until 2022. She served as the Senate Majority Leader from 2012 to 2022 and was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As Vice Chair of the Legislative Oversight Committee and Co-Chair of the select legislative committee, she oversaw the investigation of “Bridgegate,” and the investigation of sexual harassment and misogny within the State. Senator Weinberg also served on the New Jersey Israel Commission, the State Historical Commission and the State Legislative Services Commission. She was appointed by the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court to an ad hoc committee to look at domestic violence and the court system.
Prior to joining the State Senate, she also served in the New Jersey General Assembly for 14 years where she was the prime sponsor of legislation that lowered the legal alcohol level to .08 in New Jersey, and the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, which prohibited smoking in indoor public places and workplaces. She co-sponsored landmark legislation requiring health insurance companies to pay for at least 48 hours of hospital care for new mothers and their babies; and created the Governor's Advisory Council on Adolescent Pregnancy.
As a Senator, Weinberg has sponsored numerous gun violence prevention measures. She was the prime sponsor of the 2002 Childproof Handgun Law designed to help spur the development of personalized handgun technology. Senator Weinberg was the prime sponsor of legislation to enhance protections for domestic violence victims by restricting access to firearms by offenders. She has also sponsored legislation to reduce the legal maximum capacity of ammunition magazines in New Jersey to 10 rounds.
The Senator, who wants to see “a whole bunch of trouble makers following in my (her) footsteps” is still active in NJ politics.
