Supreme Court Will Review Redd v. Bowman

The Supreme Court announced this morning that it has granted certification to review the decision in Redd v. Bowman, 433 N.J. Super. 178 (App. Div. 2013).  The Appellate Division’s decision is discussed here.  The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office, is “Was this petition-initiated ordinance (which would have required the City of Camden to maintain its police department) invalid, such that it could not be placed on the ballot, because it created an undue restraint on the future exercise of municipal legislative power?”

This is a Faulkner Act case.  The Court will hear oral argument in another Faulkner Act referendum case, Tumpson v. Farina, discussed here, on March 31.  [Disclosure:  My firm, Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC, represents the municipal parties in Tumpson.]  The Court’s decisions in those two cases will go a long way toward illuminating how referenda in Faulkner Act municipalities are to be handled.