Senate Judiciary Committee releases Rutgers board and four Superior Court nominations to full Senate

The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 25, 2024, voted to release the nomination of George Halmi to the Rutgers University Board of Governors and advanced several Superior Court nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.

George Halmi, nominated for a seat on the Rutgers University Board of Governors, told the committee he brought experience in government and running large organizations and stressed the range of challenges facing higher education. "These are challenges that are gonna continue to confront leadership at institutions of higher education across the country," Halmi said, citing transparency, protests, tuition increases, faculty and student retention and declining enrollment. He referenced historic controversies at Rutgers — including a recent labor strike and multiple investigations — as part of those challenges.

Halmi told the panel he favored separate, targeted searches for top university posts rather than one combined search, saying the university needs "a world class athletic director who's gonna fix some of the challenges outlined in the Lowenstein report," a general counsel familiar with state and federal relationships, and the best available candidate for president. He proposed more systematic reporting to the Legislature: "I believe that greater connectivity, oversight, and engagement with legislative and executive bodies is paramount to the success of institutions of higher education," Halmi said.

Committee members offered unanimous procedural support during the meeting and offered praise for Halmi's public service background. Senator remarks were largely complimentary and included questions about how Rutgers should approach searches for key leadership roles. No formal conditions or amendments to the nomination were recorded in the transcript.

Votes at a glance - George Halmi, nominee to the Rutgers University Board of Governors — Motion to release nomination to the Senate: moved by Senator Singleton; second not specified in the transcript. Outcome: nomination released to the full Senate. Vote tally: roll-call not fully recorded in the transcript; Chairman Stack recorded as voting "Yes" and the committee announced the nomination was released.

- Brent M. Refuse, nominee for judge of the Superior Court (Sparta) — Motion to release nomination: moved by Senator Buco; second not specified (transcript shows a motion and second). Outcome: nomination released. Vote record (as recorded in roll call): Senator Testa: Yes; Senator Corrado: Yes; Senator Buco: Yes; Senator Bramnick: Yes; Senator Sarlo: Yes; Senator Gopal: Yes; Senator Burgess: Yes; Senator Singleton: Yes; Chairman Stack: Yes. Tally: 9 yes, 0 no (names and votes as spoken on the record).

- Jeanette Russell, nominee for judge of the Superior Court (Wall Township) — Motion to release nomination: moved by Senator Gopal; second not specified. Outcome: nomination released. Vote record (as recorded): Senator Testa: Yes; Senator Corrado: Yes; Senator Buco: Yes; Senator Bramnick: Yes; Senator Smith: Yes; Senator Sarlo: Yes; Senator Lagana: Yes; Senator Burgess: Yes; Senator Singleton: Yes; Chairman Stack: Yes. Tally: 10 yes, 0 no (names and votes as spoken on the record).

- Claire Scully, nominee for judge of the Superior Court (Howell) — Motion to release nomination: moved by Senator Gopal; second not specified. Outcome: nomination released. Vote record (as recorded): Senator Testa: Yes; Senator Corrado: Yes; Senator Buco: Yes; Senator Bramnick: Yes; Senator Sarlo: Yes; Senator Lagana: Yes; Senator Gopal: Yes; Senator Burgess: Yes; Senator Singleton: Yes; Chairman Stack: Yes. Tally: 10 yes, 0 no (names and votes as spoken on the record).

- Balance-of-list nominations (remaining items on the committee’s agenda) — Motion to release: moved by Senator Lagana; seconded by Senator Gopal. Outcome: balance of list released. Vote record (as recorded): Senator Testa: Yes; Senator Corrado: Yes; Senator Buco: Yes; Senator Bramnick: Yes; Senator Smith: Yes; Senator Sarlo: Yes; Senator Lagana: Yes; Senator Burgess: Yes; Chairman Stack: Yes. Tally: 9 yes, 0 no (names and votes as spoken on the record).

Why it matters The Halmi nomination drew substantive comment because Halmi described reforms and expanded legislative engagement he said are needed at Rutgers as the university confronts internal reviews, protests and enrollment and personnel issues. Judicial nominations advance routine executive-branch judicial appointments; committee roll calls recorded unanimous recorded ‘‘Yes’’ responses for those items in the transcript excerpts provided.

What the committee decided and next steps The committee released all nominations to the full Senate for consideration at a subsequent Senate voting session, as stated by the chair during the hearing. The transcript includes procedural motions, roll-call confirmations for the judicial nominees and the announcement that the nominations were released; the Senate will consider each nomination at a later floor session.

Notes and limits - The transcript does not record a full named roll call for George Halmi’s release; the committee announced the nomination was released after a motion by Senator Singleton. Where specific mover/second or full roll-call counts were not spoken or were not fully recorded in the transcript, this article lists those items as "not specified" or reproduces the votes as they appear in the roll-call excerpts. - Halmi referenced the Lowenstein report and investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Congress; those documents and inquiries were cited by Halmi in describing institutional challenges but were not entered as formal authorities during the committee action.