Tom Kean Jr. is urging the Democratic-controlled Legislature to take up a bill that would lift the residency requirements for most state employees. | AP Photo Kean: Lifting residency requirements would help NJ Transit staffing issues

State Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr. believes lawmakers can help address problems at NJ Transit by lifting residency requirements for state officials, although state Senate President Steve Sweeney remains skeptical.

The bus and rail agency, which has been forced to cancel dozens of trains in recent weeks because it did not have enough engineers to operate locomotives, has struggled to retain staff and failed to hire enough new train operators over the last decade.


Kean said Friday that a law requiring that state employees live in New Jersey — unless they receive a waiver — has worsened recruiting efforts since it was enacted in 2011 under former Republican Gov. Chris Christie. Repealing it, he said, would allow the commuter agency to try to recruit already-trained engineers from other rail lines.

“We should be making sure we open our doors to the best and brightest and do what we can do attract people to New Jersey,” Kean said in a phone interview. “I think we’re still feeling the ramifications of that bad piece of legislation.”

From 2011 to 2017, NJ Transit saw a net loss of 47 engineers. There are currently 335 active locomotive engineers and another 18 on leave. The agency's budget calls for 383 engineers. Nine new engineers will graduate from training this week, but another class won’t be ready until at least April.

NJ Transit officials said during public hearings last year that the residency law was likely a factor in their recruiting issues, although they had only anecdotal evidence to back up the claim.

Kean is urging the Democratic-controlled Legislature to take up NJ S508 (18R), which would lift the residency requirements for most state employees, not just those at NJ Transit. The measure had bipartisan support previously, with now former state Sen. Bob Gordon listed as a primary sponsor.

But Sweeney doesn’t think the change is worth making without proof that NJ Transit’s recruiting woes have really be worsened by residency restrictions.

“You did realize there are nine million people in New Jersey?” Sweeney said in a phone interview. “I would have to be told that we don’t have people in New Jersey that can do this.”

Kean’s comments come after Gov. Phil Murphy, who returned from an 11-day vacation in Italy this week, lashed out at Republicans for criticizing his handling of NJ Transit. On Thursday, he labeled them hypocrites, saying they “sat on their hands for eight years and saw this organization ravaged.”

Kean said it’s factually wrong to say members of the GOP didn’t speak out about issues at the agency while Christie was governor. The minority office emailed reporters transcripts that showed Kean questioning NJ Transit executives during public hearings last year, although he was primarily concerned with the effect of the residency requirements.

He said Friday that it was true the agency had problems during the last administration that were not fixed, including a problem that reared its end in recent days: Train engineers have called in sick at the last minute, presumably for illegitimate reasons.

Kean thinks union contracts should be reopened to allow the state to punish workers who play hooky. Christie personally negotiated the contracts.

“This is an issue that should have been addressed,” Kean said. “If it wasn’t addressed before, it needs to be addressed now.”

Murphy, an ally of organized labor, had not raised the idea of reopening collective bargaining agreements. His office has spoken directly with union leaders about the manpower issues and the agency also is exploring whether there are engineers who could be disciplined. The engineer’s union has not responded to requests for comment.

The Legislature, meanwhile, is planning a joint hearing on Thursday to hear from agency executives about what’s causing the problems and what can be done to improve train service.

Sweeney, a top executive in an ironworker’s union, said he would also like to use his influence with union leaders to resolve some of the issues. He said he knows train engineers and other rail workers have tough jobs, but that they’ll all have to work together to ensure there’s enough staff each day.

“I would just tell the union, ‘hey, listen guys, you’re killing us,‘” Sweeney said, adding that he’ll ask them to cut down on absences “until we get some more people in place.”