Louis Greenwald Sworn in as Majority Speaker

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald spoke about the need for property tax relief  when he was sworn in as Assembly Majority Leader Tuesday afternoon, continuing his service in that position into the state’s 216th Legislature.

"Many of the problems our state faces have roots in our property tax burden,” Greenwald said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. “Whether it is a lagging unemployment rate, a shrinking middle-class, persistent budget shortfalls, or residents leaving our state in droves:  these crises share the common culprit of property taxes.”

Greenwald said a bipartisan task force will evaluate the best practices from other states on the issue.

"My hope is that we will present these solutions to the voters—allowing them to choose among a menu of options to reduce property taxes,” Greenwald said.

Greenwald (D-Camden and Burlington) was first elected to the Assembly in 1996 and became Majority Leader in 2012. His mother, Maria Barnaby Greenwald, was the first female mayor of Cherry Hill.

While in the Assembly, Greenwald has served as the Assembly Budget Committee Chairman, and has helped reform auto insurance and health care, helped revise the State’s education formula and helped reduce gun violence.

In his speech on Tuesday, he also spoke of the recent passage of the Dream Act, Marriage Equality, the arrival of a top Cancer research center to the state and the reform of higher education in the state, including the merger of Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey (UMDNJ).

Greenwald represents the Sixth Legislative District, which includes Berlin, Cherry Hill, Collingswood, Gibbsboro, Haddonfield, Haddon Township, Hi-Nella, Maple Shade, Merchantville, Oaklyn, Pennsauken, Somerdale, Stratford, Tavistock and Voorhees.